A child’s imagination can transform the mundane into the fantastical. In the eyes of a child a simple cardboard box can become a castle and a table can become a fort. This ability to daydream is one of the hallmarks of childhood, but it can also prove dangerous if the repurposed toy is a used sharp. Every year children around the globe are the victims of Community Acquired Accidental Needle Stick Injuries. Discarded sharps represent a serious threat to public health when they are disposed of in improper ways. Victims of Accidental Needle Stick Injuries are at danger of developing diseases such as Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, HIV and Syphilis among others.
In October of 2008, Teresa Garcia-Guerra of Austin, Texas received news that would terrify any parent. A kindergartener had stuck herself and Garcia-Guerra’s child as well as two schoolmates with a discarded needle found in the public park, which adjoined the school. Months of anxiety and doctors visits followed as the children were tested at different intervals for diseases associated with used needles. After the incident, the school responded by restricting access to the park's public restrooms and instructing the school's custodians to do a morning surveillance of the park playground. While these measures are an appropriate preliminary post-incident reaction, they are not a sustainable manner of preventing future such injuries over an extended period and cannot reasonably be implemented in all public locations where Needle Stick Injuries might occur.
With current estimates predicting that half of the American population will be diabetic or pre-diabetic by 2020, the rates of sharps circulating in the general public are likely to rise dramatically as more and more peo...
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...y city health or sanitation workers of these filled rigid sharps containers have proven successful in many cities. Providing self-injectors with the knowledge and means to discard of their sharps in a conscientious manner at the point of disbursement allows for targeted intervention. The cost of the containers could be subsidized by various state or federal agencies and by non-profit groups aimed at protecting public health to assure that they are accessible to all self-injecting groups. Easy and affordable access to rigid plastic containers designed for prudent discarding of used sharps benefits the community at large.
Clearly outlining to the general public how money spent on needle disposal is advantageous to those who do not self-inject as well as those who do, is a key component to any plan if public funds are to be spent on sharps intervention programs.
Ngatena IJ, Kapustin JF. Preventing type 2 diabetes: What really works. The Journal for Nurse Practitioners. July/August 2011;7(7):550-558.
The prevalence of diabetes according to the CDC is 26 million Americans currently diagnosed with diabetes, 79 million with pre-diabetes, and 7 million unaware they have diabetes.1 Diabetes is currently more prevalent in the western countries due to physical inactivity and obesity, but as more Eastern countries develop the western lifestyle it becomes an increasing worldwide epidemic.1 The risk for developing type 2 diabetes increases with age (especially after age 40), but is increasing most rapidly in the adolescent and young generation.1 It is therefore critical that education as well as drug therapies are implemented to decrease the rising prevalence of this illness.
Nadine Burke Harris is a former pediatrician who became the founder and CEO of The Youth of Wellness. She is also a Dr. at one of the best private hospitals in northern California, California Pacific Medical Center. Her goal is “to change the standard practice across demographics” (Burke Harris). When it comes to children it is important that we address the issue regardless. In Dr. Burkes’ TED talk she tells us that in the mid 90’s an exposure had been discovered by the CDC and Kaiser Permanente. This exposure in high doses, “it affects brain development, hormonal system, the immune system and even the way that our DNA is read and transcribed. The exposure has been discovered to be a dramatic increase in the risk for seven out of ten leading causes of death in the United States”(Burke Harris). Alternatively, when Dr. Harris opened a clinic in Bayview Hunters-Point; it is to be known as the poorest underserved neighborhoods in San Francisco. Before she opened
Based on the quantitative data available, type 2 diabetes is a very serious issue affecting the residents of Merced County. Compared to all 58 counties in California, Merced ranks 50th in the number of deaths from this disease, with an age-adjusted mortality rate of 26.1 deaths per 100,000 of the population (2007-2009).4 In comparison, California’s age-adjusted average is 19.5 deaths.5 However, we find that Merced fairs better than the 65.8 deaths per 100,000 persons set as the target rate by Healthy People 2020.6 In addition, healthypeople.gov has an overarching goal related to type 2 diabetes and health which is to reduce the disease and economic burden of diabetes mellitus (DM) a...
