Top 5 Public Health Trends of Santa Clara County, CA

Top 5 Public Health Trends of Santa Clara County in California

By: Amorette Zamora

Interviewed: Alma Estiva

Job Title: School nurse with a Public health nursing degree/certificate

Childhood Diabetes

As a school nurse Alma has seen a rise in childhood obesity within kids and adolescence. She has also been surprised to find that there have been a lot more kids with fatty livers, which is something more common with people who are older. Due to the lack of physical activity, TV watching and junk food she believes that is creating health problems for kids. Many kids are now having to monitor their diets and increase their exercise to control their weight or better their situation of Type 2 diabetes.

Lack of Health Insurance

The county in which Alma works is a fairly wealthy county, which has more resources than many other counties in California. She feels that many of the other poorer counties face the difficulty of people who are unable to afford health insurance. Because these people can’t afford health insurance many of them are using emergency rooms as a way to get treatment for various conditions that were already preexistent which actually makes the treatment and visitation more expensive.

Increase in STDs

Another responsibility Alma has as a school nurse is to teach a class to teenage girls about STDs and the consequences of high-risk behavior. She feels that promiscuity and sexual activity is beginning at even younger ages now. Because of the increase of sexual activity among teenagers many are contracting STDs and spreading them to their various partners. Health education is no longer a mandatory class for graduation in schools and so many kids are not receiving the education and instruction they need to make good healthy choices.

Increase in diseases brought in by other countries

In the Bay Area of California many people come in from other countries to work and to reside in this industrious part of California. With so many immigrants Alma has seen a rise in diseases such as Tuberculosis, whooping cough and Aids. It was recently made a requirement that all 7^th graders receive shots for TB, diphtheria and tetanus. They are hoping that as they vaccinate kids and adolescents it will decrease the chance of these diseases spreading.

Drug and Alcohol Use

Drugs and alcohol have always been an issue with adolescence but Alma feels that is becoming a problem more and more. In the richer high schools they are seeing that drug use is just as prominent of a problem as it is in the more poor high schools but the difference being that the richer high schools use more expensive drugs. They will find marijuana that is laced with other more expensive drugs and chemicals, and also other drugs such as ecstasy, cocaine and painkillers