Share & Voice: Going Green the Today Show

Hey everyone!
I found this video on YouTube about labels and going green and exactly what they mean and how they can get that little sticker you often see on newer products.The energy star is one of the labels you may have seen, this label means that the product has met strict standards on high energy efficient rating, saving you money and energy. Food products also have labels through the government that say it doesn't have pesticides. The site also said what we have all learned in class that it is better to buy local. Learn more by watching the video yourself.

Reflection Post: Week 9 & 10

Week 9:

In the ninth week of Environmental Health we discussed Advocacy in Health Education. As a class we got into three different groups and gave a short presentation. Our groups topic was Advocacy which by definition is active promotion of a cause or principle, it involves actions that lead to a goal, a way to approach a problem, and can be used as part of a community initiative. Advocacy is not a direct service and does not always involve conflict or confrontation. Therefore, our group got up and showed the class one example of advocacy and one example that was not advocacy. Our example of advocacy was people blocking a forest from a bulldozer, in order to save the trees. Our example of what advocacy is not was people building a house, such as what you might see on Extreme Home Makeover. We also discussed what we will be doing for the rest of the semester for our advocacy projects.

Week 10:

In the tenth week of Environmental Health we watched a movie called Unnatural Causes - In Sickness and In Wealth. This movie talked about the connection between health, money, and race. The movie had many interesting facts such as the United States is the 30th country of life expectancy, this means that our country is behind many other countries in living longer lives. It would seem that with all the technology and medicines that our country has available we would be closer to the top ten. Another fact given from the movie was that college graduates live on average two years longer than high school graduates. Another interesting fact was that our country spends $2 trillion on medical care per year. There are 47 million people in the United States without health insurance, although some chose this option but others simply cannot afford it. Overall, I found this video to have a lot of useful information that helps me to look at things from many different perspectives. It is always important to understand that data is interpreted in many different ways and that you should look at the data and interpret things for yourself.

Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change Week 7: Weekly Update

 SMART Goal:
My SMART goal is to use a reusable water bottle instead of a plastic water bottle everyday for the rest of the semester and hopefully the rest of my life.I was able to achieve my smart goal because last week because I used my reusable water bottle every day of the week! I also achieved my goal of doing other peoples goals. I also was able to complete others goals. 

Successes and Challenges:  

 I was successful in completing my goal for the week. I also had one day of using four sheets of toilet paper. I walked to school one day last week and felt very good about it, I also saw a few deer along the way! I was not very successful in eating less red meat. This weekend when I was home my mother made a large bowl of chili and sent some back with me to Duluth.

Feelings:

Right now I am a little frustrated because when I went to add a picture it deleted my whole post and then saved it right away so I lost my entire post. Other than that I was feeling pretty good about all my progress for the semester. I was also slightly disappointed because it was only last week that I said I don't drink a lot of pop. However, when I was going home last week I started to get tired, I stopped for gas and also stopped for a can of pop. At least it was a can and not a bottle, there is way less pop in a can than a bottle.

I Learned:

I learned that if I don't have fresh fruits and vegetables at my apartment I don't eat as many and go for a different snack which is usually something that is not as healthy. When I was at home because we had a lot of fruits around that was what I snacked on instead of junk food.

Next Week:

I plan to continue my goal as planned. I also plan to take at least two showers both in 5 minutes or under. I don't think I will walk to school this week as I have to get there at 8am and it is usually pretty cold that early. 


Blogged for the Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change Week 7 hosted by Amy@Eco-Chic with Amy

Advocacy Project: Healthy People/THOMAS

Healthy People 2010 Goal of Interest
I chose to do my advocacy project on the Access to Quality Health Services 

Objective: "To reduce the proportion of families that experience difficulties or delays in obtaining health care or do not receive needed care for one or more family members" stated by Health People 2010

Target Goal: 7% 
Baseline: difficulties or delays in health care occurred in 12% of families and thus these families did not receive the needed care. This information was from 1996, over 13 years ago .

Progress Quotient Chart
Using the Progress Quotient Chart for those with difficulties or that delay in obtaining the needed health care, is moving towards its target, currently  at 20%. This percent was calculated by taking the most recent value minus the baseline value divided by the year 2010 target minus the baseline value, all multiplied by 100 to get this percentage. The most recent year this was tracked was in 1999, which makes the data about 10 years old.

Opportunities and Challenges 
 As many as 47 million Americans are without health care, which is about 15.7% of the total US population. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) reported that as many as 18,000 deaths per year are linked to that person not having health insurance. Most who are uninsured delay treatment for health issues or do not have a regular physician, this results in poor health and increased costs when they do seek treatment. By educating people on the need for seeking treatment you can reduce some of these issues. Challenges then begin to arise as people get older because they sometimes end up in a long term care facility, which Medicare does not always cover in full. This puts the remaining costs on the person staying in the home or their family. This results in a greater demand for home health care and more challenges in meeting the target.


Disparities
White non-Hispanic had the best rate within race and ethnicity, followed by Black non-Hispanic and America Indian or Alaska Native at a most favorable group rate but without having all criteria met. Males had the best rate within gender, followed by females with a 50-99% rate difference from males, females also have an increase in disparities by 10-49 percentage points. Middle/high income, urban or metropolitan, and persons with disabilities had the best rate within income, location, and disability.

Emerging Issues
Primary care and preventative care are current issues surrounding health care. To improve on preventative care The Medicare Prescription Drug Improvement and Modernization Act added treatment for cardiovascular screening blood test and diabetes screening tests. Another issues are that when people do seek care they go to the emergency room, there are long waiting times which make some people leave before receiving treatment. Long term care is another issue that include workforce issues; such as who is going to take care of those in long term nursing homes as our baby boomers get older. Insurance is another big issue, who is going to cover long term care for elders who need someone to care for them 24 hours a day. 

H.RES.271 : Health Care Reform Referred to House subcommittee
Title: Recognizing the need to support the development and enforcement of a well-informed national long-term care strategy to solve the problems of cost, quality, and access to long-term care in the home and community, and the imperativeness of including long-term care in the comprehensive health care reform agenda. 
Sponsor: Rep Hastings, Alcee L. [FL-23] (introduced 3/19/2009) Cosponsors (24)
Latest Major Action: The latest major action was taken on May 14, 2009 in which it was referred to the House subcommittee. The current status is that it is being referred to the Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions. 
Recommendation: Vote Yes, for H.RES.271:Health Care Reform Referred to House subcommittee.
My Political Representative on this is Congressman John Kline.