Patient Care And Outcome Essay Example for Free

Patient Care And Outcome Essay As individuals, we are going to have different personal views and beliefs, towards issues that we are faced with in life. Every person has the right to think, write or say what ever they wish to, as long as their actions do not affect, harm or threaten any other person. However, when working within an institution involving care for the general public, your own personal beliefs and values can have an effect on how you will approach and act when faced with a certain situation. As a healthcare professional, it is of the utmost importance, that you are self aware and realise what your own beliefs and values are and not allow them to affect any other individual. We all have our own understanding of what is right and wrong, as everyone is different. As you grow and develop into life, your life and work experiences can make you judgemental also sinnical towards certain people and situations. The balance is to remain open-minded and not try to influence other people because of your personal beliefs. Working as a health care professional, means that you have to treat every person as an individual, no matter what their colour, race, gender, beliefs, values or actions may be. Allowing your own opinions or beliefs intruded on the care you give, could have very serious consequences on the patients healthcare and outcome. An example is, a nurse may have strong options about people who self harm and attempts suicide on a regular basis. The nurse may be faced with a patients who does just that and needs her nursing care, but the nurse thinks the patient is a time waster and looking for attention. This could leave the nurse in a dilemma, if her beliefs and options were that strong, she would need to evaluate her thoughts, step back and decide how she will give unbiased care. On being reflective, she would be using her self awareness skills allowing her to have an open mind and try to understand why the patient is doing it. However if the nurse allowed her strong options to be  known then the patient would feel very upset, maybe angry and uncomfortable, leading the patient to self harm again, creating a very unsafe, unsympathetic and awkward situation. The nurses behaviour would have a detrimental affect on the patient. The patient may act impulsive and aggressive, making the outcome a different one to what it should have been. For a nurse to behave in this manner is totally unacceptable also un professional. This shows that personal judgements made on a person, can affect the care and outcome given to that patient. In conclusion, it is imperative that as a healthcare professional, we do not impose our personal beliefs, values or opinions on any other person, we need to accept diversity and deliver the highest possible standard of care to every individual. Remembering that every individual has the right to be treated equally and with respect.

British Politics and Society Essay Example for Free

British Politics and Society Essay Between 1947-51, there was a considerable degree of economic recovery from the severe crisis of 1945-57. Nationalisation of key industries, and creation of the welfare state Ernest Bevins work as the Foreign Secretary ensured continuation of special relationship with USA and the formation of NATO After losing power in 1951, labour only had two terms until Tony Blairs landslide victory in 1997 History of British politics society between 1951 1997 was framed by Attlees govt and the beginning of Blairs administration. Trends Developments 1951 1973 sustained periods of employment relative popularity the long post-war boom 1973 1979 oil price crisis 1979 1990 Thatcherism, industrial unrest, and privatisation of nationalised concerns. Post-war years= extensive social cultural change, with emergence of a youth culture, the advance of women, vast developments in the mass media the growth of multiculturalism. Politics Govt 1951-64 was marked by dominance of moderate Tory govts under Churchill, Eden Macmillan Between 1964 79, it was a period of mainly Labour govts under Wilson Callaghan, interrupted by Tory govt, under Heath 1970 4. 1979 97 era of Thatcherite conservatism During those years Labour fell into decline due to internal divisions and the formation of SDP 1969 98 problems of security in N.Ireland Foreign Affairs Period marked by slow uneven retreat from empire, with further decolonisation. Continuance of cold war enhanced Britains special relationship with USA , whilst relationship with Europe grew more complex Britain joined EEC 1973 Section 1 Dilwyn Porter that of a post-war consensus that the sense of national unity, which developed during and because of Peoples War was continued and consolidated by Attlees government Legacy of war years Post-war consensus after WW2 Attlee, Churchill Eden worked together in war time coalition PMs until Wilson in 1964 fought in WW1 Tony Blairs background fitted in with Tory mould as well or even better than Heath Right-winged Tories argued that continuation of Attlee legacy was a tragic socialist mistake Left-winged Bevanites argued Atlee legacy not socialist enough Political Tensions labour was subjected to a series of intense internal divisions and personality clashes throughout post war history post war labour didnt move with the post war consensus west Germany 1959, key turning point when SPD reformed and dropped Marxist ideology for modernisation and democracy Thatchers successful rebellion against Heath in 1975 marked the conservative party s shift from the post war consensus Thatchers election success marked the degree of part divisions Politics Tories could hardly be called right winged in the 1950s Both Churchill and Eden made radical movements to alter the relationships between the government and the trade unions Steel industry was denationalised in 1953 No attempt to reverse what the labour government had done between 1945 51 Macmillan government did more to consolidate the post war consensus than to challenge it 1959 Macmillans government continued to follow centrist policies Economic Policy continuation of the post war consensus under the government was referred to as butskellism Butler was a key figure in the conservative party (chancellor of exchequer) and was a serious contender for leadership in 1957 Butler clashed with Bevan over the costs of the NHS 1963 Gaitskell became leader of the labour party Gaitskell had open feuds about with the left