Today I spend my day in the library. Writing my term paper on the link between women's health disparities and early marriage and pregnancy in underdeveloped areas of the world. And prepping for a statistics project.
Normally this would be exciting...I LOVE the library. I love the smell of old books, the quiet, setting up shop for 8 hours researching and writing and being my usually nerdy self. I must say, its been a while since I set up camp for such a day, mainly because that length of concentration is not my strong suit anymore. But today may be especially challenging...its mid November and 71 degrees outside right now. And I want to go play!! But, its also 3 weeks from due dates on all of my term projects, so..play time must wait.
I guess this comes with the territory of mastering an area of expertise.
wish me luck!
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
APHA conference reflection
My day yesterday was filled with lectures, debating and a great movie.
I went to the APHA (American Public Health Association) conference, whose theme this year was WATER. How convenient for me, as this is one of my favorite topics, and hopefully an option for my masters research and thesis.
I was able to attend presentations on everything from hand washing programs in Africa, bottled water in the US and sanitation and safe water access in El Salvador. It was inspiring, frustrating and informative. Most global health lectures mentioned how great the Peace Corps is and how everyone interested in working in global health should consider joining.
Most also talked about how desperate the need is for safe water and proper sanitation in developing nations, and the programs that have made a difference so far.
A few points that stuck out to me, some of which are opinions of the presenters:
- Chlorine water treatment (point of use and for storage) is the cheapest immediate solution for providing safe water. But how sustainable is it? It appears better for the long run to invest in potable water systems.
- Bottled water is not regulated nearly as much as tap water, and has been found to have levels of contaminants above what is regulated for tap water. It is also bad for the environment, as plastic water bottles cannot be recycled back into another plastic water bottle, they are used for fillers, chairs, etc. Bottled water though in vogue right now, is not sustainable nor is it as safe as drinking tap water.
- In regards to global health outreach: don't go into a community where you are not invited. The people you are helping should always be willing and enthusiastic about working alongside of you, not expecting a mere handout. Otherwise, the solutions will not sustain when you leave.
- Charity, or handouts, though good for the short term, is not sustainable long term. Justice, or teaching and developing programs where people have the opportunity to develop their community and meet their own needs, on the other hand, is a much more effective means of short term and long term volunteer work in a community.
Finally, at my last lecture, a women in the audience made a comment basically stating that young people these days were going into health care for the money (she used the exact # of $45 an hour), not for the good will or desire to help people. I found this a bit of an insult, especially since I work and go to school with so many young people who are passionate and excited about what they are doing, and not at all making that kind of money (myself included). If they were in it just for the money, why not just go to business school and work in corporate America? So, I spoke up, and said that I was a health care work and I was getting my MPH, and my reasons were not for the money. I also noted that I was not making $45 an hour, nor did any of the young people I knew in the field. Needless to say, I was respectful to her, but still noted my concern for her unfair blanket statement. A few people clapped, and I was thanked for my comments by one girl my age after the lecture.
The movie was on a water organization in Malawi that is founded and run by a native. They are doing a great job in the country, drilling bore hole wells and bringing safe water access to hundreds of communities. I was very impressed with the founder, who was able to be there to present the film, all the way from Malawi.
Consider it: donating your time or money to an organization who takes a justice approach to their work, training locals to sustain their community.
Unlearn it: buying bottled water
I went to the APHA (American Public Health Association) conference, whose theme this year was WATER. How convenient for me, as this is one of my favorite topics, and hopefully an option for my masters research and thesis.
I was able to attend presentations on everything from hand washing programs in Africa, bottled water in the US and sanitation and safe water access in El Salvador. It was inspiring, frustrating and informative. Most global health lectures mentioned how great the Peace Corps is and how everyone interested in working in global health should consider joining.
Most also talked about how desperate the need is for safe water and proper sanitation in developing nations, and the programs that have made a difference so far.
