M15.5 Final Post

I was not really looking forward to this causer at the beginning of the semester. I really did not find an interest in environmental health coming in. But this course changed my way of thinking completely. I truly enjoyed this course. Every module examined a different environmental health issue, in which many I found personally connected to. The two required readings; Silent Spring and Our stolen future (book review) presented issues that I was not aware about and that I have great interest now. Personally, the topics presented in the course made me more aware of my contribution to the environment. I definitely stared becoming more conscious about the consumer products I purchased, I have also attempted to buy more locally grown products at my local farmers market.

Looking forward, I plan to continue to learn more about the issues in environmental health. More specifically I want to learn more about the health effects of pesticide exposure on women and children. I hope to work with an organization that focus on this issue. There is a lot more that needs to be done to protect the individuals in our communities. I can truly say that I gained a lot of knowledge that I hope to use in order to fight the environmental injustices that exist in vulnerable communities.

The blogging experience was great. I was able to learn from my teammates. Each of us had different and similar ideas that we discussed in our blogs. Though, I was not able to contribute as much the second part of the semester, I learned a lot form my teammates posts and feedback.

Thank you Professor Sattler, Erin, and Lucia for the great experience.The assignments in this course and the feedback I received allowed me to think outside the box and guidance thought out the semester.

Ana and Alvin...it was great working with you both!

M14.4 Website Exploration

I have lived in California my whole life; which means that I have had several earthquake experiences. I have lived in Los Angeles, which is very likely for an earthquake to occur. Throughout grade school, our teachers would always give us information on how to prepare for an earthquake. But no one really mentioned what to do or expect after an earthquake occurred. The Red Cross explains the steps we need to take after an earthquake to ensure we are safe.

Below are some guideline taken directly from the Red Cross Website. It’s important to be informed about the various steps we need to take in case of emergency. Educating our selves and others will decrease the impacts caused by natural disasters. 

·         Check the outside of your home before you enter. Look for loose power lines, broken or damaged gas lines, foundation cracks, missing support beams or other damage. Damage on the outside can indicate a serious problem inside. Ask a building inspector or contractor to check the structure before you enter.

·         If the door is jammed, don’t force it open – it may be providing support to the rest of your home. Find another way to get inside.

·         Sniff for gas. If you detect natural or propane gas, or hear a hissing noise, leave the property immediately and get far away from it. Call the fire department after you reach safety.

·         If you have a propane tank system, turn off all valves and contact a propane supplier to check the system out before you use it again.

·         Beware of animals, such as rodents, snakes, spiders and insects, that may have entered your home. As you inspect your home, tap loudly and often on the floor with a stick to give notice that you are there.

·         Damaged objects, such as furniture or stairs, may be unstable. Be very cautious when moving near them. Avoid holding, pushing or leaning against damaged building parts.

·         Is your ceiling sagging? That means it got wet – which makes it heavy and dangerous. It will have to be replaced, so you can try to knock it down. Be careful: wear eye protection and a hard hat, use a long stick, and stand away from the damaged area. Poke holes in the ceiling starting from the outside of the bulge to let any water drain out slowly. Striking the center of the damaged area may cause the whole ceiling to collapse.

·         Is the floor sagging? It could collapse under your weight, so don’t walk there! Small sections that are sagging can be bridged by thick plywood panels or thick, strong boards that extend at least 8–12 inches on each side of the sagging area.

·         If the weather is dry, open windows and doors to ventilate and/or dry your home.

·         If power is out, use a flashlight. Do not use any open flame, including candles, to inspect for damage or serve as alternate lighting.

·         Make temporary repairs such as covering holes, bracing walls, and removing debris. Save all receipts.

·         Take photographs of the damage. You may need these to substantiate insurance claims later.