wingers in his own party especially over nuclear disarmament a key feature of butskellism was the ideas that Butler and Gaitskell had much more in common with each other than rival wings in their own parties Foreign Policy Foreign policy was a major element of the Attlee legacy and the post war consensus which was summed up as a commitment to maintain both the welfare state and national greatness An issue was the dissatisfaction of the alliance with the USA, and large scale commitments such as the independent nuclear war deterrent and anti soviet policies of the cold war Labour politicians were sensitive about the claims that the socialism was unpredictable and unreliable and they wanted to prove the opposite Bevan had battle with the left wing and communists during the thirties Bevan was a supporter of Churchill and was proud of his successes such as the formation of NATO and wanted to keep their special relationship in good repair Many left wingers werent happy with the policies but were never able to do over turn them Post war consensus was put under strain due to the Suez crisis Macmillan read the lessons of the affair and was quick to mend bridges with the US Macmillans wind of change speech led the way to rapid decolonisation across Africa Macmillan applied to get Britain in the EEC which got declined due to De Gaulle Under the government of Wilson is when Britain was accepted into the EEC The significance of the 1964 The labour campaign made much of the theme of modernisation Public mood of expectancy in 1964 , reflected the sense that 1960s Britain was going through fundamental social and cultural change There was no change in political direction, in 1964 the labour governments under Wilson Callaghan succeed in carrying on with their radical promises Labours policies werent that different from what the conservatives would have done and there was emphasis on the economic modernisation Why were the labour governments between 1964 and 1979 unable to achieve more success? When Harold Wilson came into power in 1964 optimism among the labour supporters was high, Wilson seemed to be a talented leader who had a wide support in the country

Quality of Life in Cervical Cancer Patients in India

Quality of Life in Cervical Cancer Patients in India Abstract Introduction: Cervical cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer among women in India. Understanding quality of life (QOL) in women undergoing chemo-radiotherapy for cervical cancer. It will help in introducing interventions for better care and outcomes in these women. This study assessed the QOL before and after chemo-radiotherapy in cervical cancer patients. Methods: This follow up study was undertaken at Dr. B.R.A Institute Rotary Cancer Hospital(IRCH), AIIMS, New Delhi, India. Sixty seven newly diagnosed women with advanced cervical cancer (stage 2b to 4b) were included to assess the change in QOL after treatment . Structured questionnaires on Quality of Life (The European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer, EORTC QLQ-C30 and EORTC QLQ-CX24) were used. QOL was assessed before initiation and after 6 months of treatment. Results The mean age of women at the time of detection of cervical cancer was 52.28 ±11.29 years (Range 30-75 years). Squamous cell carcinoma was found to be the most common cell type (97%). Six months survival was 92.53% The mean global health score of cervical cancer patients after six months of treatment was 59.52, which was significantly higher than the pre treatment score of 50.15 (p=0.00007). Physical, cognitive and emotional functioning (p Conclusions Recommendations QOL of newly diagnosed cervical cancer patients significantly improved following chemo-radio therapy. Enhancement was also demonstrated on three of the five functional scales of EORTC QLQ-C30. To further improve QOL, interventions focusing on social and psychological support and physical rehabilitation may be needed. Keywords: Cervical cancer; Quality of Life; Chemo-radiotherapy INTRODUCTION Cervical cancer is a major public health problem in many developing countries. Besides contributing significantly to mortality rates, it leads to the loss of productive life due to prolonged disability.1The absolute burden is expected to increase in future unless effective preventive measures are undertaken. Globally, cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women with nearly 528,000 new cases reported in 2012.2 Nearly 85% of the global burden occurs in the less developed regions, where it accounts for almost 12% of all female cancers. High-risk regions, with estimated (Age standardized rate) ASRs over 30 per 100,000 include Eastern Africa (42.7), Melanesia (33.3), Southern (31.5) and Middle (30.6) Africa. There were an estimated 266,000 deaths from cervical cancer worldwide in 2012, accounting for 7.5% of all female cancer deaths.2 Cervical cancer is one of the leading cancers among Indian women with estimated 123000 new cases and 67477 deaths in 2012.2Cancer is preventable and curable if detected at an early stage.The five year survival rate of cervical cancer when diagnosed at the earliest stage is 92% and the combined 5 year survival rate of all stages is71%3. It is currently believed that the persistent infection with one of the 15 oncogenic types of Human papilloma virus (HPV) is the central and necessary cause of almost all cervical cancers and its precursor, cervical intra epithelial neoplasia (CIN). A proportion of CIN, if not detected and treated, progress to invasive cervical carcinoma over a period of 10-20 years owing to the effect of other cofactors.4,5Unfortunately, despite the availability of methods for prevention and early diagnosis, many women in India have never been screened for cervical cancer. Though the diagnosis and treatment of cervical cancer has been developed, there are important consequences from the disease and its treatment among survivors, especially the impact on quality of life (QOL).Somefunctional disorders occur following therapies such as surgery, which involves the female genital anatomy affecting directly their perception of body image and sexual functions; radiotherapy which could damage the vaginal mucosa and epithelium; and chemotherapy which could induce various adverse effects like nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation, mucositis, weight changes and hormonal changes. Variouspsychological factors including low self-esteem, changes in self-image, beliefs