First, if patients have to pay for medical care, currently publicly funded, many families will avoid going to the doctor endangering their health. Researchers found that user charges implemented in Saskatchewan in 1968 and abolished seven years later reduced the annual use of
Diabetes and uncontrolled sugar levels is now the seventh leading cause of death in the United States, and the number one cause of adult onset blindness, lower limb amputations and kidney failure (healthy people citation). Additionally, those diagnosed diabetes have an amplified risk of having a heart attack and an overall increased mortality rate, both of which are proportional to 1.8 times greater than those not afflicted with diabetes (Healthy people). Obviously, without proper glycemic control, these number can be a much higher ratio; consequently, it is imperative proper health promotion measures are
United States. (2011). Type 1 Diabetes Research: Real Progress and Real Hope for a Cure. Hearing Before the Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs, United States Senate, of the One Hundred Eleventh Congress, First Session, June 24, 2009. Washington, DC: Washington: U.S. G.P.O., 2011
Magliano, DJ, Shaw, JE, Shortreed, SM, Nusselder, WJ, Liew, D, Barr, EL, Zimmet, PZ & Peeters, A 2008, ‘Lifetime risk and projected population prevalence of diabetes’, Diabetologia, vol.51, pp.2179-2186, viewed 15th May 2011.
Diabetes affects 18.2 million people in the United States. It is often referred to by doctors as diabetes mellitus and described as, “… a metabolic disease in which the person has high blood sugar …” (Collazo- Clavell et all. 2009), either because the insulin is inadequate or the body’s cells don’t respond well to the insulin. The health and economic consequences of diabetes are considerable. The majority of people that have diabetes live in low and middle income countries, where the prevalence of the disease is high. There are three types of diabetes that are called type 1, type 2, and gestational diabetes. Although diabetes is a disorder, it can lead to other diseases such as heart attack, kidney failure or death. A person that has diabetes has to maintain a healthy lifestyle, by eating the right diet, controlling their blood sugar level, and be optimistic.
Diabetes and its complications can be significantly delayed or prevented through patient education and health promotion measures (CDC, 2016). Type 2 Diabetes can lead to major health complications and precipitate risk factors that can cause macro and microvascular complications (ADA, 2016). These individuals that suffer from macro and microvascular complications are more susceptible to developing cardiovascular disease, cerebral vascular accidents, lower extremity amputations, and renal failure (CDC, 2016). Inadequate control of diabetes may result from poor management of the patient or failure of the primary care team to inform the patients of the possible risk and medical complications that may arise from poor glycemic control (ADA, 2016).
Every day thousands of addicts are taking a major health risk by sharing dirty needles. These dirty needles are potentially harboring blood borne pathogens along with thousands of microorganisms and bacteria. This can be detrimental to the person who is putting this needle directly into their veins. Drugs might always be a problem, but there is one way to assist and help better the lives of the drug addicts. This aid is clean needle exchanges. By giving the addicts clean needles to use, this would help to prevent the spread of disease.Both of the images shown above are geared toward clean needle exchanges. In this case, the Addiction Treatment Alternatives picture is a better representation of clean needle exchanges.
Weinrich, R. (May 2, 2007). “Removing the needles from trash — a necessary effort.” Retrieved April 12, 2011
Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is one of the most common diseases with a high incidence and prevalence throughout the world. It affects nearly 4% of the world's population and this percentage will supposedly be increasing up to 5.4% by year 2025 (Chaudhary et al., 2012).
these children demonstrate put them at increased risk for injury and abuse (Lutman, 2017). The
This article outlines, through studies and research, how the shut down of the only fixed needle exchange in Victoria affects the social welfare of those needing to use clean sterilized needles. Due to complaints of the hazard issues and public disturbances from neighbours the fixed needle exchange shut down (Cleverley, 2010). As a result, there has been an increase in dirty needle usage which is causing an increase in health hazards, more than that of Vancouver (Cleverley, 2010). The sharing and use of dirty needles contributes to the spread of hepatitis C and HIV, which is a huge concern when it comes to public health (Cleverley, 2010). In order to re-establish and an effective well-run fixed needle exchange that will solely focus on providing a safe injection site to address the public health and public disorder the business community, health officials and the city need to work together (Cleverley, 2010).