E-Health: For those hard to reach places

             What did you do with that old brick phone you used to carry? The one that was only good for making calls or returning texts; before the iPhones and Androids entered our lives? If you’re like most people it’s probably sitting in a drawer somewhere or maybe it ended up at the local dump. Well it turns out that those “ancient” pieces of technology have more use than one would think and are even saving lives all over the world. The innovation of mobile health technology has been growing over the past couple decades and has made huge advances since its early days. The idea started as simple as websites for gaining information and has evolved into such innovations as video call centers where patients in rural areas can get expert advice via webcam from doctors and nurses across the world.

The Invisible Killer

Time is a critical factor in life. I wish if we can go back in time just to enjoy our life. Life that is very simple with no rush. Modern life style has significantly speed up our life. As a result of this life a great number of people rely too much on the use of chemicals in their daily life. Almost every product used today consists of many toxic chemicals that can lead to a life threatening diseases. Many countries are facing a number of health issues related to the use of chemicals. Scientists and researchers are doing a great job to prove how these chemicals are toxic and the way they affect humans. Theses toxic chemicals build up in human bodies and stay there for decades with no immediate side effect but their effect can be seen many years later. Certain chemicals may affect a certain organ in human bodies. For example, the uses of lead products affect the central nervous system. Illnesses like asthma, cancers, birth failings, weakened fertility, and learning disabilities are the most concern globally.

 Women and young children are the most vulnerable to diseases where the probability and level is several times higher than any other group. Some researchers have showed that due to the continuous use of chemicals the number of illnesses among societies had increased. For example, between 1973 and 1998 the number of breast cancer among women increased by about 40% (Howe et al., 2001). Another statistical research in the USA concluded that, the number of children diagnosed with cancer increased, from 11.5 cases per 100,000 children in 1975 to 14.8 per 100,000 children in 2004 (“Childhood Cancers,” ).

Chemicals can penetrate Human’s bodies through many ways. Penetration depends on many factors like exposure time, the physical and chemical properties of the chemical products, and the level of safety procedure followed. Skin and eye contact are the simplest way for chemicals to enter the body through the direct contact with skin or eye. Symptoms like burn or rash can appear immediately after the contact. Another route of entry is through the respiratory system. Inhalation of gases, vapor, particles, and aerosol travel to the bloodstreams through the lungs and cause serious problems. Asthma is one of the illnesses due to the use of chemicals. This is a concern in industrial cities where the level of air pollution is high. The last route that chemicals can enter the body is via ingesting contaminated food or beverage. Using pesticide on produce is a major concern all over the world. Since insecticides are poisonous to the living organisms, they are more likely to affect the health of humans.

Is there a solution?

            People should think carefully before they buy any product. As many household cleaners are toxic, the appropriate safety procedure should be followed prior to the use of these products. There are so many sources where people can know much about certain chemicals and the best way to deal with them. People can read at least the instruction on the back of the product or they can go online and try to educate themselves more about the use of chemicals or there are some material safety data sheets that give full details. Use the alternative to chemicals no matter how much do they cost. We can simply make homemade detergents that are not harmful to our health. Most of the raw materials like white vinegar and baking soda are available at almost every house. Regarding food, usually wash your produce very well and try to buy organic fruits and vegetables to minimize the chance of getting food poisonous.

References:

Childhood Cancers. National Cancer Institute. Retrieved December 6, 2013, from http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Sites-Types/childhood

Howe, H. L., Wingo, P. A., Thun, M. J., Ries, L. A., Rosenberg, H. M., Feigal, E. G., & Edwards, B. K. (2001). Annual report to the nation on the status of cancer (1973 through 1998), featuring cancers with recent increasing trends. Journal of the National Cancer Institute, 93(11), 824–842.

