MCOL PH300 Quick Assignments for Chapter 12 Fall 2020 - Muonago PDF

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Download MCOL PH300 Quick Assignments for Chapter 12 Fall 2020 - Muonago PDF

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PH300 Epidemiology Quick Assignments for Chapter 12 (These should be due on November 29. Because of the holiday weekend, this assignment is extended until December 6 at 11:30 pm). Quick Assignments 1-5 (Slide 52): Return to slides 4 and 5. You will see health issues and sub-disciplines from epidemiology listed on these two slides (10 total items across the two slides). Choose 3 health issues/subdisciplines from across the two lists. Try to choose at least one health issue (Slide 4) and at least one epidemiology sub-discipline (Slide 5) from each list. • Find a recent research study that discusses either the health issue (Slide 4) or the subdiscipline within epidemiology (Slide 5) and summarize what you found. Be brief (200250 words for each summary). You will have 3 summaries. • Begin each reflection by stating why you chose the health issues/sub-disciplines that you selected. ● Health Issue: ❖ Occupational health: I am currently a Certified Nurse Assistant (CNA) and the most part of my responsibility to my patients is lifting where I am required to frequently lift and/or move up to 50 pounds and occasionally lift or move 100 pounds. New research reveals that 60 percent of certified nursing assistants (CNAs) employed in nursing homes incur occupational injuries, which range from back injuries to cuts, black eyes, human bites and more. Work-related injuries are very common among CNAs working in nursing homes. Lifting, bathing or handling residents, resident aggression and accidents involving facility equipment led to the causes of injury among CNAs. Of those who were injured, 65.8 percent reported being injured more than once in the past year, 16 percent required a transfer to light duty work and 24 percent were unable to work because of their injury. While lifting residents is one of the most commonly reported causes of injury, the majority of survey participants reported having access to lifting equipment and using it regularly. In fact, the study found that the availability and use of lifting equipment did not significantly change the likelihood of being injured, once individual characteristics are controlled for. The surveys also showed that certain groups of CNAs were more likely to report injuries. These included new workers and those who changed jobs more frequently, received lower wages, worked mandatory overtime and felt they had inadequate time to provide personal care. In contrast, CNAs who worked in facilities where they felt respected, valued and rewarded for their work were less likely to report an injury. ❖ Screen-based media use: As a mother with two preschoolers, the amount of time they spend on their devices have been a major concern to me hence, I choose this health issue topic to research on. A new study documents structural differences in

the brains of preschool-age children related to screen-based media use. The study, published in JAMA Pediatrics, shows that children who have more screen time have lower structural integrity of white matter tracts in parts of the brain that support language and other emergent literacy skills. These skills include imagery and executive function, the process involving mental control and self-regulation. These children also have lower scores on language and literacy measures. The Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center study assessed screen time in terms of American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommendations. The AAP recommendations not only take into account time spent in front of screens but also access to screens, including portable devices; content; and who children are with and how they interact when they are looking at screens. Among the AAP recommendations: ● For children younger than 18 months, avoid use of screen media other than videochatting. Parents of children 18 to 24 months of age who want to introduce digital media should choose high-quality programming, and watch it with their children to help them understand what they're seeing. ● For children ages 2 to 5 years, limit screen use to 1 hour per day of high-quality programs. Parents should co-view media with children to help them understand what they are seeing and apply it to the world around them. ● Designate media-free times together, such as dinner or driving, as well as media-free locations at home, such as bedrooms. Among the key findings in the study: ● Higher ScreenQ scores were significantly associated with lower expressive language, the ability to rapidly name objects (processing speed) and emergent literacy skills. ● Higher ScreenQ scores were associated with lower brain white matter integrity, which affects organization and myelination, the process of forming a myelin sheath around a nerve to allow nerve impulses to move more quickly in tracts involving language executive function and other literacy skills. ● Epidemiology Sub-discipline: ❖ Sewage/Wastewater epidemiology: The use of sewage epidemiology to estimate the behavior of a large-scale population has mainly been used to assess illicit drug use within a community. Thus, sewage epidemiology can be utilized to obtain an early warning in a community to facilitate intervention for improvement of the community health. Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) is an innovative and promising approach which enables information about exposure to external agents and disease in defined population groups to be retrieved from wastewater via the analysis of human metabolic excretion products (called biomarkers). This approach is best described as a large urine test, as the collective wastewater represents anonymous urine samples of thousands of individuals. The WBE approach is based on the fact that human excretion products of external or internal bodily origin resulting from exposure to foreign chemical compounds (e.g., illicit drugs, food or environmental toxicants and infectious agents) are collected and pooled by the sewage system. This provides valuable evidence of the quantity and type of foreign chemical (or ‘xenobiotic’) compounds to which a population was exposed, such as protein and DNA biomarkers of cancer,