A few points that stuck out to me, some of which are opinions of the presenters:
- Chlorine water treatment (point of use and for storage) is the cheapest immediate solution for providing safe water. But how sustainable is it? It appears better for the long run to invest in potable water systems.
- Bottled water is not regulated nearly as much as tap water, and has been found to have levels of contaminants above what is regulated for tap water. It is also bad for the environment, as plastic water bottles cannot be recycled back into another plastic water bottle, they are used for fillers, chairs, etc. Bottled water though in vogue right now, is not sustainable nor is it as safe as drinking tap water.
- In regards to global health outreach: don't go into a community where you are not invited. The people you are helping should always be willing and enthusiastic about working alongside of you, not expecting a mere handout. Otherwise, the solutions will not sustain when you leave.
- Charity, or handouts, though good for the short term, is not sustainable long term. Justice, or teaching and developing programs where people have the opportunity to develop their community and meet their own needs, on the other hand, is a much more effective means of short term and long term volunteer work in a community.
Finally, at my last lecture, a women in the audience made a comment basically stating that young people these days were going into health care for the money (she used the exact # of $45 an hour), not for the good will or desire to help people. I found this a bit of an insult, especially since I work and go to school with so many young people who are passionate and excited about what they are doing, and not at all making that kind of money (myself included). If they were in it just for the money, why not just go to business school and work in corporate America? So, I spoke up, and said that I was a health care work and I was getting my MPH, and my reasons were not for the money. I also noted that I was not making $45 an hour, nor did any of the young people I knew in the field. Needless to say, I was respectful to her, but still noted my concern for her unfair blanket statement. A few people clapped, and I was thanked for my comments by one girl my age after the lecture.
The movie was on a water organization in Malawi that is founded and run by a native. They are doing a great job in the country, drilling bore hole wells and bringing safe water access to hundreds of communities. I was very impressed with the founder, who was able to be there to present the film, all the way from Malawi.
Consider it: donating your time or money to an organization who takes a justice approach to their work, training locals to sustain their community.
Unlearn it: buying bottled water
Friday, October 30, 2009
fun.
take the stairs.
perhaps healthy choices can be fun? or fun choices can promote healthy behaviors?? I'd probably take the stairs at work more often if I had this to look forward to. :)
perhaps healthy choices can be fun? or fun choices can promote healthy behaviors?? I'd probably take the stairs at work more often if I had this to look forward to. :)
Thursday, October 22, 2009
continuing this thought
In addition to this...I'm torn about the option of a flu shot. Especially the H1N1 vaccination...when I'm in the one of the at-risk groups for this.
Since I'm studying Public Health, I suppose its automatically assumed I will be all about vaccinations. Which in general, they are a good thing. But when you need a new vaccine every year to stop the spread of something (which begs the question, is it actually encouraging the mutation of the virus?), how good of a vaccine can it be? And then I hear stuff like this, that just scares people, myself included. From a population perspective, this is like a one in a million chance. But looking as an individual, I don't want to be that one in a million. Maybe I'm spreading fear and unsupported claims, and if I find out that I am, obviously I'll retract this post. Let me know...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEN5KGwNGeo
Since I'm studying Public Health, I suppose its automatically assumed I will be all about vaccinations. Which in general, they are a good thing. But when you need a new vaccine every year to stop the spread of something (which begs the question, is it actually encouraging the mutation of the virus?), how good of a vaccine can it be? And then I hear stuff like this, that just scares people, myself included. From a population perspective, this is like a one in a million chance. But looking as an individual, I don't want to be that one in a million. Maybe I'm spreading fear and unsupported claims, and if I find out that I am, obviously I'll retract this post. Let me know...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEN5KGwNGeo
modern medicine - the good, the bad and the not so clear
today I'm wondering about the implications of modern medicine. Obviously, modern medicine is a fantastic advancement, a huge achievement for man kind. But at what point does it yield negative implications?
