Health progress (Saint Louis, Mo.)最新文献

What is the world's most serious, implacable illness? Diabetes? Zika? HIV? It may not be what you think. Pope Francis told us the answer during a gathering in Assisi, Italy, of religious leaders from around the world to celebrate the 2016 World Day of Prayer for Peace. He called on believers of all faiths to confront what he pronounced the greatest sickness of our time: indifference.

The new year is an invitation to renewal, conversion, reflection. For those of us working in global health, it’s an opportunity to go forward, unwavering, in the belief that we are to share the Earth’s resources with all of God’s people, be it by reaching out in times of disaster, medical mission experiences, twinning programs, funding or other means.

Concierge medicine, sometimes called retainer medicine, is a model of care in which the patient directly pays the physician a yearly fee — averaging $1,800 — in exchange for enhanced services.1 A 2016 survey showed that 4 percent of U.S. physicians reported themselves as being in a concierge practice.2

Globalization — the increased interconnectedness and interdependence of peoples and countries — has had a significant impact on international development over the past few decades. The condition of impoverished people in the developing world has become more visible, which, coupled with greater opportunities to contribute, has fueled more helping hands and financial investment in the global development arena. Over just thelast 15 years, official development aid has increased by more than 80 percent, totaling nearly $150 billion in 2015.(1) U.S. private giving in the international sector has grown substantially in the last decade, from $8.4 billion in 2000 to $19.1 billion in 2012.(2)

On Sept. 27, 2016, the Pan American Health Organization — the World Health Organization’s Americas branch — announced that measles had been eliminated in the region. It was exciting news! PAHO is the first WHO region to accomplish the task, a triumphant sequel to its 2015 announcement that, thanks to widespread vaccination, rubella (along with congenital rubella syndrome) had been eliminated in the Americas.1

During a Feb. 18, 2016 press conference on a flight from Juarez, Mexico, to Rome, a reporter questioned Pope Francis about the Zika virus. “Holy Father, for several weeks there’s been a lot of concern … regarding the Zika virus,” the reporter said. “The greatest risk would be for pregnant women. There is anguish. Some authorities have proposed abortion, or else to avoid pregnancy. As regards avoiding pregnancy, on this issue, can the church take into consideration the concept of ‘the lesser of two evils?’”

I am working in the front hallway of our emergency department, and I hear an overhead page from triage for help in the waiting room — there is an unresponsive patient. We run out there and find a triage nurse, a tech and a security officer struggling to load a 20-something, white male into a wheelchair. His eyes are rolled back in his head, his mouth gapes, he makes occasional, grunting respirations. He is moments from death. This is a heroin overdose.

Globalization has connected people culturally, economically and socially in a highly mobile, interdependent world. The result: Infectious diseases spread geographically much faster than at any time in history. The World Health Organization has identified more than 1,100 epidemics worldwide in a five-year span.1 The International Air Transport Association estimates 3.7 billion passengers will travel in 2016, a rate expected to double over the next 20 years.2 The constantly increasing number of international travelers plus the continual presence of infectious diseases means an outbreak or epidemic anywhere could become an imminent threat across the world.

I know from personal experience how challenging it can be to navigate the health care system. My mother was diagnosed with diabetes at an early age, and as the oldest daughter in a large family, it was up to me to coordinate her care that included frequent hospital stays. I often was frustrated with the fragmented system we found ourselves in, particularly as her condition continued to worsen. The experience convinced me that something had to be done.