Free Energy - Team ∞

Introduction
 Free energy: myth or reality?  Is it something that can be readily available in the near future?  We all know we cannot get something for nothing.  What if we (team: Infinity) tell you that we already produce excess energy every day without noticing or doing anything to reclaim energy.  Every time we walk, talk, or think, energy is released.  What if, instead of releasing energy into nothingness, we could release it into confined media, were it could then be used as a free, clean, and renewable energy source?  Imagine- every motion that we make could be recovered in terms of electrical, thermal, or other useful energy.  Well, this idea is not new; in fact, the same principle is being applied to the braking system of hybrid cars.  When the driver pushes the brakes or decelerates, the energy used to stop the vehicle recharges the generator (with the generator shaft acting as a braking system by using its resistance to rotation; the more resistance, the more energy it needs to torque the shaft). This is not the only feasible application; we can take it even further (playgrounds, gyms, schools, etc.) thinking of anything that has motion.  On a global scale this could be part of the solution for the ever-rising problems of finding clean, renewable, and affordable sources of energy.

Comprehensive Rural Health Project

http://batteredsuitcases.wordpress.com/category/travels/

India holds just over 17 percent of the world’s population; that is about 1.2 billion residents dispersed throughout urban and rural areas. Acknowledged by both domestic and international aid organizations, programs have been developed to help alleviate some of the health disparities that are seen throughout this country. India has a very high infant mortality rate, in 2012; the rate was 44 deaths per 1,000 born. This is more than nine times that of the infant mortality rate for the United States, which were 6 per 1,000 births for 2012. Incidence of tuberculosis is very high in India as well: in 2012, India had 181 incidences cases of tuberculosis per 1,000 people, compared to just four cases in the United States. Another alarming fact about tuberculosis in India is that “In 2009, out of the estimated global annual incidence of 9.4 million TB cases, 2 million were estimated to have occurred in India, thus contributing to a fifth of the global burden of TB.”

Clean Water

Source

On July 21, 2012, the city of Portland had to shut off its water in seven districts, effecting hundreds of thousands of people including households and businesses. The reservoir in Washington Park that serves the west side of town had tested positive for E. coli and residents were notified promptly to boil their water before using for simple tasks such as brushing their teeth, washing their faces, preparing and cooking their food, and drinking. It was either this or going out and buying bottles of purified water. As Americans, we take advantage of the simplicities and convenience of life so naturally, the west side residents, like a manic herd, grabbed their credit cards and loaded their carts with as much purified water they could manage to carry, clearing shelves from hundreds of stores around the entire city of Portland. Now imagine an entire country with contaminated water....

Sleep Deprivation

Hey You Guys! 

Sleep Deprivation or sleep loss refers to “sleep of shorter duration than the average basal need of 7 to 8 hours per night” (Institute of Medicine 2006). As college students, most can relate to this sleep pattern and even see it as a normatively. Sleep Deprivation in college students is caused by a variety of different factors including schedule, stress, and social activities. College students are sometimes forced to make a class schedule that is outside what they have previously been accustomed too. Waking up to go to an early morning class, for someone who has previously been known as a night owl, can be difficult to get used to. The stress that comes with being a college student can greatly affect quality of sleep as well. A study in 2001 showed that 73% of students have occasional sleeping problems due to stress (Knowlden 2012) The stress that comes with being a college student cause some to lose sleep, but what about the stress that people in developing countries face every day? Are these sleep loss trends consistent globally or is this solely an American epidemic?

Maternal Health Innovations

Maternal Health Innovations

By Portlandia, Fall 2013

Although we live in a time where we are constantly making technological advances in medicine, most of the world has an alarming amount of women and infants dying from childbirth complications.  According to the World Health Organization(WHO), “every minute, at least one woman dies from complications related to pregnancy or childbirth.”  Based off of the current population, approximately “287,000 women are dying each year.” The infant mortality, like maternal mortality differs from country to country for example, according to The World Factbook, Afghanistan has a rate of 119 deaths per 1,000 live births, while the USA has only 6 deaths per 1000 live births. 

Social Media Anxiety

Social Media Anxiety
By The Wonders 

Globally, technology has seemed to have grown exponentially throughout the past century. Along with this major growth in technology Facebook was born. Many of us use Facebook to keep in contact with family, friends, and acquaintances but could it be possible that this new technology has done us harm? Yes and no.

