Discussion responses

Please respond to these discussion posts

HSC 3201 Discussion 2-2

Brianna Aponte posted Mar 30, 2019 1:13 PM



According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) the top 10 causes of death in the U.S. are heart disease, cancer, accidents, respiratory diseases, stroke, Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, nephritis, and suicide (2017). Of these causes of death, most of them can be managed, and in some cases prevented. Personally, the disease that poses the biggest threat to me is diabetes; several of my family members over the generations have had diabetes. This has not necessarily been the cause of their deaths, but absolutely has caused the onset of other factors such as heart disease or kidney failure, all of which go hand in hand when not managed correctly. Diabetes is what is considered a lifestyle disease, while the underlying causes can be genetics it is easily managed and preventable through proper diet, monitoring blood sugar levels, exercise, medications and avoiding stress. Diets low in sugars and carbs are recommended, being cautious to avoid artificial sweeteners and high fructose syrup. Suggested diets should be specific to the individual but generally, an emphasis on vegetables, fruits, protein, healthy fats, and low intake are carbohydrates are key. According to the Mayo Clinic, medication must be considered while consuming food; taking a medication without eating can cause blood sugar levels to plummet, eating without taking medication can also cause blood sugar to reach dangerously high levels (2017). Exercising also promotes glucose usage to help the muscles in the body use excess sugars for energy. When done regularly it helps with weight management and stabilize insulin levels. The most important preventative measure is checking blood sugar levels, individuals should be aware of what their normal range is and intervene appropriately when the levels become too high or low. There is a variety of oral medications to help manage living with diabetes, but no medication will have a larger impact than a proper diet and exercising.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2017). Leading causes of death [Web page]. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/leading-causes-of…

Mayo Clinic. (2017). Diabetes management: how lifestyle, daily routine affects blood sugar [Web page]. Retrieved from https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/dia…

HSC3201 Discussion 2-1

IMR for Omaha, Nebraska

Conor O’Neill posted Mar 26, 2019 8:03 PM



I was born in Omaha, Nebraska in 1994. I only lived there for the two years of my life before my parents got stationed to a different AF base. According to the graph I found on America’s health rankings, with data sourced from the CDC WONDER database, the infant mortality rate for the state of Nebraska in that year was 7.9 deaths per 1,000 live births. Nebraska’s infant mortality rate has fallen to 5.9 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2018.

https://www.americashealthrankings.org/explore/annual/measure/IMR/state/NE

For Douglas county in particular, the rate was at 6.6 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2017, but the rate in the county fluctuates more unpredictably because of the lower sample size. This data was found in an official report from the Douglas county health department.

https://www.douglascountyhealth.com/images/8.8.18_Final_State_of_Public_Health_short_revised_8_8_2018.pdf

The 6.6 number initially surprised me because it is barely lower than the figure from 1994, but I think that is because of the lower amount of live births in one county versus the entire state. As seen from the CDC data for the state of Nebraska as a whole the infant mortality rate has declined quite a bit, and I think that is to be expected because of improvements in health care.

An interesting fact is that one of the leading causes of infant death is sudden infant death syndrome, which is when the baby randomly dies within the first year of life and the medical examiners are unable to discover the cause of death even after a full investigation into the death. This is terrifying and I hope that doctors are hard at work coming up with a way to figure out why this happens and how to prevent it.

https://www.nichd.nih.gov/health/topics/sids/conditioninfo

HUS3570 Module 2 Discussion Forum 1_Jones

Crystal Jones posted Mar 25, 2019 2:34 PM



How might a minority person’s own perceptions of health care (i.e., care available and care given or their personal experience with care) impact their health status? I think, in general, minority populations do not realize what resources are available to them. Take the Hispanic population for example. Most cannot speak English. Healthcare in the United States may be completely different than what they are used to in their country. If they cannot speak fluent English and the doctor recommends a referral to a specialist. This would sound familiar to us Americans. When dealing with the Hispanic population you really must explain from the bottom up. Explain what a specialist is. Explain why we cannot provide these services in our office. Living in rural communities would result in a long drive into the city resulting in transportation issues. What if they do not possess a driver license? How are they going to get there? They most likely will not go and their situation could pose life threatening risks such as an unaddressed abscessed tooth that will result in the spread of infection.


HUS3570 Literature review

Impacts of obesity on the health of women of childbearing age_Wessel

Jessica Wessel posted Mar 22, 2019 5:07 PM



Another risk factor that I identified related to poor health and adverse health outcomes was the incidence of obesity among women of childbearing age. The journal article I found discussed the high incidence of obesity especially in women and of the childbearing age. The article discovered that when women were obese, they had a difficult time becoming pregnant in the first place and then once they were their pregnancies were unhealthy and consequently so were their labor and deliveries. Unfortunately, the disease of obesity is chronic however it is also widely a preventable one as well. Obesity incidence is largely related to a reduction in the ingestion of proper nutritious foods. Western society has contributed high calorie foods and foods which contain high levels of sugar which eventually lead to weight gain and poor health outcomes. There are two main types of obesity, both android and gynoid. Android is mainly weight gain or extra fat contained in the abdominal region of the body which more often than not leads to diseases in the heart and diabetes progression. The second type of obesity is called gynoid and is extra fat contained in the lower areas of the body. Obesity at the childbearing age is a concern as the weight gain and poor health affects the infant. Breastfeeding is not as successful as lactation is reduced. Breastfeeding is important as there are several vitamins that help with immunity for the infant. The article then discussed ways to help or assist patients who are of the childbearing age and are struggling with obesity.

Through this article I successfully gained knowledge regarding obesity especially at the childbearing age. I did not realize how influential weight gain was on conceiving, pregnancy, and just overall health. It is concerning for me that such a large percentage of women seem to struggle with weight gain and the negative impact that weight gain has on the general health of our bodies. I am hopeful that strides will be made in the future to help prevent and treat obesity incidence (Ojiegbe, 2016).

Reference:

Ojiegbe, I. N. (2016). Impacts of obesity on the health of women of childbearing age: A call for action. International Journal of Medicine & Biomedical Research, 5(1), 19–27.

https://doi-org.db24.linccweb.org/10.14194/ijmbr.5.1.3