about the origin of cancer, marital tensions, fears and worries can affect the patients.6 Need to measure QOL has become important due to broadening concept of measuring health status beyond traditional indicators such as mortality and morbidity.Assessing QOL is potentially valuable in identifying pa tients’ problems and discovering the challenges and planning for the health systems. Taking into account the impact of early screening methods on long term survival of cancer patients, studies assessing QOL and its related factorshave become critical.Limited studies have been done to evaluate QOL among cervical cancer survivorsdiagnosed in advanced stages. This studyassessed the QOL in such patients before and after treatment with chemotherapy and radiotherapy. MATERIALS AND METHODS This was a follow-up study conducted atDr. B.R.A Institute Rotary Cancer Hospital(IRCH), All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi.67 female patients who were diagnosed with cervical cancer attending IRCH between 1st January 2014 and 30th June 2014 were recurited. The inclusion criteria were all women who were newly registered and diagnosed cases of cervical cancer of any histological type and advanced cancer stages (2b to 4b). Critically ill patients, those not willing to give informed consent and those who underwent surgery and did not require radiotherapy and chemotherapy were excluded. All consecutive cervical cancer patients fulfilling the inclusion criteria during the six month period were eligible for recruitment. Quality of life of the study subjects was assessed using the questionnaires developed by the European Organization for Research and Treatment of cancer (EORTC) QLQ-30 and EORTC QLQ-CX24.7-11 a) EORTC QLQ- CX30 The EORTC QLQ-C30 is a questionnaire developed in 1993 to assess the quality of life of generic cancer patients. It has been translated and validated into several languages including Hindi and has been used in numerous studies worldwide. These questionnaires have been undergone extensive testing in multicultural and multidisciplinary research settings, and have been confirmed to be a reliable and valid tool. The EORTC QLQ C-30 questionnaire comprises of 30 questions assessing functioning viz. physical, role, cognitive, emotional, social; symptoms viz. fatigue, nausea and vomiting, pain, dyspnea, insomnia, appetite loss, constipation, diarrhea, financial difficulty; and a global health status score which assesses the overall QOL. b) EORTC QLQ-CX24 EORTC Quality of Life Group has adopted a modular approach to QOL assessment for overcoming the limitations of generic tool and for disease specific treatment measurements. Consequenty, modules specific to tumor site locations, management modality, or a QOL dimension have been developed that are administered in addition to the core questionnaire. The EORTC QLQ CX-24 is a complementary questionnaire specific for cervical cancer patients that consists of 24 questions categorized as functional scales viz. body image, sexual activity, sexual enjoyment, sexual/vaginal functioning and symptom scales viz. symptoms experience, lymphedema, peripheral neuropathy, menopausal symptoms and sexual worry. Both the tools utilize a 4-point response scale namely â€Å"Not at all†, â€Å"A little†, â€Å"Quite a bit† and â€Å"Very much† to assess each functional or symptom item, and a 7-point response scale to assess global health status ranging from very poor to excellent. These study instruments were administered to patients at baseline and again at 6 months to ascertain changes in QOL after treatment. Institutional Ethics Committee (IEC) approval was obtained from All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi prior to initiation of study. Prior to enrollment, written informed consent was obtained from patients after detailed explanation about the study. Patient confidentiality was assured and the study participants had the right to abstain from participation without affecting on the quality of care being provided to them. Statistical analysis Data analysis was performed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 18.Qualitative data was expressed in proportions while mean and standard deviation were calculated for quantitative data. The student’s t test and Chi square tests were used for comparing the characteristics of the study participants and the quality of life scores before and after chemo-radiotherapy. The scoring of the questionnaire data was performed according to the scoring manual. All scores were transformed to a 0-100 scale. For the functional scales, a good function was indicated by higher scores. For symptom scales, more severe symptoms were indicated by a higher score.10Ap-valueunder 0.05 wasconsidered statistically significant. RESULTS This study included 67 patients of advanced cervical cancer who met the eligibility criteria. Six deaths were reported during the course of study and 5 patients were lost to follow up. The final sample that was analyzed consisted of 62 patients and the quality of life was assessed in 56 patientsThe mean age of study participants was 52.28 ±11.29 years (Range 30-75 years).Squamous cell carcinoma was the most common cancer (97%) while remaining 3% patients were diagnosed with adenocarcinoma/ adenosquamous carcinoma. Majority (53.73%) of the study subjects were in stage 3b, 40% in stage 2b and remaining in stage 3a and 4a. Metastasis was present in only one patient.Combination of radiotherapy and chemotherapy was the most common (77.67%) modality of treatment. Nearly 12% of the study subjects were treated only by radiotherapy while another 10.45% cases received radiotherapy after surgery. Palliative treatment was given to four patients Six months survival among those who could be followed up was 92.53%.The global health score amongst improved significantly after treatment (p= 0.00007). The mean global health score of cervical cancer patients following treatment was 59.52, which was significantly higher than pre-treatment values of 50.15. [Table1] The patients quality of life of patients in the functional scales comprising physical, role, emotional and cognitive functioning improved significantly after treatment of cervical cancer (p= 0.012, 0.044, 0.000026, 0.00062 respectively). There was no difference in social functioning score.Symptom like fatigue, pain and loss of appetite improved significantly, but no significant improvement was seen in nausea/vomiting, dyspnea, insomnia and