Camilla Gibson

MIAMI, FLORIDA

I lived in Miami, Florida for five years so, I decided to research the community health trends in that area. I spoke to John, who was an operator on the hotline of the epidemiology departmentin the Miami-Dade County Health Department. He was able to give me the five community health trends and their website where I would be able to find more information on each.       

            One of the health trends in the area right now is the preventing the spread of the mosquito that causes dengue. In Miami, Florida there is a high population of Haitians that come to this country in search of a better life. With  these refugees however, comes a risk of them bringing the Aedes mosquitoes with them. The Aedes mosquito is primarily responsible for the transmission of dengue. Dengue is characterized by a high fever, headache, joint pain, muscle or bone pain, rash, mild hemorrhagic manifestation (nose or gums bleed, easy bruising) and leukopenia. Although this illness is usually not life-threatening the Miami-Dade County Health Department strives to prevent it from becoming commonplace in their area. They educate doctors to make sure they are aware of the symptoms. They also offer free diagnostic testing to the patients that do have the symptoms and have recently visited Haiti so that they can inform the community before it becomes an epidemic.

            The population in Miami is very diverse so a community trend that the health department is always dealing with is health equity. They are striving to decrease the gap between racial and ethnic health disparities. Religion, socioeconomic status, gender, age, mental health, cognitive, geographic location are other reasons for discrimination or exclusion. The department is partially solving this problem through free tests and immunizations regardless of financial status when they are necessary. All children that visit their clinics can also receive free vaccines because of the Vaccines for Children (VFC) Program so that they are able to attend school.

            The Miami-Dade County Health Department partnered with members of the community have also created the Make Health Happen Miami initiative to tackle obesity and other health issues in the community. They are working to increase access to healthy foods by promoting farmers' markets and increasing the affordability of these foods in convenience stores in high-need areas. They promote wellness, active transportation and physical activity which in turn lead to a healthy lifestyle. Breast feeding is promoted to combat obesity in children. They also promote the safety of children through providing them with safe routes to get to school and child care centers.

            Although it is not hurricane season right now in Florida the Department of Health is always urging citizens to be prepared in case of an emergency. Since September 11, 2001 the state has focused on having a plan just in case the state comes under attack or evacuation becomes necessary for other reasons. The county health department has been trying to inform citizens of the importance of having a plan of what their individual family is going to do in the case of an emergency. They say that the family emergency plan should include a place to go, a pet plan and a disaster supply kit. The disaster supply kit should always be on hand just in case a quick getaway is necessary. It should include six basic necessities: water, food, first aid supplies and medications, clothing and bedding, tools and emergency supplies and important family documents.

            The Department of Health also offers health assessment for new refugees, parolees and entrants. The goal of Florida's Refugee Health Program is to offer protection of public health from communicable diseases through the review of overseas medical examination records, health screenings and immunizations. The health assessment helps identify and treat conditions that could keep these people from getting a job and is needed by all children entering public school. The mission of the program is to protect the health of the general population in the county by identifying eligible newly arriving refugees with communicable diseases and reducing the spread of these diseases in America.