Blog # 15

The concept of Work Life Balance has always existed, it just wasn’t until recently that experts put a name to it. Employment has been traditionally thought of the means to which you support your personal life, with Work Life Balance principles employers can now gain competitive advantage from creating a more symbiotic relationship with a persons home and work. This allows for lower stress in the work place and greater enjoyment in the home. The results of this are increased performance in the work place and great repertoire for self. As this is difficult to establish in any industry and this is very true with recruitment agencies. major concept of Work Life Balance in employment is that the employer gives the employee the ability to handle their responsibilities in and out of work while generating self worth. This can be done by a multitude of ways:
Flexibility
Achievement
Enjoyment

Blog# 14

The main factor, I believe, that can reduce the risk of assault is Sexual Awareness, and this being a major issue in the Society, Should be taken a little more seriously. "Every two minutes, somewhere in America, someone is sexually assaulted." A scary notation, but what is the scarier is that it is actually is a fact. In 2000, there were 261,000 victims of rape, attempted rape or sexual assault. Of these 261,000, 114,000 were victims of sexual assault, 55,000 were victims of attempted rape, and 92,000 were victims of completed rape. (2000 National Crime Victimization Survey. Bureau of Justice Statistics). But actually what is more shocking than those statistics is the fact that "72% of rapes/sexual assaults are not reported to the police. Those rapists, of course, never serve a day in prison." [1999 NCVS] This doesn't mean what these rapists did was okay; it means those rapists continue to go about stalking and finding other individuals to take advantage of. Sexual assault is a big problem in our country. Most victims of sexual assault are women.
Similar to sexual assault there are several other types of abuse and each type affects people differently. There is child abuse, spousal abuse, physical and mental abuse.
Spousal Abuse is a rising issue today in the United States. Spousal Abuse affects individuals of all social classes and gender and both males and females are victims of spousal abuse. Abuse of men is not a topic commonly known or discussed in our society as easily as abuse of females for various reasons. However it is a topic that needs to be examined so men who are being abused know they are not alone and society treats it as problem and not over look it. Bedsides the individuals directly involved it also affects children, other family members and friends that surround them. More than five million people are battered every year alone in the United States. (Business Wire) It is estimated that in ever year, violence occurs in sixteen percent of all relationships.

Blog # 12

STOP DRUG ADDICTION

The U.S. is spending money to stop drug abuse; this is called the "war on drugs". However, the methods used by the government are not working. . There are many proofs that the war on drugs is unreasonable. Some specific reasons that the war on drugs needs a new approach is that too much money is being spent every year compared to the number of problems solved, jails are becoming overpopulated by drug war victims, and people who have committed serious crimes do not have a place to occupy. Additionally, legal drugs that the government does not care about causes more problems than the illegal drugs they are fighting. The U.S. should find different ways to fight the war on drugs.
we often believe that the drug addicts should be sent to rehabilitation facilities in order for them to over come the need of drug but it is not suitable for all cases. Sometimes people tend to get more agitated after the rehab procedures.If not negative results pursue, then the process can be followed. If not, the victims should be sent to prison.
I believe that the person who are involved in the import and export of drugs, should be charged and should be imprisoned.

Blog # 12

Schizophrenia: A Mental Illness.

According to National Alliance on Mental Illness [NAMI], (2007), "mental illnesses are medical conditions that disrupt a person's thinking, feeling, mood, ability to relate to others, and daily functioning." Mental illness can affect anyone at anytime in his or her life and mental illness can cause a person to take his or her own life depending on which type of mental illness the person has developed. There are many people who could successfully be treated for his or her mental illness but the person refuse to seek help and this makes the person's situation worse. I can relate to this belief because of my personal encounter with Sunny, who was in the high school tennis team along with me. I remember his talking about his mother most of the time, and I mistook it as just another parent-child rivalry. He seemed frustrated all the time, and having only his mother with him made him not want to go back home. Since we were unaware of medical affiliation with diseases, we didn’t quite want to understand her situation. Later after high school was over, I met him after 2 years and asked him about the both of them. Then he concluded stating that, he had schizophrenia and that she had committed suicide just few months ago.
Schizophrenia is a most misunderstood disease. It will affect one in every100 Americans during their lifetime, yet too often it is hidden in the closet by families and ignored by professionals. A revolution is underway, for schizophrenia is emerging. Schizophrenia is now known to be a disease of the brain and is not caused by any guilty acts or failures of the patient. Like diabetics, schizophrenics may be able to control their symptoms with medication.