constipation. Diarrhea worsened in the post treatmentphase (Table 1). There were significant changes in cervical cancer specific EORTC QLQ CX-24 module scores for cervical cancer patients [Table2].There was significant decrease in body image, sexual enjoyment and vaginal functioning after treatment, though sexual activity as a whole did not change significantly. Overall symptom experience showed significant improvement after treatment with score reducing from 25.70 to 12.55 indicating improvement (P=0.00001). There was no difference in symptoms reflecting peripheral neuropathy and menopausal symptoms after treatment On the other hand, sexual worry decreased significantly with the mean score declining from 60.28 to 17.02 after treatment. Overall health score and quality of life score improved significantly (p DISCUSSION Indicators of quality of life measure the impact of a disease and its treatment on a patient’s daily activities, behavior, perceived health and functional status. Quality of life indices, which focus on patient’s own perception of disease, provide further information that cannot be obtained solely from conventional clinical and functional measurements. Therefore tools to measure quality of life have been framed by various organizations for comprehensive assessment of patients under treatment. Many factors may contribute to QOL of women diagnosed with a gynecological cancer. In our study most common modality of treatment was combination of radio and chemotherapy. Radiation therapy damages the vaginal mucosa and epithelium which leads to decrease sexual functioning and pleasure. Additional side-effects of radiotherapy are nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and mucositis among others12. Our study compared the pre-treatment and the post-treatment QOL for advanced cervical cancer patients. The Global health score showed a significant increase after treatment making it apparent that quality of life improves after treatment. Similar results were also seen in a recent study published by Kumar S et al. (2014)13.In functional scales, all the items showed a significant increase after treatment including physical, emotional, cognitive and role except social functioning which was nearly same before and after treatment. This was in contrast to a study by Greimel et al. (2002)14, which showed that the global health status, emotional and social functioning remained low. This difference could be because of enrollment of all stages of cervical cancer in their study and the fact that majority of study subjects underwent surgery as a part of treatment modality. The symptom scale analysis revealed that there was a significant decrease in fatigue, pain, insomnia and appetite loss after treatment. This was in contrast with another study done by Klee et al. (2000)15in which pain, appetit e loss, nausea vomiting increased after 3 months of treatment. This variation could be because of differences in time gap between initiation of treatment and post therapy QOL assessment. Episodes of diarrhea worsened after treatment in the present study which may due to radiotherapy. Radiotherapy has been shown to be associated with diarrhea while constipation may be ascribed to injury to the parasympathetic nerves during surgerical interventions 15,16. Another study done by Tokzaharani S et al. (2013)17also showed scores were negatively associated with symptoms including short breathing, lack of appetite, nausea and vomiting, sleep disorder, peripheral neuropathy and menopausal symptoms. In our study, financial difficulties had not changed significantly after treatment. Other studies have shown that financial difficulties increased after treatment which can affect the QOL of the patients [Park S Y et al. (2007)18]. As the study subjects were being treated in a government supported institution, out-of-pocket expenses are likely to be low.This aspect of assessment becomes especially important in resources limited settings like ours. Sexuality is an important aspect in patients suffering from any gynecological cancer and thus a crucial determinant of QOL. In our study there was a significant decrease in sexual enjoyment and sexual and vaginal functioning score in EORTC QLQ CX -24 which was also demonstrated in the study conducted by Kumar S et al. (2014)13. Another study [Park S Y et al. (2007)18] stated that 40% to 100% individuals face sexual dysfunction after treatment. This is because cervical cancer and its treatment affect the same areas of the body which are involved in sexual response. Both chemotherapy and radiotherapy has been associated with sexual problems like dyspareunia, insufficient lubrication, anxiety about sexual performance. Beside this, psychological factors also have an important role in sexual behaviors, and we found that cervical cancer patients had more anxiety about sexual performance. Overall symptoms experience reduced significantly after treatment but lymphedema, peripheral neuropathy menopausal symptoms did not change significantly. In contrast, Kumar S et al. (2014)13demonstratedsignificant increase in these symptoms after treatment. In another study done by Frumovitz et al. (2005)19, frequency of menopausal symptoms increased and sexual functioning decreased after treatment. These symptoms may follow from oophorectomy or radiation damage to the ovaries. In our study patients had perceived poor body image after treatment. These results were similar to those reported by of Park S Y et al. (2007)18. In our study overall health score and quality of life score improved significantly (p It is suggested that further studies and interventions focusing on improving the QOL in survivors should be encouraged. Although, the overall QOL after treatment in cervical cancer survivors was good, treatment of related problems can further improve it. By detecting the problems associated with the quality of life after treatment of cervical cancer, health care professionals will be able to undertake intervention programs that will help to prevent or ameliorate specific problems and adverse effects. RECOMMENDATIONS Although this study revealed that patients with cervical cancer subjected to radiotherapy and chemotherapy are satisfied with their global quality of life, attention should be paid to certain dimensions like sexual functioning during post-treatment period. To further improve QOL, interventions focusing on social and psychological support and physical rehabilitation may be needed.

