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Final Blog

Final Blog I really enjoyed the different online learning tools and modules that we were able to complete on the online weeks. I thought they were really pertinent and timely and I was able to learn at my own pace. I also really liked learning about the local environmental health components that are around me, like my water system and air quality issues. I feel more component about being able to look up the environmental components of products and feel like I have a better grasp of both their deleterious health and environmental implications. As for the blogging component, I felt having 3 separate blogging assignments every week was a lot. Less about the work that it took to do the assignment, but more about reading my classmates assignments. I enjoyed reading the assignments of my classmates because they gleaned different elements from the assignments, but I did find it challenging to write to each of their assignments every week and respond to the comments that they left on my as...
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Disaster Preparedness

M14.4 Disaster Preparedness I reviewed disaster preparedness information for the city of San Diego. Being a California based city, they would also use the Disaster Healthcare Volunteer site . San Diego also has a lot of community resources to both volunteer and learn how to be more prepared on its cities website . They have inform individuals how to get involved in the InfraGaurd, which is an FBI affiliated non-profit, and volunteers help protect against criminal and terrorist threats. There is also volunteer opportunities for civilians and retirees to be part of a volunteer patrol service associated with the San Diego police department. They also have a crisis center and a youth volunteer service for emergency response. There is also a place for volunteers to sign up for the emergency firefighter organization, to help with emergency situations and response. For public health professionals or medical professionals, they can use the Medical Reserve Corps  to register for potenti...
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Climate Change

M12.9 Climate Change 1. What do you personally find most troubling about climate change? I think one of the most troubling aspects of climate change is one of its indirect factors on food and food production. The growth and production of food and crops will be negatively impact by the change in temperature and climate of specific areas. Additionally, due to the higher concentrations of CO2 in the soil/fertilization during plant growth, consumed crops will have lower levels of protein and essential minerals making them less nutritious for the general population.  This fact is particularly troubling as many countries already experience food insecurity and the increase in total global population and decrease in food production and food quality will exacerbate this issue.  2.  As a public health professional, what do you think needs the greatest attention right now? I think the aspect of climate change that needs the greatest attention right now on ...
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Zero Waste Lifestyle

M11.5 Zero Waste Lifestyle I have seen Lauren Singer's blog before and it has always felt like a lifestyle that was so far out of reach. But I really like what she said in her presentation that she is not their to judge anyone for the trash that they produce, but wants to inform people that they can start small and make small behavior changes in our lives that could have a large impact. I definitely have tried to make a conscious choice to try and practice more sustainable purchasing habits, I am still a far ways away from being zero waste. I think the area that I struggle the most in is the food packaging waste like Laura was talking about spurred her lifestyle change. I have been trying to shop thrifty, but in my cost saving ways have moved away from purchasing foods from farmers markets or from bulk locations and instead just go to the grocery outlet down the street from my house. While grocery outlet does sell food from other grocery stores that would have otherwise been ...
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Occupationally-related disease

M10.8 Occupationally Related Disease I selected byssinosis, more commonly known as brown lung, specifically b/c I have never heard of it before. But brown lung is characterized as asthma like symptoms that, with prolonged exposures, can cause irreversible chronic obstructive lung disease. Brown lung is seen most commonly in workers who work in cotton processing plants, as well as hemp and flax industries. Brown lung has also been known as "Monday fever", which is characterized by workers coming back from the weekend after experiencing no asthma like symptoms and then once at work re-triggering their symptoms which would continue to get worse as the week goes on due to cotton dust exposure. Cotton effects on workers respiratory systems was known by doctors since 1705, however little was done prior to the later 1900's to actually make any regulations around the inhalation of cotton. 50,000 workers were being impacted at a single given time in the later 1970's with 7...
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Occupational Safety and Health Organization

10.5 Occupational Safety and Health Organization I choose the World Health Organization (WHO), and their efforts toward occupational health have been through an initiative to promote workers health through a global plan of action. Their plan of action focuses on a couple of different areas:  To implement national policies to establish mechanisms and legal framework to implement, monitor and evaluate workers health To have full occupational health services for all workers globally To strengthen institutional capacities and human resource capabilities to deal with the special health needs of workers by developing evidence on the heterogenous needs of workers and translating that into policies and actions develop specific guidelines for workers and communities with positions that produce hazardous material Promote collaboration across all organization that focus on occupational health To encourage occupational health presence in more national policies Encourage collaborat...
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Safety Data Sheet

M10.2 Safety Data Sheet In my line of work I do not have any safety data sheets that are used at my org nor do we have any trainings on the safety practices of specific safety measures that we need to practice around chemicals. The only safety training we have is around patient privacy and security. However, sometimes in clinical research we will using chemicals for some facet of the project. I looked up the safety data sheet for a product that we are utilizing in a virtual research study to investigate the incidence of flu this season. We are using the Quidel QuickVue Influenza A+B Test. The test includes nasal swabs for participants to collect a viral sample and equipment to run a lateral immunoassay. What are the health risks associated with this chemical? There are no health risks with this specific test kit or the material that it has. Is the chemical a carcinogen? The extraction reagent solution is the only chemical found in the product and it is not a carcinogen W...
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