Blog # 11

The impact of "Chronic diseases" on women in the US.

Chronic Diseases has had its toll on the yesteryears of society and of today’s society as well. Society has battled with many different chronic diseases and will still battle with some chronic diseases until the end of time. Hopefully, researchers will find the answer to the equation of eliminating many chronic diseases that are able to cripple a nation. This paper will define osteoporosis, explain the risk factors and incidence of osteoporosis, will list symptoms of osteoporosis, describe the impact of nutrition and exercise on the prognosis of osteoporosis, and lastly, list the prevention strategies and treatment options.
In defining osteoporosis, this “is a disease that causes weak bones that break easily” (FDA, 2005). "Osteoporosis leads to an increased risk of fracture. In osteoporosis the bone mineral density (BMD) is reduced, bone micro-architecture is disrupted, and the amount and variety of non-collagenous proteins in bone is altered. Osteoporosis is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) in women as, “a bone mineral density 2.5 standard deviations below peak bone mass. The term "established osteoporosis" includes the presence of a fragility fracture and is most common in women after menopause, when it is called postmenopausal osteoporosis, but may also develop in men, and may occur in anyone in the presence of particular hormonal disorders and other chronic diseases or as a result of medications, specifically glucocorticoids, when the disease is called steroid- or glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis (SIOP or GIOP).
Osteoporosis is a significant health problem that affects more than 25 million women in the United States and potentially 200 million worldwide. This disease is characterized by diminishing the structure of the skeleton (particular the "spongy" bone). This results in an increased risk of fracture. Osteoporosis develops silently over a period of years, eventually progressing to a point where a fracture can easily occur causing pain and disability. This disease is characterized by low bone mass and structural worsening of your bones, leading to bone fragility. There is an increased chances of damaging the hip, spine, and wrist.
Twenty-five million Americans are affected by Osteoporosis, making it a major public health problem. 80% of those affected by osteoporosis are women. One out of every two women and one in five men have an Osteoporosis-related fracture.

References:
Merck & Co.The impact of osteoporosis [videorecording]: personal stories
Current topics in osteoporosis / editors, Hong-wen Deng. Imprint Singapore; Hackensack, N: World Scientific ; c2005.

Blog # 10.

Is heart disease common in your family? What are some of the environmental, physical, cultural, socio economical, and educational factors that impact the prevalence of this disease?
It was back in the year 1998; I sat on the foot side of my grandmother’s bed and had “the conversation” with her. It was a cold February winter where she laid tucked in inside of her warm cozy blanket and I sat next to the fire place by her bed and listened to her living styles in the past as though it were a fairy tale. She told how she walked for days just to reach the other part of the town, or to reach the city since there weren’t any vehicles or any means of gas emitting vehicles. Her diet would generally be fresh vegetables with only a day/two per week intake of meat. The people back then hardly got sick you know, she exclaimed. “And since we don’t get sick too often, there wouldn’t be a chance of us taking medication.” It barely got to my understanding as in what context was she trying to refer me. I didn’t quite get it then, as I was too young to understand the real essence of her words, until now. My grand mother lived for 88 years, not having many complications except for the old age syndrome.
Thinking about she said and linking it to the present living standard of my family- in particular, I can conclude stating that majority of our lifestyles are heavily influenced by technology. With the influence of technology, in spite of coming from a rather, a developing country, I still sense the difference between the past and now. My family has a very less risk to cardiovascular disease; I believe the factor that prevented the cause of the disease in entering our chain is because of the health living environment we stayed in. Since, I come from a high context cultured country; everything that becomes an output of the family is a cause of the family’s environment influence. The eating habit, inducing healthy ways of living such as out door activities, and the psychological factor are major factor that contribute in preventing or inducing the risk of heart disease.