Traumatic Brain Injury Essay -- Health, Diseases

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a sophisticated problem because of different reasons. Among the reasons are their difficulties to be diagnosed early in majority of the cases. This is because either the damage in most cases is not visible or the brain trauma does not receive the attention it deserves since patients with head injuries often times have other injuries. The other problem with head injury is that it is associated with numerous disorders and often results in different psychological symptoms that can complicate the diagnosis and treatment. It may be associated with depression, personality problems, anxiety, paranoia, or apathy. Impulsive aggression which this paper deals with is one of the challenging and complex problems that traumatic brain injury is associated with. Aggressive behavior is one of the most disruptive consequences of TBI. Its enduring problems tend to disrupt families, care givers and above all to the patient whose new behavior becomes obstacle to return to the usual role. It is also said to be the most frequent and very treatable out come of TBI. It is possible to classify aggression as impulsive and premeditated. Impulsive aggression is characterized by relatively unplanned and spontaneous, high levels of autonomic arousal and precipitation by provocation associated with negative emotions such as anger or fear It usually represents a response to a perceived stress. In addition, researches show that impulsive aggression is most common after TBI. Impulsive aggression, also referred to as reactive aggression, affective aggression, or hostile aggression, becomes pathological when aggressive responses are exaggerated in relation to the emotional provocation that occurs In contrast, premeditated aggre... ... are associated with poor social functioning. Previous studies reported that aggression was associated with disruption of family relationships Grafman, (1996) and poor occupational performance (Herzberg &Fenwick, 1988). Social integration decreases impulsive behavior and lessens the vulnerability to developing depressive disorders. Furthermore, it has been suggested that social behavior is influenced by the same biological factors as impulsiveness and aggression (i.e., prefrontal modulation and serotonergic function) (Tateno, 2003). Considering the multifactorial nature of impulsive aggression, biological, psychological and social variables that may contribute for this behavior to arise must be approached. The aggressive behavior is evidently disturbing in social life; therefore individuals that are close to the patients must obtain support (Schwarzbold, 2008).

Greek Women in The Odyssey :: Homer

The women in The Odyssey are a fair representation of women in ancient Greek culture. In his work, Homer brings forth women of different prestige. First there are the goddesses, then Penelope, and lastly the servant girls. Each of the three factions forms an important part of The Odyssey and helps us look into what women were like in ancient Greece. The role that the housemaids play in The Odyssey is that of servitude. They are expected to serve the suitors and put up with their rude demeanor. During the course of the ten years that the suitors are there, many of the housemaids sleep with them. Upon returning to Ithica, and slaughtering the suitors, Odysseus makes the housemaids who slept with the suitors clean up their dead bodies. After this he hangs them by the neck, with this gesture he indirectly calls them â€Å"harlots†. This indicates one of many feelings toward women of that time. Then there is Odysseus’ wife, Penelope. She is depicted as an individual. Homer makes her character appear as very clever and also very loyal. Never once during Odysseus twenty years of absence does she remarry. She tolerates the suitors in her home for ten years but never chooses, always with the hope that her first husband, Odysseus, will return. Homer also makes her seem clever when she gets all of the suitors to bring her gifts before she â€Å"chooses one† knowing that they are in a short supply of resources. In another instance he portrays her as clever in the way that she keeps the suitor away by weaving the tunic for Odysseus and secretly taking it apart every night. The role Penelope plays is very important because she is seen as a person, not a possession. Finally, there are the goddesses. They represent women in all their glory. They are very human-like in that they feel the same emotions like jealousy, anger, pride, revenge, excitement, joy, compassion, etc. The exception being that they have supernatural powers. Homer even makes then human-like to the extent that they fall in love with mortals, for instance Calypso.

