On
Friday March 22, 2013, I spoke with Public Health Nurse (R.N.) Jodi Cattich
about five different public health trends as seen in my hometown, Denver,
Colorado. It was really interesting to learn about the things that she sees as
being the biggest issues regarding health today.
Mrs.
Cattich began by explaining how incredibly healthy Colorado is. Being the most
“fit state,” there is an amazing amount of emphasis placed on staying healthy
and participating in outdoor activities (such as 5ks, 10ks, triathlons, etc). However,
the top five public health trends she identified are teenage pregnancy,
sexually transmitted diseases, reported cases of cancer, increase in violence,
and the fight for women’s health.
Being
an R.N. and frequently working in the ICU, Mrs. Cattich has seen many births
resulting from risky behaviors of young teenagers and it only, “seems to be on
the rise.” In 2010, Colorado was ranked 35 out of 51 states for high teenage
birth rates. Mrs. Cattich has only suspected that that number has increased. In
schools, abstinence is taught instead of protection, which, according to my
informant, is less-effective at targeting the adolescent population: “If
they’re going to participate in that behavior, you have to supply them with the
information to do it in a safe manner, both for the child and the mother.” Overall,
Mrs. Cattich has seen the trend of teenage pregnancy throughout the Denver
area.
Second,
Mrs. Cattich stressed the second trend that goes hand-in-hand with teenage
pregnancy. She believes that, “sexually transmitted diseases have and probably
will always be an issue not just in Colorado, but throughout the United States.
You can only talk preventative, safety measures so much.” Though it is on the
decline (but barely noticeable, she added), it will still continue to be a
problem as long as teenagers are willing to participate in that high-risk
behavior.
Third,
Mrs. Cattich identified the trend of cases of cancer throughout the Denver
area. Being the “Mile High City,” Denver is at an elevation of 5,430’. Being so
high, people are more exposed to radiation and the sun’s rays. She stated that
even though Coloradians are statistically the most healthy, people pay the
price for it by the cases of cancer. Being in the sun all day, melanoma and
skin cancer are the most common forms of cancer seen today in Denver.
Fourth,
Mrs. Cattich stated that over the past few years, a spike in violence has been
put into affect. In the U.S., over 16,000 deaths occurred because of
intrapersonal violence. These acts of violence, both intrapersonal and public
notions of violence, have been put on the forefront of the political agenda because
of recent tragedies like the Aurora, Colorado and Newton, Conneticut shootings.
She stated the increased concern that comes from parents with such events as
these. She believes that reform is needed to help aid the decrease of this
public health issue.
Finally,
Mrs. Cattich explained that in 2012, perhaps one of the most prominent changes
was the fight for women’s health (and seen across the United States as well). Changes
such as the Violence Against Women Act and increased knowledge of breastfeeding
are seen as ways that women’s health is being improved. In Denver, though women
have incredibly good health, it is something “[they] are always working on.” Mrs.
Cattich expects that as equality becomes more of a reality for low-income areas
in Denver, the women’s health rights and statistics will improve as well.
Overall,
it was really interesting to interview Jodi Cattich on what she saw as the main
public health trends in the Denver, Colorado area. Some of these things I had
never even thought about as being a problem in the nice suburban neighborhoods.
She concluded that teenage pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, reported
cases of cancer, increase in violence, and the fight for women’s health were
the top 5 trends in Denver Public Health today.
No comments:
Post a Comment