Blog # 9

Body weight is a major area of concern for many Americans. Not many men and women know what to believe about body weight because we are receiving countless mixed messages from the media, medical industry, food industry and much more. One industry will promote weight loss products whereas another will push products onto consumers that will produce weight gain. The public receives so many messages about body weight, yet none coincides with one another.
The problem with the clothing industry is that most pieces of stylish clothing are designed to fit a smaller person. In a department store, sizes basically range from small to large. There is no extra-extra large and so on. A person would need to go to a specialty store in order to find larger sizes. Having these incidences in the present time, people are indirectly influenced about cutting down their weight even though there is not much necessity of it.
With eating disorders on the rise today, the media plays an important role in affecting self-esteem, leading a large amount of young adults to develop eating disorders. Many adolescents see the overbearing thin celebrities and try to reach media's level of thinness and ideal body weight. "Sixty-nine of the girls reported that magazine pictures influenced their idea of the perfect body shape" (Field). Not only is being thin associated with other positive characteristics such as, lovable, popular, beautiful, and sexy, but being overweight is connected with negative characteristics like fat, ugly, unpopular, and lazy. Therefore media is the distinct social pressure of operating to influence people to be thin and causing eating disorders.
It was fashionable to be fat throughout most of history. Obesity was attractive because it was considered to be a sign of wealth. Those who could obtain enough food to keep themselves and their family well fed were people with money. In the past century, however, food has been abundant in most of the developed nations, and thinness has become fashionable. Eating disorders have increased significantly over the past thirty years.
The two most common eating disorders include anorexia and bulimia nervosa. Anorexia nervosa is a disease in which women become very self-conscious about their weight and have an intense fear of becoming fat. They go to such extremes as starving themselves in order to keep thin, and some use additional methods such as vomiting, taking excessive amounts of laxatives, or exercising profusely. Bulimia nervosa on the other hand is an eating disorder in which the patient eats large amounts of food in a short period of time, also known as binge eating. Media is a very important aspect of life in our culture. Around 95% of people own a television set and watch for around three to four hours per day (Herr). Each type of media has its own purpose, to entertain, persuade, and change.

Blog # 8

Exploring the views of menopause from a different cultural perspective.

In the United States broadly speaking, it is conventional to perceive psychological and social factors of menopause. Many women are victims of health care system where their symptoms regarding pre-menopause are not taken into consideration. In fact according to an article posted in Discovery health it was stated that, “had to deal with the negative consequences of the “it’s all in your head, dearie.” syndrome.” Consequently, in countries like Australia, a psychological syndrome doesn’t seem to be much detested. It is part of an integrated, or "multidimensional," approach to Woman's health care. This does not mean that the biological aspects of the transition should be ignored; the biological characteristics and phenomenon cannot be voluntarily eradicated from a woman’s total psychological and social well-being. Menopause across Cultures the type and prevalence of symptoms women exhibit during pre-menopause and menopause are often related to cultural background. For instance, the hot flash is the most common symptom of Western city dwellers; however, hot flashes are so uncommon in Japan that there is no Japanese word for it. Various hypotheses have been speculated from researched as to why Japanese women do not have hot flashes. One hypothesis is the Japanese diet, which is replenished with vegetables and soy which provides some measure of prevention. Another hypothesis is that Japan's cultural respect for older people makes the menopausal transition more comfortable for women; the menopausal woman, then, is moving into a place of honor, rather than being pushed aside into a place of invisibility as frequently occurs in Western youth-oriented cultures. Research has found that when women hold roles that they consider important, they have fewer symptoms of menopause. This latter hypothesis might look good at first glance, but it is not the case, as claimed widely over the Internet, that Japanese women have no symptoms of menopause. Their symptoms are merely different. Woman's fears and concerns about menopause also vary by culture. Muslim Arab women fear a loss of their spouses' sexual interest when they can no longer have children. Near Eastern Jews worry about a loss of physical health; European women worry about their mental health. American women fear losing control of their emotions and becoming emotional wrecks. Regardless of culture and country of origin, all women the world over will experience menopause should they live to that point in their lives. It is interesting to consider the differences in menopausal symptoms, and to glean information from the research that might help any woman manage this transition in a life-affirming way.