More than a spoonful of sugar Essay -- Health, Natural Remedies

As a kid I don’t remember thinking about my health a lot, probably because kids count on their parents to keep them healthy. They count on their parents to feed them the right things and do all obvious things that would help them stay healthy. But in reality both kids and adults have the ability to naturally help their health wether its intentional or not. Although medicine is helpful, many natural remedies can also benefit your health such as laughter, the sense of touch, exercise and having a pet. In many ways people find laughter as just a response to something funny or just as a happy emotion. But it really does so much more for your body, health and personal well-being. The benefits of laughter exceed the emotion. â€Å"Laughter along with an active since of humor, may protect you against a heart attack according to a recent study by cardiologists at the University or Maryland†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Murry1) A study done by the University of Maryland medical center consisted of 300 people, half of them had suffered from some type of heart disease or issue and the other half had not. Each filled out a questionnaire mainly about how much the individual laughed in good, bad and normal situations. They found that the people with or without heart disease are 40% more likely not to have a heart attack if they laughed more in life and situations. (Murry1-2) Laughter has physical, mental and social benefits to your health. Some of the Physical benefits to laughter include; relieving stres s, boosting your immune system by increasing your immune cells, decreasing pain, increasing blood flow, enhances oxygen intake and it relaxes your muscles up to 45 min..(Smith1) (Puckett1) The mental and social benefits are obvious. Laughter adds zest to your life and impr... ...en those without pets. They also took less medication for high blood pressure and sleeping. (Becker 63-64) Many Physiatrists with patients that have anxiety when leaving the house or with depression prescribe a dog to help them live life again and leave the house. (Becker 63) It is amazing to realize how much pet can change a person’s life and make it so much better. And In the book â€Å"The Healing power of pets† most of the book is stories of a human and dog bond so strong that these dogs have saved these people’s lives numerous times. So although medicine is very helpful there are so many simple natural things that can keep you healthy too such as laughter, the sense of touch, exercise and having a pet. These things are amazing natural things given to us by God that benefit our health in easy extraordinary ways, so why not take advantage of these simple things?

Human Nutrition in the Developing Country of Guyana

Topic:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Human Nutrition in the Developing Country of Guyana * Introduction * According to the United Nation and the International Monetary Fund, countries are categorized according to their socio-economic position with respect to their Gross Domestic Product (GDP), income per capita, life expectancy and the wellbeing of the natives. These factors are compared to all the countries all over the world. Countries with a low level of material wellbeing are considered developing or underdeveloped. According to the Human Developing Index, approximately 85. % of the world’s population lives in developing countries making this issue of Health and Nutrition in this global community a major and pressing issue. Economically, many of these countries cannot establish stable enough economies due to the history of imperialism and colonization that caused a disruption in the development of these countries. Because of the lack of funds to cultivate the raw materials, t hese countries cannot establish successful and stable systems to produce food to feed their populations or even hospitals to cure many of the diseases and disorders created as a result of malnutrition. For this study, focus will be localized to a village that is located in Guyana, South * America. This is the native country of my parents, and I was fortunate to make several visits to this location, the most recent of which was last summer, so I am familiar with the lifestyle practices of the inhabitants not only from a first hand basis, but also from the inherited practices that were passed down to my family through my parents. * Brief History of Imperialism and Development as a Developing Country Guyana is located on the northern tip of the continent of South America, and the location of this case study is also on the northern tip that referred to as the coastal plain. Guyana recieved its name from the Native Indian tribe called the Amerindians, and it means â€Å"Land of Many wat ers† because of the many rivers and streams that are found in the country. The country is also near to the equator, so it has a tropical climate for most of the year, with only tow seasons, the wet season and the dry season. The former season is usually rainy and occurs between October to May and the latter which is usually dry and hot (temperature ranging from the early 80 degrees to 100 on humid days) from June through September. * Guyana is also below sea level, and like many of the other countries in the region was subjected to colonial expansion, so it changed Imperial governments between the British, Dutch and Spanish for a brief period. The Dutch and English had longer influences, with the English finally securing dominance for the last and longest period in the history of the country. So, due to the many rivers and the fact that that the country is susceptible to flooding, when it was occupied by the Dutch large systems of sluices, dams and sea walls were constructed to prevent excessive flooding, but the rich silt deposits from the river made the coastal plain fertile for agricultural initiatives, so the main produce from Guyana have always been sugar from the cane plants and rice. * The System