Chapter 9: Elders

Chapter 9 discusses health of the elderly in America. “Today, more than ever, many people belong to multigenerational families where there are opportunities to develop long-lasting relationships with parents, grandparents, and even great-grandparents.” People are living longer than ever before. The United States is in the middle of a longevity revolution. The average person is expected to live to be 77 years old. There is also an increase in the elderly population because of the Baby Boomers; and the oldest of that cohort with be 65 in 2011. We are at the point in history when a significant portion of Americans will assume some responsibility for the care of their aging parents because there will be so many of them. An aging population presents the community with several concerns, which means legislators and taxpayers will be faced with decisions about how best to afford the costs (Social Security, government employee pensions, and Medicare) of an ever-increasing elderly dependency ratio.

Some factors in which the elderly population size is effected are fertility rates, mortality rates, and migration. Other variables effecting elders are their marital status living arrangements, racial and ethnic composition, geographic distribution, economic status, and housing. As people age, they become much more dependent on others, as reluctant as they may be about it.

In today’s society there are several stereotypes and myths about elders, many of them were covered in this chapter. One that we all admitted we thought was true was that old people are lonely and ignored when in fact they’re actually the least likely to be lonely of any age group; and those who live alone are likely to be in close contact, either in person, phone, or email with close friends and family. A few other myths such as: “life goes downhill after 65, old people are senile, and elderly no longer have sexual interest” were all busted.

We all agreed that we thoroughly enjoyed reading this chapter. One part we all mentioned were the myths/facts explained in the chapter which we liked reading about. While most of us in the group our comfortable with our grandparents and have built a friendly relationship with them others expressed how they’ve never gotten to know them on a personal basis and feel somewhat afraid of them.

Chapter 17: Injuries As a Problem

"The word injury is derived from the latin word for 'not right." This is certainly a proper term because the affect injuries have on the health of communities is all too correct.
There are two main types of injuries, unintentional and intentional.
The four characteristics of unintentional injuries are 1) they are unplanned 2) they usually are preceded by an unsafe act or condition 3) they often are accompanied by economic loss and 4) they interrupt the efficient completion of tasks. Unintentional injuries are also the 5th leading cause of death. Some examples of these injuries are motor vehicle crashes, poisonings, falls and others, such as fires and firearms. Some of the methods of prevention are education, regulation, and automatic protection and litigation.
Intentional injuries are things such as homicide, assault, and rape. In these cases, minorities and youth are the most at risk. Another issue in this category is family violence, including child and elder maltreatment.
As a whole, injuries play a huge role on the economic burden of the US as well. Each year, billions of dollars go towards the costs of these occurences. An example is $143 billion dollars for just fatal injuries alone. That number only makes up about 35% of the total money spent.

Our group was astonished by the numbers, and we enjoyed reviewing the statistics the chapter provided. Each day on the news, we here of things happening, but never really realized just how often. Having them broken down into categories really helped up to see the issues these incidents present to the communities.

Chapter 14 - Health Care System: Function

Chapter 14 covers health care services; how consumers obtain them, how the services are paid for, and who pays for them. In this chapter it also discusses the concerns for out health care delivery system - which is access, quality, and cost. While some current and potential solutions are examined throughout the chapter it also shows how the United States is the only developed country in the world without national health insurance. It evaluates two major means by which health care is delivered in the US - fee-for-service and prepaid health plans.
As a group, we agreed that we didn't think it was fair how the system is set up. There are many Americans who have health insurance; however, there are many American who do not. For example, younger, less educated people are less likely to have insurance as well as non-whites, men, and non-US citizen people. We all felt that doctors should treat patients for what they're sick with at the time, not look at their past medical history and decide if they're worthy of treating or not. America is a leading nation in many aspects but it's time to look to other countries and take a less from them on successful health care systems.

Chapter 13

This chapter discussed the improved procedures, equipment, and facilities, along with the increase in noncommunicable diseases in the 1940's that later led to a rise in the cost of health care. It talked about the health care delivery in the United States. The U.S. has created a medical entanglement that we as the citizens are born into. In many other countries the medical attention people seek is run and organzied by the government and is paid for, mostly by taxes. In these countries almost all citizens are entitled to receive health care services. Then, there is the U.S. whose health care is provided by an array of providers, in many different settings, under regulators, and paid for in many different ways. The main points behind this chapter are to open the reader's eyes and ask two important questions. How did we get to this point and when did it become ok to put the quality and life of some Americans more important than others? If everything is supposed to involve equality why wouldn't Americans be able to receive equal health care and medical attention in hospitals or doctor's offices when needed no questions asked.
When reflecting on the chapter, our group learned that as the cost of heath care was rising, it became to expensive for many people to afford. Around this time the debate over heath care being a basic right or a privledge in the U.S. came about. When the chapter continued to discuss the increasing heath care costs in the late 1960's and 1970's better heath care delivery began to be questioned. As for today, not many changes have occured. As a group we believe the U.S. heath care delivery systems need to improve and need to be considered for change.

Chapter 12 - Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drugs: A Community Health Concern

"It is difficult to argue with those who state that the abuse of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs is the nations number one community health program."
Not only is consuming drugs and alcohol bad for ones health, it also effects the people surrounding the individual and poses a problem on the community in general, both socially and economically. If not the number one problem in community health, it certainly is one of the most expensive with a total of $487 billion dollars spent each year.
When thinking of drug use, most people think of the most common being tobacco and alcohol, however prespcription and nonprescription drugs are also a cause for concern.
There are several factors that make some people more susceptible to drug use than others such as personal, home and family life, social and peer groups and sociocultural environment.
Whenever something poses a problem, a solution is always a work in progress. In this case, there are three different levels of prevention:Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary. The four principal elements of drug abouse prevention and control are, education and treatment, public policy and law enforcement. In addition, there are federal, state, and local agencies and programs that help enforce these measures.

Reflection: This chapter seemed to trigger alot of thoughts among "Fab Five." We all kind of came to the agreement that growing up in Maine, we didn't really realize how big of an issue drug use actually was. The statistics about how much money is spent each year, really blew our minds.
Something else we discussed was why alcohol was actually legal. You always hear on the news about a car accident involving the use of alcohol, and read countless names in the newspaper everyday for DUI. Whats worse is the media glorifying the use, and portraying that if you smoke or drink you are someone "invincible" and will look "cool." Overall, we were all very intrigued and the chapter provoked some great conversation in our group discussion.