References: Vanda, Dr. (2008 , September 10). Woman's health center.

Blog # 7

A must read article:  Mortality Related to Sexually Transmitted Diseases in US Women, 1973 through 1992.

Authors: Ebrahim, Shahul H.

   Peterman, Thomas H.

  `            Zaidi, Akbar A.

   Kamb, Mary L.

Sexually transmitted disease seems to remain uncontrolled although millions of cases occur annually in the United States. The advent of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), which is also a sexually transmitted disease, has not altered this situation. The major portion of federal funding for sexually transmitted diseases is allocated to a search for an AIDS vaccine or cure. State health department funding for sexually transmitted diseases, although only a small fraction of the $1.3 billion AIDS research budget of the National Institutes of Health, is largely consumed by AIDS. A single adequately funded sexually transmitted disease control program that applies well-established public health principles for the control of communicable diseases would make sense. However, a consensus to develop and support such a program does not seem to exist in the United States.

A case-control study was performed in the year 1997, in order to assess risk factors for repeated sexually transmitted diseases. The study consisted of 101 patients who had had sexually transmitted diseases 3 or more times during their lives and 182 people who had no history of sexually transmitted diseases at all. The subjects all attended the City Department for Skin and Venereal Diseases in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, from June 1997 to April 1998. And as a result according to multivariate logistic regression analysis, sexually transmitted diseases repeaters, in comparison with the controls (the ones who didn’t have std), were older, more frequently divorced and widowed and without a regular partner, had more sexual partners and more sexual intercourse, and had more frequent sexual contact with people on the same day as meeting them. They also consumed alcohol, used sedatives and were prosecuted for criminal offences more frequently than the controls. The results of this study support the hypothesis that sexually transmitted diseases repeaters are different from their controls in terms of their behavioral and social characteristics.

Source: American Journal of Public Health;Jun97, Vol. 87 Issue 6, p938-944, 7p, 2 charts, 2 graphs

Should Pre-natal testing be a must?

In your opinion, why should prenatal testing be routine for all pregnant women? Please be very specific and provide examples.

First of all, an overview of what prenatal diagnosis is: In layman’s term,” Prenatal diagnosis” is a way of checking how the fetus is doing and if it has any problems. Years ago it was impossible to determine if your unborn baby would have any physical, mental or genetic condition. At that time parents could do nothing more then just wait for the end of pregnancy to see how their baby would be and what gender it would be. Technology has gone forward since that time and now there is a vast possibility for parents to know before hand any conditions that the child might have. However having this “weapon” in their hands does it mean that the parents should use it?
These methods test for diseases or other conditions such as gender. The main reason of its usage is because of birth defects and genetic diseases that might be very hard or impossible to cure and might even leave the newborn in a very difficult position for the rest of its life. On the other hand with regards to the respecting the ethics of technology and medicine, procedures like this should take place. The rate of increase of disease, with time has enhanced technology to build up means in order to protect the upcoming generation from being infected. If technology takes its stand for “preservation”, then, there would not be any chances of me stepping back from that decision.

I have heard and read a lot about Eugenics which is a social philosophy which advocates the improvement of human hereditary traits through various interventions. The goals have been to create healthier, more intelligent people, lessen human suffering and save society's resources. With relating to theories (which always sound optimistic and more improvising), majority of highly educated observers criticized that it was immoral and was based on or was a pseudoscience. Similar to eugenics, I believe that technology which was simple used to only detect the disease of the fetus has now taken an intervention to depleting the life in the womb, just for simple causes. Presently, prenatal diagnosis has been used as a justification for coercive state-sponsored discrimination and severe human rights violations, such as forced sterilization (e.g. of those perceived to have mental or social defects) and even genocide.

"A Matter of Dignity: Changing the World of the Disabled" is a wonderful book written by Andrew Potok. I would highly recommend you to read it.

She states, "I dislike prenatal diagnosis because disability is only one characteristic of a person's life, infant or not (169)." Although I agree with her, I still believe that this characteristic is time consuming, costly and emotionally draining and because of which many couples simply cannot take on the burden. I believe prenatal testing and diagnosis should continue to be used in order to help parents make an informed decision about their future.