of Self Sufficiency in Union Village, Guyana, SA: Introduction * Since Union Village is located on the coastal plain of the Corentyne River, the land is also fertile and it is one of the many farming communities along that plain. Some of the villagers have become wealthy rice farmers as they own large plots of rice lands, but the majority of people are self sufficient by planting kitchen gardens to supplement the staple ric e diet with ground provisions, fruits and vegetables. Those villagers also rear livestock of chickens, ducks, turkeys, pigs, sheep, goats and cows. Some of the rice farmers also rear fish farms. They use the waste from the rice covering/ shell to feed the fish, and their livestock. The milk comes from the cows and goats; eggs come from the chicken and ducks and meat come from all livestock and fish. Since fish is in most abundance and is therefore the cheapest, fish is usually the protein of choice for the diet. * The System of Self Sufficiency in Union Village, Guyana, SA: Environmental Perspective * Environmentally, the living habits of these villagers generate positive carbon footprint because of their waste management and recycling habits, long before the awareness was created at the international level. They were engaged in those activities out of necessity, but it paid off very well for the community and ensured sustainability for them. By planting seasonal crops, they learned to rotate the crops they plant and maintain the fertility of the soil by natural eco-balancing. They also use even the waste produced by the cows, especially as fertilizer, so helped by the rain and sunshine, the land stays lush and green. The dogs eat leftovers from the family meals, so they do not incur additional expenditure of having to buy separate dog food and the livestock eat the waste products of the plants such as the rice and corn. Because a majority of the food in Guyana is produced locally and sold in large market places their carbon footprint is significantly lower than a majority of other countries that rely on outside imports of food. Limiting the importation of food and exportation of goods decreases carbon emissions in transportation like large jets, freight planes and other large automobile s that emit pollution in the air. However, during the 21st century Guyana has begun to follow the growing trend of increasing its involvement in the global community through the exportation of minerals like Gold and Bauxite. In addition to the few food products that Guyana is historically known for since imperialism: sugar and raw materials. * Because Guyana is increasing its involvement in the global community exports as well as few imports have increased due to sanctions from the International Monetary Fund’s involvement in the project of developing small countries like Guyana industrially and economically. As shown in the graphs below, Guyana’s carbon emissions have increased significantly since the 1950’s especially at the turn of the 21st century when the United Nations introduced their initiatives to better developing countries. * Graph 1a. (http://rainforests. mongabay. com/carbon-emissions/guyana. html) * * Graph 1b. (http://rainforests. mongabay. com/carbon-emissions/guyana. html) * * The System of Self Sufficiency in Union Village, Guyana, SA: Socio-Economic * As a result, from the socio-economic perspective, based on their life styles, the villagers eating habits may not b e sufficient enough to ensure proper nutrition because their foods are not imported they have to rely on the fickle patterns of nature in order to yield a good harvest and raise healthy livestock. Guyana’s weather correlates with their socio-economic standing and the problem of malnutrition. * With many floods, monsoon type weather and the rainforest atmosphere, villagers rely heavily on the weather that develops a particularly unbalanced eating regiment. From a social perspective, meats like chicken, cows and other animals are only cooked on special holidays and large festivals while on a regular basis, rice is the main staple for many impoverished families. From rice and pepper to shine rice (rice and butter), these dishes will not suffice nutritionally. In most cases however, village people consume a lot of fresh fruit on a daily basis from their personal yards. While these foods are healthy, fresh and organic, with no addition of chemicals, artificial fertilizers or pesticides, the foods are eaten leisurely and not measured daily to ensure a balanced and accurate amount of nutrition. With the lack of education on how to properly balance their diets with vegetables, proteins and even fruits, they eat leisurely and do not fairly balance their diets per day. While many industrialized and developed countries hold health classes that teach children from a young age to balance a fruit a day and a proper portion control. In actuality, although the foods in Guyana are fresher, the genetically altered or artificial products that are produced by developed countries guarantee a higher yield of foods to be distributed along with added vitamins and proteins that still ensure a sufficient amount of nutrition. Despite these set backs in education on diets, Guyana still produces a variety of foods that can suffice in feeding the people to ensure healthy nutrition (See Graph 3 Below). * Graph 3. (ftp://ftp. fao. org/es/esn/nutrition/ncp/guymap. pdf) * Also, owing to the location from the centralized city, they do not have quick access to quality medical facilities as the nearest medical center is approximately 25 miles from the village and the hospital is almost 40 miles away. As a result, they have non-traditional attitudes towards conventional medic al practices such as screenings, for example, which are considered as routine and expected from an international stand-point. In addition, socially, since they are semi-rural, some of them do have access to technology and amenities such as electricity, radios and even a sprinkling of television, but that is not