toxicants and the substances known as metabolites that they produce during digestion and other bodily chemical processes. For excretion products which are stable in wastewater and efficiently conveyed to the wastewater treatment plant (WwTP), it is reasonable to assume that the collective amount excreted in a given period is reflected by the load reaching the WwTP in the corresponding interval. Concentrations of biomarkers in wastewater obtained with sophisticated, sensitive and selective mass spectrometry techniques are used to back-calculate the mass loads of biomarkers (e.g. the parent xenobiotic compound and/or metabolites). These loads can then be used to estimate exposure, e.g. drug use (in amount/day), with knowledge of the drug metabolism and excretion patterns. Furthermore, by dividing the rate of drug use by the size of the population served by the WwTP, results can be normalized to population (i.e. mg/day/1000 individuals), allowing results from different locations to be compared. Although this concept is relatively simple, various factors influencing its reliability need to be fully understood before implementation on a large scale is possible. Among the most important factors are: human metabolic patterns of the investigated xenobiotic agents, characteristics of sewer systems (population size in a WwTP catchment, wastewater flow rate), and understanding the fate of biomarkers (e.g. stability, degradation, partitioning, or sorption in the sewer). Quick Assignment 6 (Slide 53): Why should any of us be concerned about the health effects of air pollution? Include in your answer information about air quality in Peoria, Illinois (Hint: Illinois EPA is a great resource and can provide information about air quality on a daily basis). The air quality index in Washington, IL on December 3rd at 7am is 28, which is on a fair scale. It is generally acceptable for most individuals. However, sensitive groups may experience minor to moderate symptoms from long-term exposure. Fine Particulate Matter are inhalable pollutant particles with a diameter less than 2.5 micrometers that can enter the lungs and bloodstream, resulting in serious health issues. The most severe impacts are on the lungs and heart. Exposure can result in coughing or difficulty breathing, aggravated asthma, and the development of chronic respiratory disease. The Air Quality Index (AQI) is used for reporting daily air quality. It tells you how clean or polluted your air is, and what associated health effects might be a concern for you. The AQI focuses on health effects you may experience within a few hours or days after breathing polluted air. EPA calculates the AQI for five major air pollutants regulated by the Clean Air Act: groundlevel ozone, particle pollution (also known as particulate matter), carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide. For each of these pollutants, EPA has established national air quality standards to protect public health .Ground-level ozone and airborne particles are the two pollutants that pose the greatest threat to human health in this country. The higher the AQI value, the greater the level of air pollution, and so the greater the health concern. Anything under 100 is considered satisfactory. When AQI values are above 100, air quality is considered to be unhealthy, at first for certain sensitive groups of people, then for everyone as AQI values increase. Quick Assignment 7 (Slide 53):