Facebook makes keeping in contact with someone very easy for us but it might be too easy. Many people would rather text or message someone on Facebook than meet with them in real life. There is a big difference between talking out loud and writing a message. This seems to be making our face-to-face interactions more awkward because people aren’t used to communicating through speech. Facebook can make isolated individuals feel more isolated and very social people more social.

Many people religiously check their Facebook and it is these people that are at a higher risk for lower self esteem than those who rarely check their Facebook. The reason for why and how Facebook works to lower ones self esteem all has to do with the fact that people tend to compare themselves with their “friends.” The problem here is those of us who regularly post every positive thing (and no negatives) going on in our life. Whether it be a vacation, graduation, marriage, baby, new relationship, or some big life achievement. We try to keep any of the negatives off of our Facebook and lead everyone to believe that our life is perfect. By creating this false image of ourselves it leaves many of our acquaintances to compare themselves to us thus leading them to have lower self esteem.

Got Water?

Ethics Issues and the Privatization of Water PYTs

Lack of access to clean drinking water is a huge problem in global health that is the reason for many preventable health issues. The privatization of water is one of the main issues keeping residents of poor, underdeveloped countries from getting clean water. The privatizations of water drastically grew in the late 20th century when the World Bank and International Monetary Fund required countries that were pursuing aid to deregulate, abolish subsidies, and in some cases sell their infrastructure and water systems to private investors (worldsavvy.org). In the beginning, the idea of privatizing water was to make it more efficient and less corrupt. The private investors would have an incentive to build, upkeep, and upgrade these water facilities to make a profit (worldsavvy.org).  The governments that previously maintained the water supply had been doing a poor job in many countries. “Nowadays, politicians in Africa are generally more concerned with market efficiency, economic growth rates, productivity of financial capital and the security of the rich than they are about human rights and the security of the people.” Privatization programs are present today in many underdeveloped poor countries that seek aid and money from international institutions. Due to this, members within the communities that were refused a source of water were forced to turn on each other in order to try and gather water to survive.

Healthy Kids & Healthy Foods in School

Nutrition and food policy in the United States are hot-button topics in the political arena. Getting the right combination of policies, politicians, food services corporations, and regulations to converge and produce meaningful results is a seemingly Herculean task. Obesity is an overwhelming epidemic that is affecting 69.2% of Americans (Shields). The need to resolve the nutrition crisis is especially urgent when we consider that the negative health outcomes relating to food and nutrition are plaguing the youngest generation of Americans at such unprecedented rates.

In public schools the kinds of foods available to children and teens in large part have become increasingly less nutritious and have had toxic consequences physically, academically, and psychologically.  According to the CDC the rate of childhood obesity has almost tripled since 1980, with one out of six children now clinically obese. The percentage of children aged 6–11 years in the United States who were obese increased from 7% in 1980 to nearly 18% in 2010. Similarly, the percentage of adolescents aged 12–19 years who were obese increased from 5% to 18% over the same period (Ogden,Carroll. 2010). What is to be done to resolve this? What kinds of foods should our schools serve at lunch time?

The Maquiladoras of Northern Mexico

Team Lucky

Photo Credit

When we think about health in the current industrial world, it becomes obvious that we cannot separate the study of human health from the study of human environment. We know that environmental pollution can compromise health, and that this pollution disproportionately affects those who live and work close to harmful toxic waste. A striking example of this inequality of working conditions are the maquiladoras in Northern Mexico. Maquiladoras are factories owned by foreign companies which exist in both Mexico and South America. They are located specifically in duty-free zones, known as Export Processing Zones (or EPZ’s), where companies do not have to pay taxes or provide the same wages to employees as they would domestically. Since the work is outsourced to Mexico, these companies can provide substandard working conditions on a scale which would be unheard of in the U.S., while at the same time spending less in transportation costs because their factories are located just across the border.

Noncommunicable Diseases by Team Get It

Noncommunicable Diseases

Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) are the leading cause of death worldwide in low, middle, and high income countries (http://www.economist.com/node/21556393). NCDs include cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, and mental disorders. As a result of social detriments of health and globalization, present and future rates of NCDs are on the rise which poses concerns for global health, healthcare workers, and challenges for health care systems—particularly surrounding costs and financing. To combat the growing concern on NCDs, WHO (http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs355/en/) has begun Global Action Plan (http://www.who.int/gho/ncd/en/index.html) which offers nine specific target goals to prevent, reduce, and address response to NCDs—these targets focus on controllable elements such as diet, limiting alcohol and tobacco use, and increasing physical activity as well as additional elements such as coverage of health care services, and reducing premature mortality.

