SELECT A GLOBAL HEALTH ISSUE AFFECTING THE INTERNATIONAL HEALTH COMMUNITY NRS 428
SELECT A GLOBAL HEALTH ISSUE AFFECTING THE INTERNATIONAL HEALTH COMMUNITY NRS 428
Select a global health issue affecting the international health community. Briefly describe the global health issue and its impact on the larger public health care systems (i.e., continents, regions, countries, states, and health departments). Discuss how health care delivery systems work collaboratively to address global health concerns and some of the stakeholders that work on these issues.
Resources within your text covering international/global health, and the websites in the topic materials, will assist you in answering this discussion question.
A global health issue affecting the international health community is cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), especially heart disease and stroke. According to WHO (n.d.), about 17 million people die of heart attacks and strokes every year. Tobacco smoking is the leading cause of these deaths, a risk factor for coronary heart disease and cerebrovascular disease (n.d.). A sedentary lifestyle and unhealthy eating are also risk factors influencing CVDs.
The total burden of CVDs is illustrated in terms of disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) lost meaning healthy years of life lost. The disease burden in men is 6.8% of DALYs lost due to coronary heart disease and 5% by stroke (World Health Organization, n.d.). In women, the burden is 5.3% DALYs due to coronary heart disease and 5.2% due to stroke (World Health Organization, n.d.). Globally, the health care costs attributed to smoking-related illnesses lead to US$200 billion per year in a net loss. According to the US CDC (2019), more than 859,000 Americans die of CVDs every year. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the US, while stroke is the fifth leading. The two diseases lead to about $320 billion in health care expenses every year (2019).
The WHO (n.d.) Cardiovascular Program works to bring together organizations that can help prevent these diseases. The World Heart Federation helps people achieve longer and better healthy lives through prevention and control of CVDs in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) (n.d.). In the United States, the CDC Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention (DHDSP) collaborates with the government, public health, health care, and private sectors to improve prevention, detection, and control of CVD risk factors (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2019). Countries across the globe have enacted laws that work to reduce smoking through policies like high taxation, bans, smoke-free areas, and health warnings. The WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control works to minimize tobacco use in member countries.
References
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2019). CDC works to prevent heart disease and stroke and promote heart health. https://www.cdc.gov/chronicdisease/resources/publications/factsheets/heart-disease-stroke.htm
World Health Organization. (n.d.). Cardiovascular disease. https://www.who.int/cardiovascular_diseases/resources/atlas/en/
Shana Fogelman
Posted Date
Jan 7, 2022, 11:41 PM
Replies to Margaret Kamara
One global health issue that is affecting the international health community, and has been affecting the international health community since its first case in 1981, is HIV. HIV is a virus that is transmitted through certain body fluids that weakens the immune system by destroying cells that fight disease and infection, and can lead to the development of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, also known as AIDS (Global Health Policy, 2021). HIV is one of the world’s most serious health and developmental challenges. “Approximately 38 million people are currently living with HIV, and tens of millions of people have died of AIDS-related causes since the beginning of the epidemic” (Global Health Policy, 2021). Significant progress has been made over the past two decades where the number of people newly infected with HIV and the number of AIDS-related deaths have declined over the years, and the number of those with HIV receiving treatment increased to 25.4 million in 2019 (Global Health policy, 2021). Although improvements have been made, there are still challenges that continue to complicate HIV control efforts. Many people live with HIV or are at risk due to not having access to prevention, treatment, and care, and there is still no cure (Global Health policy, 2021).
In recent decades, major global efforts have been mounted to address the epidemic, and despite these challenges, significant progress has been made in addressing HIV. International efforts to combat HIV began in the first decade of the epidemic with the creation of the WHO’s Global Programme on AIDS in 1987 (Global Health policy, 2021). “Under Sustainable Development Goal 3, the global community agreed to aim to end the AIDS epidemic by 2030. However, while gains have been made, they have been uneven, and the interim “90-90-90” targets were missed. A United Nations. high-level meeting reviewing progress toward the 2030 goals will take place in June 2021” (Global Health policy, 2021). Working together with other countries helps to reduce the vulnerability of the population to illness and works to halt spread of health risks across international borders. “The CDC partners with other U.S. agencies and international organizations to prevent, detect, and respond to any threats regarding global health security; such as ongoing threats like HIV” (Green, 2018).
References:
Green, S. Z. (2018). Community & Public Health: The Future of Health Care. Retrieved from
care/v1.1/#/chapter/2
The Global HIV/AIDS Epidemic. (2021, August 9). KFF. https://www.kff.org/global-health-policy/fact-sheet/the-global-hivaids-epidemic/
