It’s another exciting topic about health… health and the media! No doubt the media is central to our decisions and actions in general, and health in particular, given that this is the internet age. This strong influence is very evident in how much we watch, listen, like, comment, share and follow updates and sites that speak on health or wellness matters. A quick question… how many times have you chosen to do something that may affect your health or well being simply because you read or saw it on social media, movie or even heard it in a song? I’m guessing a lot of times!
The sad truth is, many times, what we hear and learn from the media, be it from individuals or organizations, are false or incomplete truths because the producers or sources of these messages often have particular agendas which influence the message to some extent. Hence, it lies in our judgment to either accept or reject media messages especially because there is no accountability on the part of the sources and the consequences of our actions are ours to bear. We must therefore exercise this sense of judgment by making a conscious effort to verify the validity of what we hear or read trough more credible sources- this is solely our responsibility. Cheers and be wise 🙂
In the simplest form, culture may be defined as a people’s way of life; it includes the norms, values and beliefs of a particular group of people which govern their behaviors and attitudes. As we already know of many different factors, our culture or way of life can influence our health. Culture affects health in that what we believe and our way of life can hinder or promote our access to healthcare services, compliance to drugs and treatment regimen, the way we treat our bodies, the heath choices we make, our readiness to seek help and even our willingness to recover from an illness.
Various ethnic groups have their own perspectives, belief systems and values that help them understand what causes illness, how it should be treated, and who or what should be involved in the treatment process. Many times, these views about health differ from the western views and may create barriers between patients and providers from different cultural backgrounds. Culture and diversity are very important in all areas healthcare, so, it is essential for health educators and professionals to understand how the culture of their respective audience and patients may influence their attitude towards health.
In closing, if our way of life or what we believe can affect our health, then it has the potential to create poor health outcomes and health disparities. It is therefore our responsibility to find out any cultural practice, value or belief that limits our potential for optimal health and get rid of it. I must say… if it doesn’t help you, it probably hurts you!
Do you know that our income can determine our health? yes, we may not be able to afford some basic needs due to the amount of money we make. Let’s look at a quick illustration…
Mr. A was admitted to the hospital…
Why was he admitted?
He was admitted because he has cholera…
Why does he have cholera?
He has cholera because he drank water contaminated by the infectious agent, Vibrio cholerae…
Why was his drinking water contaminated?
His drinking water was contaminated because he lives in the dirtiest and poorest part of the city…
Why does he live in that part of the city?
He lives in that part of the city because that is what he can afford based on his INCOME!
Now, if we meet Mr. A in the hospital and he tells us he has cholera, we will not immediately understand the basic reason why he has the disease. However, if we can ask the question, “why?” a few times in every health situation, we will discover that they are usually rooted in one or more of the social determinants of health. Even though it’s not immediately obvious, income is a major determinant of heath and a root cause of health disparities.
Someone might wonder… what on earth does health have to do with politics? In case you are that someone, please read on to find out!
To begin with, health policies which are decisions, laws and actions taken to achieve specific goals in health systems, are driven by politics, parties and politicians. The governing power or authority significantly influences what happens in the health care system by determining the budget allocated to health and healthcare. They also decide the type of healthcare delivery, availability of subsidies and possibly, the availability of healthcare workers.
Laws and regulations at the federal, state and local levels of government all impact conditions that influence the health status of people and their communities. For example, a health policy that promotes free HIV testing by covering the costs and providing necessary information or support, will encourage individuals to get tested, get treated and live longer!
Therefore, it is crucial to develop policies at all levels of government that promote health and prevent conditions that threaten the life and safety of individuals and communities. Finally, inequalities in health outcomes have been associated with differences in health policies… so if these inequalities are to be eliminated, their causes- which include poor health policies and politics- must be eliminated. Keep this in mind when voting!
Since we already know what health is, let us take a look at globalization… Globalization is the process whereby humans, animals, information and trade move throughout the world, increasing interaction and integration between countries, cultures, views, policies, and economies (see: http://searchcio.techtarget.com/definition/globalization).
