Rebekah Condon
MPH 6004
Written Assignment 4
The three major public health issues that are most relevant in the United States are: Opioid Addiction, Obesity and the Anti-Vaccination Movement. This essay will outline the problems and give examples of why they are relevant today.
Issue 1 – Opioid Use
Opioid use and its costs are problematic in the United States; it has epidemiological and economic consequences that are at epidemic levels. In 2015, drug overdoses claimed more lives than both car accidents and gun violence and rivaled the HIV/AIDS crisis at its peak (Park, 2018). Every day, more than 115 people in the United States die after overdosing on opioids (CDC, 2017). This epidemic began in the late 1990’s when pharmaceutical companies made claims that prescription pain relievers would not be addictive to patients. This led to widespread use and soon misuse rates began to climb. By 2017, 11.4 million people misused opioids; resulting in 42,249 deaths ("What is the U.S. Opioid Epidemic?", 2018). Opioid abuse causes an estimated $78.5 billion in the US each year accounting for loss of productivity, healthcare, addiction treatment and criminal justice involvement (CDC, 2017). There is a causal relationship between poor health and other factors such as low socioeconomic status, lack of opportunity, and below average living and working conditions (Dasgupta, Beletsky & Ciccarone, 2018). If this epidemic goes unchanged, it could cost upwards of $500 billion a year (LaMagna, 2018) and a countless number of human lives. This evidence outlines why opioid abuse is a problem in the United States and is one of the largest public health issues in recent times.
Issue 2 – Obesity
Obesity is responsible for 1 in 5 American deaths and is the leading preventable cause of death in the United States. (Blumenthal & Seervai, 2018) “The consequences of the obesity epidemic are: high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease and stroke” these ailments are not only killing millions of Americans annually, it is also a burden on the American health care system, “making up $190 billion a year in weight-related medical bills” (Gussone, 2017). There are a number of determinants to maintaining a healthy weight, lack of access to fresh produce or affordable and safe places to play or exercise are some environmental factors. Additional factors are gender, age, race, education level, socioeconomic status, and disability status ("Healthy People 2020", 2018). Researchers estimate that by 2030, “if obesity trends continue unchecked, obesity-related medical costs alone could rise by $48 to $66 billion a year in the U.S.” (Wang, 2011). The loss of life due to co-morbidities, cost and burdens associated with obesity as outlined above are why it is a relevant issue in public health today.
Issue 3 – Anti-Vaccination Movement
Due to mistrust in vaccinations because of a 1997 article linking the MMR vaccine to autism written by Andrew Wakefield, a record number of parents are choosing not to vaccinate their children (Bowes, 2016). This movement is detrimental to the overall health of the population because it creates unnecessary risk to our most at risk population, children. In 2017, there was an outbreak of measles at Disney World in California. Dr. James Cherry, a specialist in pediatric infectious diseases at the University of California Los Angeles, said the outbreak was “100 percent connected to the anti-vaccine movement” (“American Council on Science and Health", 2018). Previously, measles was successfully eliminated as a threat to the United States in 2000 (Schuchat, 2015). All U.S. states, except West Virginia and Mississippi, allow individuals to apply for religious exemptions to otherwise mandatory vaccines based “on their religious beliefs and objections” (CDC, 2018). Religious exemption makes up a small part of the population but continuously provides evidence of how devastating an outbreak can be among unvaccinated populations. For example, “in Philadelphia in 1990, a major measles outbreak occurred among unvaccinated school children who were members of two fundamentalist churches that relied on prayer for healing, and opposed vaccines” (Rodgers, Gindler, Atkinson, Markowitz, 1993). This outbreak lead to 6 deaths. Reintroduction of an eliminated disease is a step backwards in the health care field and creates cost burden that is unnecessary. In 2009, Whitney, Zhou, Singleton & Schuchat determined that “each $1 spent on vaccines, yielded $10 in benefits to society. The vaccinations from 1994-2013 will save society a net $1.38 trillion, both directly and indirectly.” (2018) The economic burden is the factor that makes this issue important. $1.38 trillion is 10% of the US GDP. That cost alone is a reason to make the Anti-Vaccination Movement a public health issue that requires attention and new policy.
Sources
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