Intro to Public Health
November 12, 2012
Salt Lake County Health Trends
I had the opportunity to interview Steve Souter, an
Emergency Room Physician in Salt Lake County. After speaking with him, the top five health trends and
concerns were:
Alcoholism
Salt Lake County has seen an increase in alcoholism over the
past few years. Dr. Souter talked
with me about how too many of his patients are becoming ill from the effects of
alcohol. Almost all of his
patients dealing with liver and kidney disease can trace the route of their
disease to alcohol. This is
something that is legal, so too many people don’t recognize the negative effect
it can have on their health. Salt
Lake County offers alcohol prevention and education to help people battle their
alcohol addiction.
Ownership of Health
According to Dr. Souter, one of the worst health trends he
has observed is the lack of ownership individuals feel for their health. Too many people are not taking responsibility
for their own actions. They want to blame someone else for their problems. People too often play the victim, and
find fault in others and want to be compensated. If we can help the public recognize that they are in control
of their health and the consequences of their actions, we could see less
preventable diseases.
Obesity
Dr. Souter talked about how he has seen the rise in obesity
since he began practicing medicine.
He talked jokingly about how we wants to write an article about the
“width of wheelchairs through the years,” and how when he began practicing they
were the size of a normal kitchen chair.
Now they have wheelchairs in the hospital that over 4 feet wide, wider
than they are tall. This observation
alone shows that we are battling an obesity epidemic in the United States. Salt Lake County has the “Weigh Active
and Healthy” obesity prevention program that promotes healthy lifestyles for
all the county residents.
Drug Abuse and Addiction
As an emergency room physician, Dr. Souter told me how on a
daily basis he sees the growing trend of drug abuse and addiction. Just today, he dealt with a patient who
was so addicted to heroine, the patient no longer had access to his veins. He also said that in Salt Lake County
there is a growing methamphetamine addiction problem. Too many of the diseases and sickness in this area are
preventable. If we can work to
educate the public, we can reduce a great deal of these problems plaguing our
hospitals.
Cardiovascular Disease
One of the current trends of concern in Salt Lake County is
that of Cardiovascular Disease.
Too many patients are being admitted into the emergency room and
hospital suffering from effects of this disease. Salt Lake County is putting programs into action to educate
people and fight this growing disease.
They have “Gold Medal Schools” which enable Salt Lake County schools to
implement physical activity programs.
Education is one of the most powerful tools to combat this disease, and
starting programs in the population at a young age can help make a positive
impact.
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