Hadley Weiner- Health Trends in Las Vegas, Nevada

I am from Las Vegas, Nevada and was interested in knowing about the current public health trends in the area. Most of my family still lives in Las Vegas, so I wanted to know what they were up against. For this assignment, I interviewed my mom, Angela Weiner, who is a neonatologist. She reported the following public health trends in Las Vegas:

1.     Decreased immunization among children. My mom reported that parents are increasingly not getting their children immunized. A lot of parents assume that since diseases that once ran rampant haven’t been seen in years, there is no longer a need for their children to get vaccines for them. Furthermore, some parents let people who are not knowledgeable about the subject convince them that there is no need for vaccination and that it is dangerous. For example, Jenny McCarthy has convinced thousands of people not to get their children vaccinated because it will cause autism. If these viewpoints continue and parents do not get their children vaccinated, diseases we haven’t seen in years will reappear.

2.     Increased Pertussis. There has been an increase in pertussis among adults and children recently. It was once believed that adults were immune to pertussis and did not have to receive follow-up boosters. However, it has come to the attention of doctors that adults, indeed, need a booster to protect younger children from getting pertussis. In the NICU where my mom works, adults are required to get a pertussis booster in order to ensure that they will not give it to the fragile babies or children who are not completely immunized. This is an important issue because children can die from it.

3.     Increased incidence of syphilis. With an increase in syphilis among adults, there is also an increase in congenital syphilis. My mom put particular emphasis on syphilis in pregnant women. These women run the risk of giving the STD to their babies congenitally. It is not fair for an innocent child to get this disease when it can be prevented In order to decrease this trend, people need to be educated about the matter, receive treatment, and ensure that they are following up with that treatment.

4.     Tobacco use among adolescents. Although the use of tobacco among adolescents is decreasing, it still remains a major problem in Las Vegas. High school & middle school children still have easy access to tobacco. Interventions need to continue to take place in order to continue the downward trend. Such interventions include media campaigns, limiting advertisements and other promotions, increasing the price for tobacco products, and reducing the availability of tobacco products for purchase by youths. Regulations should be implemented to restrict the sale, distribution, and marketing of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products to youths.

5.     Increase of child abuse and neglect. Child maltreatment in Nevada reflects the general social, economic, and health conditions within the state and its local communities. There is a significant increase in child abuse especially among African Americans. African American children comprise about 8% of the Nevada child population, yet they make up 21% of the substantiated cases of maltreatment. This maltreatment is not primarily among foster homes but just an overall trend. Forms of abuse include physical abuse, neglect, sexual abuse, and emotional abuse.