M3.2 Vulnerable Populations

Public health is a preventive discipline, as opposed to a reactive one like the field of medicine. As public health professionals, advocates, and students, we should always try to find a way to prevent the spread of diseases. The upstreamist analogy is a good way to visualize what needs to be done in order to treat patients more comprehensively. Similarly, knowing the effects that certain chemicals are causing on people, the problem should be attacked by banning these chemicals rather than treating the resulting illnesses. If it has been demonstrated that even in very few parts per billion some chemicals can have adverse effects on humans, then the efforts should be focused on cutting the exposure, especially when the negative effects are issues like infertility that is affecting many other animal species beyond humans.

Comments

  1. USF MPH ClassSeptember 11, 2018 at 4:43 PM

    Hi, we cant cut every exposure so I believe it comes down to which exposures to we need to cut and which can we live with. The EPA must be working on this and I hope they govern what is OK for humans and what is not a little more harder than they have in the past.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sandy TanSeptember 16, 2018 at 1:31 PM

    Hi Hugo,
    Great application of the upstream thinking. It is about seeing the issue at a bigger picture and looking for and addressing the root issues.

    ReplyDelete

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