Bangladesh: The True Cost of Cheap Commodities

Often times in developed countries such as the Unites States, we don’t stop to think of where or how the things we buy are made. We simply purchase  and enjoy, without thinking of the consequences. Companies, in turn, take our ignorance as freedom to do as they please. They move factories to developing countries where they pay workers little to nothing, avoid health code regulations, and take advantage of poor human rights laws. This is a global health issue and an inequity. Therefore it is important for us to consider these issues, not as their issues, but as  ours. An excellent way to do this is to consider the Millennium Development Goals. The two goals that are most relevant to the discussion of  cheap commodities are Eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, as well as Promoting gender equality and empowering women (http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/) When considering the scope of problems facing the global community, workers’ safety may not seem as pressing an issue as the HIV/AIDS epidemic or other high-profile health concerns. Yet, every human life is valuable and no violation of human rights and well being is insignificant. It is important to have a global perspective because what happens in developing countries is a reflection of how social determinants of health impact individuals as well as the global community. We all like paying $5 for a T-shirt, and turn a blind eye to it’s true cost.

Water Commoditization: Global Water Crisis

In absence of water, life ceases to exist. Water is our most valuable resource and is something that we as humans should treasure. An issue currently facing the global population is the depletion and exploitation of the world’s water resources. Currently, large global health inequity results from the fact that water is seen around the world as a commodity. Instead, water really should be viewed as a human right. Presently, water is considered by large companies as a means of making a profit. “Blue Gold” is a movie that explains the phenomena of privatization of water, and the negative impact or expense it has on countries involved.

The need for more Community Health Workers

The need for more Community Health Workers

                   

SOURCE 

"Although they share many of the same roles, CHWs are typically not volunteers; they are employees in the healthcare system. The growing need for personnel within the healthcare system who can provide medical and cultural translation, health education, information and referrals, intake and eligibility services, case management, and advocacy to diverse patient population has formalized the CHW position in many healthcare settings."

            ~Mary Beth Love, Kristen Gardner and Vicki Legion

Sustainable Urban Development in Curitiba, Brazil

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Curitiba, capital city of the Brazilian state of Parana, is often praised for leading the world in sustainable urban planning and presenting one of the highest HDI in Brazil. Curitiba’s secret? Mobility, sustainability, and identity. These are the three areas that cities need to focus on, according to Jamie Lerner, Mayor of Curitiba for over 20 years and Curibita’s urban planning champion. Among Lerner’s sustainable approaches are 52 square meters of national parks (New Internationalist). To maintain this much grass, goat herders are hired by the city to maintain the abundance of greenery found in Curitiba. Sustainability is also manifested in other areas of his city structure, some of which we examine below.

The Ignored Children of our Communities

Imagine you have kept a big secret for years. You’ve kept it tucked away from everyone’s view because you are petrified of what would happen if you told this secret. You are 14 years old and the world feels like one giant haunted roller coaster. But one day, you realize the secret is making you sick, and you cannot keep it hidden any longer. So you tell your parents – you are gay. The response you get is one of angry rejection and before you know it, you are thrown out of your childhood home, without any resources or anyone to turn to – no money, no family close by and no where to call home.

Childhood Obesity

Obesity:  One of the Most Disastrous Dilemmas Facing Children on the World Stage

It’s happening all around us, and some of us may not even realize the full extent to which it’s occurring. Children are losing enjoyable years of their lives, experiencing extreme disadvantages due to conditions outside their control. In extreme case children are dying each day due to deadly diseases that the Western world has seemingly forgotten about.

Human as Commodities: Human Trafficking & Slavery

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Before we go on to discuss human trafficking in foreign countries, let us get this fact out of the way: As you’re reading this, people are being trafficked right here in the United States, here in Oregon. Yes you’ve read right!