Megan Hunt
Health Educator,
Little Rock, AR
501 661
2432
Top Five Public
Health Issues in Little Rock, Arkansas
The representative
from the Arkansas Department of Health gave some very broad topics to count for
their five top focuses of public health in Arkansas. Here are the Top Five Public
Health Issues in Little Rock, Arkansas:
1.
Diseases and Conditions – This issue includes everything from flu shots,
to HIV, to chronic disease. I am taking a nutrition class on the prevention of
chronic disease, and I thought it was very interesting to hear that some of the
things I know to be “chronic diseases” are referred to as “conditions” in
Little Rock. Cancer and obesity are “conditions” in Little Rock. While all of
these sub-issues (immunizations, Cancer, HIV etc.) are necessary to address,
obesity is the most prevalent of these “diseases and conditions” and Public
Health interventions would do well to focus there. I wonder if referring to
obesity as a “condition” makes people living with obesity more receptive to
public health intervention.
2. Family
Health – There is a strong emphasis in Arkansas to influence public health
through the pressure of the grassroots base of their communities – families. The
stance is that family life is where health begins. Because of this, there are
many programs and interventions that work though family behaviors. Children’s
health, maternal health, nutrition and even tobacco interventions are focused
through the family. “If we have healthy families, then we have a healthy
community.”
3. Injury,
Violence, and Safety – This issue not only covers physical health, but mental
health as well. The Little Rock Department of Health works through many
programs in an effort to lower occurrences of injury and violence. This
includes domestic abuse, school bullying, and community safety. Little Rock
participates in the Arkansas Trauma Registry, which is a record keeper of
injury that comes through hospitals in Arkansas. The records and statistics are
used to track and prevent further injury/abuse and improve the health of the
community.
4. Environmental
Health – In every place, people are affected by the environment they live in.
For this reason, environmental health is one of the top five public health
issues in Little Rock. This area of focus includes water sanitation, waste
control and plumbing, engineering, and chemical management (to name a few). The
design and maintenance of a healthy environment is rarely recognized for its
significance. Public Health officials love health conscious civil engineers! Little
Rock has done fairly well in this public health focus.
5.
Emergency Preparedness and Response – I found the focus of this issue interesting!
Landlocked and not on a terrible fault line, the main emergency this community
would face would be if their nuclear reactors were to somehow become an issue. Public
Health has a solution for that! Public Health officials focus on Community Preparedness,
Radiologic Emergency, Nuclear Planning, and Strategic National Stockpiling
(SNS). Now we hope their reactors don’t explode, but if they do, the Arkansas
Department of Health has a procedure for that.
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