Hello again!
This week everyone in the introduction to public health class will be blogging about the same topic. We were all assigned to read an article from the MMWR weekly titled “Ten Great Public Health Achievements – United States, 1900-1999”. The article talks about exactly what the title implies: the greatest achievements of the 20th century in the field of public health. The purpose of this article was to emphasize the major contributions of public health and the huge impact that they have had on health in the past one hundred years. Some of these accomplishments listed include vaccination, control of infections diseases, decline in deaths from heart disease or stroke, and the recognition of tobacco use as a health hazard (something I touched on in my blog last week!)
One of the achievements that really resonated with me was the improvement of motor vehicle safety. The death rate due to motor vehicle accidents has dramatically decreased over the past century. The improvements that we have seen include safer cars, safer highways, and a major movement to shift personal behavior. The article mentions increased use of seat belts, use of child safety seats, wearing of motorcycle helmets, and decreased prevalence of drinking and driving. One of the reasons that I thought that this specific accomplishment was so interesting was because it was mostly due to a change in public opinion. I’ve spoken with both of my parents about this before and they have always said that when they were my age most of the cars didn’t even have seatbelts and even if they did it was not a priority of the driver or any of the passengers. This has always been so strange to me because ever since I can remember, putting on my seatbelt is the first thing I do when I get into a car. This change in attitude can be attributed to the steep decline in deaths related to motor vehicle accidents.
But, according to the CDC website, motor vehicle related injuries are the leading cause of death for people ages 1-34. This shows that while great strides have been made, there is still a lot that can be done. One of the greatest concerns today is teenage drivers. Teenagers, compared to adult drivers, are much more likely to speed, ride in a car with an intoxicated driver, or drive drunk. As a teenager myself, I have seen that this in fact is true. In my opinion, this is something that needs to be addressed and focused on more heavily.
As for other achievements in the realm of public health that were not mentioned in the article, I think that increased knowledge about the extreme importance of mammograms is a big one. When I was in 8th grade, my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. Luckily, the doctors found it extremely early and were able to remove the cancer without having to do a mastectomy. But had it not been for her strict discipline in getting a mammogram every 6 months, who knows what would have happened. Public health is all about prevention and that is exactly what a mammogram is intended to do!
I hope everyone enjoyed my blog this week! Make sure to check back next week for another post!
Excellent discussion. I agree that changes in attitudes towards seat belts contributed a great deal to the reduction in deaths from motor vehicle crashes. One of the things that changed attitudes was the implementation of seat belt laws. In the past, it was legal to drive without a seat belt, but that is no longer the case. This was the single most important cause of attitude change. I also agree that focusing on teen drivers with their increased risk of speeding and drunk driving is appropriate. Can you think of how we might change this?
ReplyDeleteMammography is indeed a great medical achievement, and it is an example of secondary prevention. However, it is important to keep in mind that all screening tests have "false positives", that is, the mammogram might show a cancer when actually there isn't any. This can cause a lot of anxiety in the patient, and can lead to unnecessary tests, such as biopsies. So it is critical to target mammograms at the appropriate group (for example, you would never encourage 18-year-olds to get a mammogram). I'm glad that it worked out well for your mother.