Identify and describe one surprising health outcome/condition that has been associated with air pollution. Cite your source (Hint: exacerbation of symptoms of asthma is NOT a surprising health outcome related to air pollution). The overwhelming majority of human epidemiological studies have found that people with higher exposures to air pollution have a higher risk of type 2 diabetes, type 1 diabetes, gestational diabetes, or obesity. This evidence includes long-term, longitudinal studies that follow people over time, as well as some experimental studies in humans, in which people were exposed to air pollution in a lab and experienced diabetes-related effects. Exposure to air pollution in the womb or during early life key periods of susceptibility appears to increase the risk of developing diabetes or obesity later in life. Laboratory studies on animals or cells show that air pollution exposures can cause biological effects related to diabetes/obesity, and have helped to identify the key periods of susceptibility and the mechanisms involved. Studies have also found links between air pollution exposure and the risk of diabetes complications, especially heart disease. Diabetes is a metabolic disorder caused by genetic and environmental factors that results in insufficient insulin secretion and impaired biological effects, and is considered one of the major contributors to the global burden of disease and premature death. In recent years, the prevalence of diabetes has progressed incessantly in both developed and developing nations. Furthermore, current studies indicate that air pollutants may be associated with impaired glucose metabolism, insulin resistance (IR), and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Air pollutants act first on the lungs and are deposited easily in the bronchioles and alveolar tissues after inhalation. Studies have shown that exposure to air particles can induce the release of cytokines and inflammatory factors, such as interleukin (IL)-8, IL-6, monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1), macrophage inflammatory protein 2 (MIP2), and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), which induce inflammation mediated by increasing levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) in the blood, reduce insulin sensitivity, and block the uptake of glucose in peripheral tissues, increasing the risk of T2DM. epidemiological evidence appears to suggest that the T2DM-related biomarkers increase with increasing exposure duration and concentration of air pollutants. The chemical constituents of the air pollutant mixture may affect T2DM to varying degrees. Experimental studies support the adverse effects of air pollution on T2DM through multiple molecular mechanisms, signaling pathways, and interactive effects. Given the massive global population that is likely exposed to air pollution, even conservative estimates of OR would still translate into a substantial increase in the population-attributable and preventable fraction of diabetes related to air pollutants. Li, Y., Xu, L., Shan, Z., Teng, W., & Han, C. (2019). Association between air pollution and type 2 diabetes: an updated review of the literature. Therapeutic advances in endocrinology and metabolism, 10, 2042018819897046. https://doi.org/10.1177/2042018819897046 Quick Assignment 8 (Slide 54): If you are currently employed, what type of occupational exposures do you have in your work? See if you can list and describe at least three. Being a student is considered to be employed. Home healthcare workers may be employed by a home care agency or may be self-employed independent contractors working directly for patients. They have little control over their work

environment which may contain a number of safety and health hazards. These hazards include bloodborne pathogens and biological hazards, latex sensitivity, ergonomic hazards from patient lifting, violence, hostile animals and unhygienic and dangerous conditions. In addition, if their daily work schedule requires them to provide care for multiple patients, they face hazards on the road as they drive from home to home. The unpredictable occupational environment of home healthcare places workers at increased risks for occupational exposures, injuries, and illnesses. Home health workers face an array of safety risks including overexertion, falls, car accidents and hostile pets that make their jobs more treacherous than those of their hospital counterparts. ● Bloodborne pathogens are microorganisms such as viruses or bacteria that are carried in blood and can cause disease in people. There are many different bloodborne pathogens, including malaria, syphilis, and brucellosis, and most notably Hepatitis B (HBV), Hepatitis C (HCV) and the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). ● Workplace violence: In the US, approximately 2 million workers are affected by workplace violence annually. Workplace violence in healthcare and social services occupations has been recognized globally as a major occupational hazard. Homicide is the number one cause of death in the workplace for nurses and employees in personalcare facilities. Almost half of all non-fatal assaults in US workplaces occur in the healthcare or social service industries. In the U.K., where a similar model of homecare is being implemented, assaults were among the top causes of workplace injuries resulting in 7 or more days of missed work in both the healthcare and residential care industries. ● Biological Hazards such as: ❖ Anthrax. ❖ Antibiotic/Antimicrobial Resistance in Bacteria and Organisms. ❖ Avian Influenza. ❖ Bed Bugs in the Workplace. ❖ Clostridium Difficile. ❖ Common Cold. ❖ Mold and Fungi. ❖ Blood and Body Fluids. ❖ Sewage. ❖ Airborne pathogens such as the common cold. ❖ Stinging insects. ❖ Harmful plants. ❖ Animal and Bird Droppings.