One of the things i found very interesting was that poorer communities are hit the worse when a natural disaster hits. This is due to lack of resources and poor infrastructure. 

http://www.redcross.org/find-help/disaster-recovery/safety-immediate-aftermath

I have always been interested in volunteering in event of an emergency. As a future physician, I plan to volunteer in events of natural disasters. There are several organizations in the Sacramento Area that trains volunteers for help those in need when a natural disaster occurs.  The Citizen Corps in Sacramento provides opportunities for citizens to get emergency response training; participate in community exercises; and volunteer to support local first responders. Citizen corps educates people about disaster preparedness for hazards that may impact their area and trains them in basic disaster response skills, such as fire safety, light search and rescue, team organization and disaster medical operations giving members the skills to assist others in their neighborhood or workplace following an event when professional responders are not immediately available to help.

M3.3 Environmental Justice

The various disparities in health that exist in the Unites States seem to be separated by ethnicity and race. Social determinants of health defined those factors such as income, education, and community resources that affect an individual’s health outcome. These social determinants exist within all commutes. The greater health disparities are seen among those individuals in low-income communities, who lack a proper education, or lack appropriate health care resources. Many times, health disparities are seen among communities of color. Minorities in the U.S suffer from poorer health compare to those of whites. The articles point out that African-Americans have lower health outcomes compare to all racial/ethnic groups in the U.S., even after taking into consideration income and education.

There is various reasons why many minorities in the U.S suffer from lower health outcomes. One of the reasons as stated in the articles is due to institutional racism. Institutional racism as a system that is designed to benefit certain races over others. We can see such system in place when we analyze the events in Flint, Michigan. Lead contamination in water in a predominantly African-American community has caused various health concerns. There is a lack of response from our government in all levels. If such incident were to occur in a pre-dominantly white community, the response to the incident would have had been different.

The incidents in Flint, Michigan and others like in Richmond, California, also brings about the issue of environmental justice. Many communities of color are surrounded by industrial areas that pose a great risk to their health. Such industrial areas are commonly seen among low-income communities, especially those of minorities.   

The Black Lives Matter movement focuses of the injustices Africa-American communities have faced over the years. The movement has brought forth the many injustices that the government has over African-Americans. The movement not only focuses on the social injustices, but also focuses on the injustices relating to education and health. 

M12.9 Climate Change

1) What do you personally find most troubling about climate change?

I find the health effects of climate change most troubling. Im very concern on the harms that climate change can cause pregnant women and children. With the increase in temperature, can lead pregnant women to be dehydrated. Dehydration early on in pregnancy can cause low birth weight and can cause pre-term labor. With the increase in air pollution, pregnant women are exposed to air pollutants that can lead to respiratory illness. This can also lead to low birth weight and pre-term labor. When infants are born at a low weight, this can cause various health effects later in life. When infants are born pre-maturality, they may not be fully developed and can lead to various issues like RDS. The increase in air pollutants, children also have higher risks of developing respiratory diseases like asthma.Learning about the various health effects that climate change causes, we can inform individuals about the risk they face. Educating individuals about the effects of climate change can decrease the adverse health effects that climate change causes. 

2) As a public health professional, what do you think needs the greatest attention right now?

I believe that the decrease of CO2 needs more attention right now. As we saw, there has been an increase in CO2 in the atmosphere and this is causing various environmental effects. First, CO2 causes an increase in temperature, this then causes for ice glaciers to melt. Melting of Ince glaciers in leading to an increase in sea levels. The increase in CO2 is also causing for various chemicals to be trapped in the ozone layer, this increase the air pollutants we are exposed to. In recent years there has been a fight to decrease the burning of fossil fuels, the main contribution to increase levels of CO2. We know that there is alternatives for fossil fuels, alternatives that does increase CO2 levels. We should be advocating for policy making that decrease the use of fossil fuels. Though this is challenge, as we know our government is currently in opposition to many environmental protections. 

3) If you were visiting with a long-lost relative who had never heard about climate change, how would you describe it and its attendant human health and ecological threats?

I would describe climate change in very simple words. I would describe what is contributing to climate change and how this is affecting our Planet. I would also describe it in ways they can relate. For example, describing how driving a car is contributing to green gasses. How the increase in energy use at home can also increase the emission of green gasses. I would also explain to them way then can help and fight climate change. For example, walking more or using a bike to travel short distances. I would also explain to them how buying local grown food if available can help fight climate change. I would explain things they can do at home to reduce emissions. 