widespread. Therefore, Internet and computer access or in many cases, even access to a telephone is not widespread. This is a blessing in disguise because economically it saves both the people and the government money and most of all saves the environment from utilization of so much electricity. Even for cooking, they use outdoor brick ovens that are fuelled by dry brushes and wood or coal collected from forest fore remnants. Resulting Issues from the Environmental and Socio-economic Factors * As aforementioned in the introduction of the topic, countries are still categorized according to their socio-economic position with respect to their Gross Domestic Product (GDP), income per capita, life expectancy and the wellbeing of the natives. These factors are compared to all the countries all over the world. The wealth of countries are categorized according to their abilities to export and their level of industrialization. * According to the Human Developing Index, approximately 85. % of the world’s population lives in developing countries making this issue of Health and Nutrition in this global community a major and pressing issue. Economically, many of these countries are not capable of establishing stable enough economies due to the history of imperialism and colonization that contributed to their dependency on foreign aid as well as their economic destabilization. Due to the absence of capital to process the raw materials such as bauxite, in the case of Guyana to produce aluminum, dependency is on ALCAN in Canada and Reynolds in the USA to purchase that raw material. The same case is with the excess rice and sugar produced, so the local economic system is incapable of sustaining quality hospitals and health care services that could address disease prevention and cure and even some kinds of malnutrition. * When examined environmentally, in an article in the Health and Wellness Magazine discussing underdeveloped countries, Dr. Majid Ezzati from Harvard School of Public Health points to the lack of clean water and sanitation as the major problem causing the malnutrition. Potable water is a problem in many of the Guyanese communities, as many people still cannot afford indoor plumbing. Furthermore in an article from the Royal Society of Medicine Press on Experimental Biology and Medicine the article deals with the problem of nutrition and infectious disease in these developing countries and the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. The institute states, â€Å"Infectious diseases are the major causes of death and morbidity in underdeveloped countries, particularly in children† which is caused by malnutrition. * One major effect of malnutrition is an increase in child mortality rate. As seen in the graph below * One Step forward in Industrialization, Two Steps back in Sustainability * Because of the new push towards development, many supermarkets and grocery stores are replacing the marketplace and the tiny food shops in Guyana. As shown in the chart below Guyana’s carbon emissions have increased significantly since the 1950’s. This increase is largely due to the development of supermarkets and the importation of processed goods from United States companies that have specific relations with the Guyanese government. In order to ensure that Guyana returns to its more sustainable systems, the country should create better programs to educate its people on eating well balanced meals to avoid malnutrition with respect to the three major forms of malnutrition in Guyana as recorded by the Food and Agriculture Organization are Protein-energy malnutrition (PEM), anemia, and overweight/obesity are the most common nutrition-related disorders. As seen in Graph 4, Guyana produces a large amount of varying foods and products that can adequately resolve its problems of malnutrition. YEAR| Carbon emissions| Per capita emissions| 1950| 71| 0. 17| 1951| 78| 0. 18| 1952| 92| 0. 21| 1953| 123| 0. 27| 1954| 129| 0. 27| 1955| 141| 0. 29| 1956| 150| 0. 3| 1957| 146| 0. 28| 1958| 125| 0. 23| 1959| 151| 0. 27| 1960| 180| 0. 32| 1961| 201| 0. 34| 1962| 185| 0. 31| 1963| 168| 0. 27| 1964| 177| 0. 28| 1965| 294| 0. 46| 1966| 322| 0. 49| 1967| 361| 0. 54| 1968| 363| 0. 53| 1969| 373| 0. 53| 1970| 431| 0. 61| 1971| 409| 0. 57| 1972| 426| 0. 59| 1973| 492| 0. 68| 1974| 424| 0. 58| 1975| 498| 0. 68| 1976| 478| 0. 65| 1977| 518| 0. 7| 978| 561| 0. 75| 1979| 415| 0. 55| 1980| 488| 0. 64| 1981| 491| 0. 65| 1982| 383| 0. 51| 1983| 340| 0. 45| 1984| 383| 0. 51| 1985| 387| 0. 51| 1986| 285| 0. 38| 1987| 357| 0. 48| 1988| 383| 0. 52| 1989| 326| 0. 44| 1990| 311| 0. 42| 1991| 306| 0. 42| 1992| 287| 0. 4| 1993| 288| 0. 39| 1994| 364| 0. 49| 1995| 404| 0. 53| 1996| 417| 0. 54| 1997| 437| 0. 56| 1998| 451| 0. 58| 1999| 450| 0. 58| 2000| 431| 0. 58| 2001| 414| 0. 56| 2002| 422| 0. 56| 2003| 409| 0. 54| 2004| 394| 0. 52| 2005| 407| 0. 54| * Table 1. (http://rainforests. mongabay. om/carbon-emissions/guyana. html) * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Graph 4. (ftp://ftp. fao. org/es/esn/nutrition/ncp/guymap. pdf) * * * * * * * * * References: * Colchester. Marcus. (1997). Guyana, fragile frontier : loggers, miners and forest peoples. Kingston, [Jamaica] : Ian Randle Publishers ; New York, NY : Distribution in North America by Monthly Review Press * Currie-McGhee. (c2009). Leanne Protecting ecosystems. Ann Arbor : Cherry Lake Pub. * Grant, Nancy S. (2008) The pocket idiot's guide to your carbon footprint. New York, NY : Alpha Books. U. S. G. P. O. (1990-[2002]. Country reports on economic policy and trade practices : report submitted to the Committee on Foreign Relations, Committee on Finance of the U. S. Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Committee on Ways and Means of the U. S. House of Representatives by the Department of State in accordance with section 2202 of the Onmibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988. Washington : U. S. G. P. O. , Congressional Printing Office http://rainforests. mongabay. com/carbon-emissions/guyana. html