Public Health Concern Within The United States Essay

According to NAMI (), schizophrenia is a long term mental illness that interferes with a person’s ability to think clearly, make decisions, and relate to others, impairing a person from functioning to their full potential when left untreated. For these persons affected, it is many times difficult to distinguish what is real from what is not. “Unfortunately, no single simple course of treatment exists.” Research has linked schizophrenia to a multitude of possible causes” (NAMI).

In today’s society there is a greater awareness of mental illnesses. With this greater awareness one might assume that there would be a substantial increase in government involvement or funding in the area of mental illness treatment. Unfortunately this isn’t the case in the U.S. today. There are hundreds of thousands of people with mental illness that go untreated. These potential patients go untreated for many reasons. These reasons are discussed in the Time article “Mental Health Reform: What Would it Really Take.

Q1: Understanding the cases/differences: What was the average number of new HIV cases in Scott County in 2013? What was it in the first six months of 2015? What are the demographics of those diagnosed in 2015? (Describe them)

The United States health care public safety net system largely provides healthcare services to the uninsured and the under insured. However, this vulnerable population still cannot access adequate care and compared to the privately insured population, the uninsured receive less preventative and specialty health care services. The need for safety net providers to improve the delivery and access to care has led to increased funding through the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) as well the expanded community health centers (CHCs) (HealthCare.gov, 2010). Following the passage of the PPACA and increased federal support for the CHCs, the American public health care system witnessed significant changes. Some of these changes include increased access to healthcare, restructurings of private health coverages and containing Medicaid and Medicaid ().

With the huge diversity and changeability of human biology, it is impossible to imagine a reality without some mutations, changes, or issues in the organs and tissues of humans. Thus, it rightly follows that medications and pharmaceuticals have been created in an effort to counteract the various ailments and illnesses that people can experience. However, as time has gone on and these pharmaceuticals have become more and more high-tech, regulated, and trusted, they have also become incredibly commercialized. Worse still, medications have become incredibly expensive and can be unattainable for some people.

While many of the health risks that besiege Americans are fought by creating a vaccination or an antibiotic that can be administered to all who are infected, one of the greatest health risks facing America’s nation today is sadly an epidemic, not just of a physical nature but often times also with behavioral origins, and whose eradication has been one of the most difficult our nation faces. Obesity in the United States has increased with alarming rates over the last few decades, which has impacted our nation on several levels, including the financial burden from the continuing rise in healthcare costs and the diminishing quality of life – as well as the diminishing quantity of life – that many Americans face as obesity is comorbidly linked to a number of debilitating health conditions. According to data obtained from the website for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the CDC and other federal and state agencies have labored diligently on several fronts to reduce our country’s obesity problem, and the latest statistics indicate that certain populations are benefitting from their campaigns.

Schizophrenia, a thought process that has affected many lives, is characterized by disruptions to the thinking processes, emotions, as well as one's sensory perception. Schizophrenia is a multi-faceted affliction in that individuals suffer audio and visual hallucinations and often deal with financial burdens as well. Many individuals fail to realize that they suffer from this mental disease until symptoms and effects begin to manifest themselves. Treatment for this illness consists of a combination of drug therapy with changes to diet, lasting an entire lifetime. Living with schizophrenia is difficult for

We shall begin with a bit of its history, as well as what schizophrenia actually consists of. The word schizophrenia is less than one hundred years old, and means “the splitting of psychic functions.” It affects only about one percent of the world’s population, however those it does affect are comprised of all races and cultures, and socio-economic factors have no effect on who developments schizophrenia. It typically has an onset of late adolescence to early adulthood. BOOK CHAPTER 18, P.467 If a person reaches the age of thirty without being diagnosed with schizophrenia, that person has

The United States has encountered numerous problems throughout its history. An ongoing problem that has affected millions of Americans is poor health. Poor health can be defined as two things: unstable mental state or unstable physical state. The United States of America has experienced both of these characteristics with its citizens. Americans have been hit hard with these health issues for decades. America is one of the unhealthiest countries in the world and many people do not understand why. There is a strong correlation between mental health and physical health. One health issue can lead to another, which in-turn, makes people feel as if they are trapped in a horrific cycle of living in poor conditions. This causes people to feel insecure about themselves emotionally and physically, creating disgust in themselves. One of the most challenging objectives for individuals is engaging in physical activity. This is the reason why health is an issue in America. Individuals who lack physical health can eventually lead to depression and other psychological issues and vice versa.

I believe that the United States is clearly taking action and are a part of the problem against the nation’s leading public health threats obesity, tobacco use and HIV/AIDS. These issues affect just about every racial and ethnic community, especially those who have limited health care. Yes, the public is well educated with the media and public service announcements about prevention of these health issues, but what about the problems that still exist and how much more can be done to intervene altogether.

Schizophrenia is a life-long disorder that affects about one percent of the population (Mueser & McGurk, 2004). The cause of this mental illness is still unclear. Studies have suggested that Schizophrenia does not arise from one factor but from a combination of genetic, environmental, and social factors (Liddle, 1987). People diagnosed with Schizophrenia struggle to deal with a multitude of symptoms that make it difficult to function (Mueser & McGurk, 2004). Antipsychotic medications are a popular treatment of the symptoms of Schizophrenia (Mueser & McGurk, 2004). Research is constantly being done to develop these medications to enhance the quality of life of those diagnosed with Schizophrenia.

Schizophrenia is a serious mental disorder that affects millions of people and it should not be underestimated or ignored.

1) How is public health financed in your state, province, or country? How does the current budget crisis impact Public Health and Community services in your area?

Approximately 22% of the American population suffers from some kind of mental disorder at any given time. (Passer and Smith, 2004) Schizophrenia is one of the most serious of these mental disorders, and there are many different kinds of treatment. While all mental disorders offer diagnosis and treatment challenges, few are more challenging than schizophrenia. It is both bizarre and puzzling, and has been described as “one of the most challenging disorders to treat effectively.” (Passer and Smith, 2004, 534)

One of the growing public health problems in the United States today is the spread of the human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV, among the American population. Beginning in the 1980s, the U.S. public health system has been working vigorously to come up with effective methods for preventing the spread of this debilitating virus. HIV has persistently stayed within the human population due to the continual transmission of the disease. Before widespread transmission of HIV, the two most transmissible way of contracting the disease was either using unsterile needles for drug use or by unprotected sex with partners who were infected – most of the infected individuals in the 1980s were those who were or had been in homosexual relationships.