M10.1 Occupational Health and Safety

For the past few years I have worked in a clinic and I have see various occupational issues. While working here many of the chemical and biological issues were addressed by our managers; we are properly trained at the time of our employment and during the year, various trainings are held regarding appropriate use of instruments. The biggest control wast the use of PPE. When we handled any type of body specimens, we were always required to wear some type of protection. There are chemicals and equipment used in the lab that are necessary, and using the hierarchy of control, it will be hard to eliminate them or replace them with a safer alternative if any exist. Working long hours in a clinical setting also requires a lot of sitting down and standing up. Our administration has accommodated all of our ergonomic needs. The clinic provide high standing work stations as well as your typical desk; this prevents us from being in one position thorough out the day. 

One barrier could be the lack of understating the language. For example, many agricultural workers in California are immigrants from Mexico and South America, and their primary language is usually Spanish. Many of the safety labels in pesticides that are used in the farms are in English. Unable to read them, workers are unaware of the health risks they are facing when  exposed to such chemicals. I also believe that in the same population, the immigration status of the worker is a barrier to a healthy and safe workplace. Many workers who are illegally living in the U.S tend speak up about the health and safety issue they come across. Many are afraid that if they speak up they might loose their jobs or be deported. For this reason, many illegal immigrant workers overlook the unsafe working conditions they are in. 

M11.5 Zero Waste Life

I was extremely surprise about the amount of food waste we create in the U.S. I knew that this was an issue, but when it's put into perspective and numbers are given, this is a huge problem! We really do take advantage of what we have here in the U.S. One of the biggest issues I have with food waste is the amount of food that is thrown away by restaurants and super markets. These business throw away good quality food rather than giving it away to those who need it. A lot of the time I do look ash expiration dates in food, and if the food is marked as expired I'll take ti as longest it does not look spoil. I feel that one of the objective of putting expiration dates on food is to make more money, if we buy something and it expires later, we will throw it away, even if the food is still edible. We then go and buy the same kind of food, and the cycle continues.

Plastic is another waste that has harmed our planet. We saw in the videos how not only is plastic being accumulated in various parts of the world, but this plastic is also killing marine life. All these products that we consume are causing a great harm to our environment. We need to find alternatives to reduce our consumption in order to reduce the waste that we are putting on our environment.

Living a Zero Waste Life, is a great alternative to reduce our waste. Though I think that is very radical to live without any waste. I think realistically, the way we can reduce our waste is by changing the types of products we use. For example, not buying water bottles or foods that are packaged. Using containers that we can use over a long period of time compare to packaging our foods in zip-ploc bags. Buying from our local farmers market to reduce packaging of fruits and vegetables. Overall, living a zero waste life is really great idea, but for me personally, it will be heard to make a complete change.

M10.5 Occupational Safety and Health Organization

The WHO has a problem that focuses on Tuberculosis and HIV. The WHO identifies that Tuberculosis has 26 to 31 more times of a risk to be developed in an individual with HIV. The WHO works with various community groups on increase advocacy for Tubicolous and HIV, policy development, and implementation of their activities in various countries. The WHO has developed various tools to assist countries in improving TB/HIV collaborative action to achieve access to HIV and TB prevention. The WHO has different of focus, which include;

Promoting the collaboration of TB and HIV services at all levels 

Universal antiretroviral therapy for HIV-infected TB patientsWHO recommends that all HIV-infected TB patients should be commenced on ART irrespective of their CD4 count. Increased access to antiretroviral therapy can be achieved through national policies and guidelines. 

Scaling up there Three I's for TB/HIVThe Three I's include; intensified case finding, with the goal of identifying and treating those individuals with HIV/TB. Isoniazid preventive therapy for those individuals with HIV/TB infection Control for TB that includes environmental control, control for health workers and control for those individuals with TB/HIV

Improving TB/HIV data

Antiretroviral therapy for prevention 

Partnership with civil society to cal up TB/HIV activities- The WHO aims to create partnerships with health practitioners, advocates, and patient groups in order for the WHO's policy is translated into action.