Quick Assignment 9 (Slide 55): Suggest reasons for the following trends related to unintentional injury deaths. a. Increases in poisoning deaths A poison is any substance, including medications, that is harmful to your body if too much is eaten, inhaled, injected, or absorbed through the skin.An unintentional poisoning occurs when a person taking or giving too much of a substance did not mean to cause harm. Carbon monoxide

(CO) causes the most non drug poisoning deaths in the United States. Household products, such as cleaning agents, personal care and topical products, and pesticides, are among the top ten substances responsible for poisoning exposures annually. Poisoning is a significant problem in the United States and is the leading cause of unintentional injury death, surpassing motor vehicle crashes. In 2010, fatalities from unintentional poisoning totaled 33,041.6 Approximately 2.3 million unintentional poisonings or poison exposures (predominantly nonfatal) were reported to poison control centers in 2011. While the majority of unintentional poisoning deaths in the United States are attributable to misuse and abuse of drugs, environmental substances, such as carbon monoxide and pesticides, also contribute to the poisoning illnesses and deaths occurring in the United States each year.1,2 Carbon monoxide causes the most non drug poisoning deaths (approximately 524 per year), especially among people over 65 years old and males.3,4 The majority of pesticide poisoning exposures are unintentional and occur in children under 6 years old or in adults over 20 years old. b. Decreases in motor vehicle traffic deaths Motor vehicle crashes are the second leading cause of death from unintentional injuries in the United States. In addition, the rate of motor vehicle crash deaths in the United States is about twice the average rate of other high-income countries. Interventions aimed at increasing seat belt and car seat use, reducing drunk driving and speed-related crashes, and protecting pedestrians can reduce deaths from motor vehicle crashes. 36,560 people were killed in traffic crashes in 2018, a 2.4% decrease from 2017. The decrease in traffic deaths came as people drove even more. Estimated vehicle miles traveled increased by 0.3% from 2017 to 2018, while the fatality rate per 100 million VMT decreased by over 3%. 2019 was the third year in a row with fewer traffic fatalities than the one before, but NHTSA's preliminary data for 2020 suggests more deaths per mile traveled, even with fewer cars on the road. NHTSA said the reasons include more risky behavior, like an increase in speeding and a lower rate of seatbelt use, as well as a higher likelihood of drugs or alcohol being involved. There's good news and really bad news in a batch of reports released today by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) focusing on motor-vehicle traffic fatalities in 2019 and the first half of 2020. The good news is that, overall, roads were safer in 2019 than 2018, continuing a three-year trend that started in 2017.

Quick Assignment 10 (Slide 55): Suggest reasons for the following trends related to unintentional injury deaths. a. Edging higher of firearm deaths Unintentional gun death occurs four times more often in the United States than other highincome countries. Research on these deaths typically has a narrow scope. We believe this is the first study describing the circumstances of these deaths in the United States that covers more than a single state or municipality. We use data on all unintentional firearm fatalities in the sixteen states reporting to the National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS) for all years 2005–2015. Our final count of unintentional firearm deaths in these states and years is 1260. The

detailed nature of the data allows us to categorize and compare the circumstances of the incident. We estimate 430 unintentional firearm fatalities in the United States per year. The rate is highest for older children to young adults, ages 10 to 29, and the vast majority of the victims are male. Common circumstances include playing with the gun (28.3% of incidents), thinking the gun was unloaded (17.2%), and hunting (13.8%). The victim is suspected to have consumed alcohol in nearly a quarter of the deaths and in 46.8% of deaths among those aged 20–29. Certain circumstances, such as consuming alcohol, playing with the gun, and hunting, are common settings for unintentional firearm deaths. Firearm safety instructors, firearm manufacturers, and firearm owners can all contribute to preventing these deaths. b. Increasing numbers of death from falls Globally, falls are a major public health problem. An estimated 646 000 fatal falls occur each year, making it the second leading cause of unintentional injury death, after road traffic injuries. Over 80% of fall-related fatalities occur in low- and middle-income countries, with regions of the Western Pacific and SouthEast Asia accounting for 60% of these deaths. In all regions of the world, deat...