I look at the field in which I currently work (psychiatry) and wonder if we are advancing medications that are simply treatment of symptoms of an unhealthy lifestyle or culture. Why are there so many anxious and depressed people in our country and all over the world? Why are we finding vitamins (i.e. B12 and Folic acid) are helpful in treating depression? Perhaps because people should not be deficient of them in the first place? Perhaps healthy dieting, stress management, and a different lifestyle are the medicine we really need -- that fixes the root of the problem instead of the symptoms.
At what point do we draw a line to say this is helpful, or this is enabling poor choices to continue to be made? From a public health viewpoint, what are the implications of mass use of antidepressants and anxiolytics? What will this mean if these meds eventually are consumed in developing countries as well??
Are we driving our society into madness by being consumed by busyness, greed, technology and isolation (caused by the American ideal of "independence")...and then using these meds as a band-aid? I need feedback on this one. I feel very perplexed by the whole situation.
Considering it: natural remedies and healing vs. modern medicines -- what are the true implications of both, especially pertaining to quality of life.
Trying to unlearn it: taking something for every ailment -- i.e. ibuprofen, tums, etc..maybe the "fix it in the moment" meds are just masking symptoms that our body is producing to tell us there is a bigger problem??
I look at the field in which I currently work (psychiatry) and wonder if we are advancing medications that are simply treatment of symptoms of an unhealthy lifestyle or culture. Why are there so many anxious and depressed people in our country and all over the world? Why are we finding vitamins (i.e. B12 and Folic acid) are helpful in treating depression? Perhaps because people should not be deficient of them in the first place? Perhaps healthy dieting, stress management, and a different lifestyle are the medicine we really need -- that fixes the root of the problem instead of the symptoms.
At what point do we draw a line to say this is helpful, or this is enabling poor choices to continue to be made? From a public health viewpoint, what are the implications of mass use of antidepressants and anxiolytics? What will this mean if these meds eventually are consumed in developing countries as well??
Are we driving our society into madness by being consumed by busyness, greed, technology and isolation (caused by the American ideal of "independence")...and then using these meds as a band-aid? I need feedback on this one. I feel very perplexed by the whole situation.
Considering it: natural remedies and healing vs. modern medicines -- what are the true implications of both, especially pertaining to quality of life.
Trying to unlearn it: taking something for every ailment -- i.e. ibuprofen, tums, etc..maybe the "fix it in the moment" meds are just masking symptoms that our body is producing to tell us there is a bigger problem??
Monday, October 19, 2009
a little perspective
check this out:
gapminder: population vs. water consumption
Maybe its not so cool to waste water...though advertising would tell us otherwise? Is this mentality why the US is closer to China and India on our total water consumption, though we are closer to Indonesia, Japan & the rest of the world on population size?
gapminder: population vs. water consumption
Maybe its not so cool to waste water...though advertising would tell us otherwise? Is this mentality why the US is closer to China and India on our total water consumption, though we are closer to Indonesia, Japan & the rest of the world on population size?
Monday, October 12, 2009
contemplation of population
cheesy title, I know...but this is seriously what my mind has been digesting over the past few weeks. In my global public health class, I am lucky to get the viewpoint of several different professors offering a wide range of views from Penn. So far, we have had guest lecturers presenting on food security, water, child health, history of public health, etc. We've discussed the implications of outside aid, outreach issues often overlooked, pressing problems that deserve immediate attention and more. Its so much to take in at once that I find my head spinning at times.
But the topic of population growth -- I should say the problem of population growth has been mentioned in every class. It is an underlying theme that influences every issue in public health. For me, its turning my thoughts and perceptions upside down. Current estimates, though varying, land the world population in the approximations of 10 billion in the next 50 years -- with conservative estimates assuming this will be the high point, where we will see a leveling off and potentially a decrease.
The problems this rapid growth implies are endless...a few obvious being lack of energy resources, lack of land, food security, and the list goes on and on. On an individual level I'm trying to sort out the implications for my personal mission to support fresh and local agriculture.