In what ways could someone's culture, beliefs and practices influence contraceptive decision making? Provide thorough examples based on some of your readings and your own personal experiences. What were the beliefs about birth control/contraception within your own home and family?

The use of contraception was never as widely proclaimed and exhibited as it is now. The use of contraception has become a main-stream, that it is now "normal" for even teens to use these contraceptives. Schools promote the use of this once taboo practice of artificial birth control, and partake in the distribution of condoms amongst students. This is a clear example of how modern society and its practices can change the way people act morally and physically. It is indeed true, that culture, practice and traditions are subject to change. The practice of contraceptives 20-30 years ago was barely there and along with time we can see that use of it has practically influenced the society. Even though the practice has changed, there are still some chances seen with regard to the prohibition of the use of contraception.

Primarily, there are many Catholics who use contraceptives instead of family planning. This is not accepted by the Catholic Church, and is considered to be wrong. Catholics believe that sexual intercourse is a gift that was given to this earth by God, only to reproduce. This belief is clearly over looked by many people today, not only Catholics. Sex is used a tool for pleasure and to fulfill sexual desire by definition from a sex therapist. This indeed is a belief in modern places but in places with a conservative background, contraception is still prohibited. An individual's position on contraception can be influenced by many factors including cultural background, religious beliefs, and political positions. Each person makes their own decision, and is often passionate on their position feeling that their position is the only right one.

Cultural stances on contraceptive method of birth control issue vary greatly among the many peoples of the world. Many cultures out of which, the Navajo Indians are open minded about the methods used in contraception on the other hand there are many native Africans who belief that contraception is only a way to for a generation to weaken the culture and kill the future offspring. Besides religion, the factor that prohibits the use of contraception is unawareness. Educating and providing necessary supplies of contraceptive materials to remote un-educated, unaware localities could facilitate in the increase in the use of contraception and the reduction in the increasing population.

Sex education for teenagers.

1.Should sex education be taught in the nation’s public schools, and if so, what kind of education should be provided? (Abstinence-only? Abstinence-plus?)

With the sexual revolution and the discoveries of new diseases, parents and educators are at ever-increasing odds to what is the best way to educate children about sex. I personally have come across this question twice. One of this question was faced when I was back home (Which is Nepal) and one of which is in the U.S. I managed to come up with two different aspects of self opinion which is- I exclaimed with a genuine gesture as to the belief of not educating children about sex. I was molded by this belief because of the atmosphere I contained in. In a country I belong to, it is unethical to talk about sex with children who are considered to be very innocent and on talking or educating about sex could only influence them into following the path they have never heard of. Similarly, at another instance- with time, I realized my opinion differed from the primary one. I now believe that sex education “is advisable”, advisable, only because it should have an extent of the level of education being given.

With time, the gap in between generations’ is increasing, and the only way to fill in the gaps, in-order to protect and prevent the younger generation, is by understanding the youth mind and helping them think in a way that could prevent and prepare them when taking a step into the unknown. Sex education in public schools would help prevent spreading of diseases and pregnancies. An article from “The Washington post” emphasizes that “the rate of increase in teenage pregnancies has increased sharply in more than half of American states.” With regard to the statistics, there has also been an increase in sexually transmitted diseases. Therefore, sex educating children about abstinence and guiding them each step of the way can prevent teenagers from facing such consequences. Although this sounds simple enough, it is rather very difficult to do. There are cases in which parents are hesitant in talking and opening up with their children when it comes to sex. Therefore, the parents should first be encouraged to acknowledge their children up to the extent of sex education they want to give; the issue is the decision between parents and educators on what is the best way.

There are various massages being given to the children who are getting themselves into confusion, for example, “Just Do It”, “Just Say No” and “Just Wear a Condom”. The logo delivered is without proper guidance and clarification. It’s relieving a message to abstain but again says to use a condom. Messages like these have a big impact in the children’s choices, because with out proper guidance and good choices in education, children will make choices of the moment instead of the future.

Thus, Parents and sex educators should teach children about birth control, abstinence, if not- safe sex, because of the opposing morals, psychological and social dilemmas parents and teachers need to decide the best way, “choice differs”