Ever wondered how fast diseases spread and travel these days or how to remain healthy in a globalized world? With airplanes crossing continents and people going places, any infection or disease can become pandemic in a matter of hours! It is much more difficult to control infections and diseases in a globalizing or globalized world because public health is situated within the dynamic forces of positive and negative global development.
Thankfully, globalization can have significant benefits to health; for one, the speed with which information travels affords us the luxury to hear about disease risks and ways of protecting ourselves. In addition, there is evidence that openness to people and trade is good for social and economic growth!
Health is influenced and determined by several factors including social, physical, economic and spiritual factors. However, the most common determinants of health are the social factors. Social determinants of health are those factors encompassing our living conditions and experiences that shape our health. These factors gained global recognition and importance in the mid-1800s.
Did you know that social factors such as how much money we have, where we live, our level of education, employment status and work conditions affect our health? These social and to a great extent, economic factors are imposed by the overall quality of life in our communities and societies rather than our personal choices.Social determinants of health have been implicated in the wide health inequalities and disparities experienced within and between countries.
World health organization defines health as “a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” Simply put, global health is the health of the globe; a state where the world is in complete physical, spiritual, economical, political and social wellness. Global health involves improving health and achieving health equity for all people worldwide. It also means transforming our narrow individual perspectives of health into a much broader view that includes the world around us… populations, environments and countries. As we know, everything affects health… food, water, air, relationships, work, sports and many other things we do daily. Therefore, it is essential that we view health in relation to all the factors that can possibly affect it… a whole view… a global view!
With the world’s population currently at 7.3 billion and projected to reach 9.7 billion in 2050 by United Nations, it is easy to understand why well-meaning individuals go out of their way to establish charity organizations. These organizations are established with unique visions to serve our ever growing population and changing world in various capacities.
That said, BlessWorld Foundation International (BWFI) is a new charity-based, non- profit organization inspired and established by Dr. Kingsley Nwachukwu, a Canadian-based practicing specialist in psychiatry and a global health practitioner. The organization is primarily located in Canada (110 Blackburn Crescent, Saskatoon SK S7V 1E7) and Nigeria (4 Obunge Street Uronigbe, Ekosodin Benin City, Edo State) and receives electronic correspondence at info@www.blessworldfoundation.com.
The mission of BWFI is to affect the world through health using a broad range of approaches, strategies and activities. Our strategy involves providing community-based programs and services targeted towards helping different communities solve their specific problems and serve their peculiar needs. These programs and services include, but are not limited to Medical tourism through “World Hospital” concept, Advocacy services for the vulnerable, Medical consultation services – real life and virtual (web-based), Research funding, Liaising with government bodies to execute health-related projects, Provision of expert advice on health-related matters, Health education, Health promotion through all avenues such as periodicals, social media, film production, podcasts, and radio networks… more activities can be found at http://www.blessworldfoundation.com/activities/.
The only thing constant about BWFI is POSITIVE CHANGE. Our life-changing activities will show up from time to time, and we encourage participation by all viewers in terms of subscription to keep the work going. Our website http://www.blessworldfoundation.com features a blog section http://www.blessworldfoundation.com/category/blog/ where very important and interesting health topics are discussed and comments are warmly welcome. It is an interactive section and we implore you to join us regularly to read about the hottest health and health-related topics in the world… Remember, knowledge is power! The purpose of the blogs is to educate and empower individuals like you and consequently build a community of well informed citizens who can make accurate health decisions and take control of their health.
We are individual-focused, community-based and research oriented. With regards to research, our interest cuts across a variety of topics including universal health care particularly for vulnerable members of the society, determinants of health and how they shape our daily living, mental health and addictions, depression and other disorders. We conduct and fund various research projects because we believe research is the most effective means of understanding and solving health and social problems. Research is the reason why our life expectancies have increased and in the words of Katherine Dunn, “Prior to penicillin and medical research, death was an everyday occurrence. It was intimate”.
Finally, we encourage individuals, organizations, communities and the government to key into our mission and support our overall goal of ensuring the world is a healthier a safer place… a “BLESSWORLD” indeed.