This topic came up in the population debate in class, and though I still can't wrap my brain around this entirely, I had a professor who was willing to stay after class for an hour as I grilled him for answers and stumbled through my explanations of my mindset. Overall, what I took away to process was that it would be impossible to achieve a sustainable approach to agriculture and food supply on a local level, especially as the population grows, because there is not enough land to do so. He explained that if we all go fresh and local that by the time our population reached 10 billion, around 40% of those people would be starving. I'm not sure what I think of this, or if this truly is the reality, but its totally opposite from my thought process. I'd like any and all comments you have on the topic as I ponder this further.
As I persisted, asking him what someone like myself can do to solve issues of food security and development issues in the face of such a dilemma, he gave a few suggestions. First, always work towards solutions, and adjust as needed as more information is provided. Ask lots of questions, and don't allow the popular view or the media influence you more than academic or empirical evidence. And finally, work on a local level to do what you can. Though he emphasized the lack of reality for food security if we decentralize agriculture, where it is possible, local food really is helpful for local economy and sustainability of a community. The population issues are most prevalent in big cities, where land for agriculture is scarce. I see his points, but I'm still not convinced local sustainability is impossible to reach. What I do know however, is that my desire to work in underdeveloped areas to reach sustainable options for health is still an important mission. Especially in water issues - where the largest problem is not availability of water, but the lack of access to that water.
check out www.gapminder.org for some illustrations that will help connect the dots on these issues...its a great website!
more to come as I learn and process further...
Consider it: family planning options. adoption. wasting less and valuing the resources you have.
Unlearn it: that you have a RIGHT to everything you have. if we all had a right to all the resources we abused, and everyone in the world used them so unwisely, we would have no resources left!
But the topic of population growth -- I should say the problem of population growth has been mentioned in every class. It is an underlying theme that influences every issue in public health. For me, its turning my thoughts and perceptions upside down. Current estimates, though varying, land the world population in the approximations of 10 billion in the next 50 years -- with conservative estimates assuming this will be the high point, where we will see a leveling off and potentially a decrease.
The problems this rapid growth implies are endless...a few obvious being lack of energy resources, lack of land, food security, and the list goes on and on. On an individual level I'm trying to sort out the implications for my personal mission to support fresh and local agriculture.
This topic came up in the population debate in class, and though I still can't wrap my brain around this entirely, I had a professor who was willing to stay after class for an hour as I grilled him for answers and stumbled through my explanations of my mindset. Overall, what I took away to process was that it would be impossible to achieve a sustainable approach to agriculture and food supply on a local level, especially as the population grows, because there is not enough land to do so. He explained that if we all go fresh and local that by the time our population reached 10 billion, around 40% of those people would be starving. I'm not sure what I think of this, or if this truly is the reality, but its totally opposite from my thought process. I'd like any and all comments you have on the topic as I ponder this further.
As I persisted, asking him what someone like myself can do to solve issues of food security and development issues in the face of such a dilemma, he gave a few suggestions. First, always work towards solutions, and adjust as needed as more information is provided. Ask lots of questions, and don't allow the popular view or the media influence you more than academic or empirical evidence. And finally, work on a local level to do what you can. Though he emphasized the lack of reality for food security if we decentralize agriculture, where it is possible, local food really is helpful for local economy and sustainability of a community. The population issues are most prevalent in big cities, where land for agriculture is scarce. I see his points, but I'm still not convinced local sustainability is impossible to reach. What I do know however, is that my desire to work in underdeveloped areas to reach sustainable options for health is still an important mission. Especially in water issues - where the largest problem is not availability of water, but the lack of access to that water.
check out www.gapminder.org for some illustrations that will help connect the dots on these issues...its a great website!
more to come as I learn and process further...
Consider it: family planning options. adoption. wasting less and valuing the resources you have.
Unlearn it: that you have a RIGHT to everything you have. if we all had a right to all the resources we abused, and everyone in the world used them so unwisely, we would have no resources left!
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