Top Threats of Public Health in 2022

Disparities in Health care Access and Outcomes

?In India and abroad, many individuals—particularly those from vulnerable communities—still lack access to quality healthcare for a number of reasons. The high cost of care, lack of (or inadequate) insurance coverage, lack of available services, and a lack of culturally-competent care are all cited by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) as contributing factors to this problem.

?When individuals cannot access quality healthcare, the effects can be substantial. Unmet health needs, delays in receiving care, and an inability to receive preventative treatment commonly led to a financial burden on both the individual and the healthcare system.

?The MoHFW specifically notes several potential solutions to this challenge, including increasing insurance coverage, addressing disparities affecting healthcare access (such as race, ethnicity, age, sex, disability status, and sexual orientation), and increasing access to telehealth services in underserved communities.

?Social Isolation

According to a recent national survey conducted by Cigna, social isolation and loneliness are becoming major causes of concern. Approximately half of the survey respondents reported that they sometimes or always feel lonely, and approximately 40 percent of respondents reported that their relationships are not as meaningful as they would like them to be.

?While occasional loneliness is a natural part of life, sustained social isolation can have serious effects on an individual’s health and quality of life. According to the National Institute on Aging (NIA) , prolonged loneliness has been linked to a number of risk factors such as increased risks of high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity, and a range of mental conditions. By some estimates, the effects can be as damaging as smoking 5 cigarettes a day.

?Individuals of all ages and demographics can feel these negative effects of social isolation, but, according to GOI, they are felt more strongly by the growing elderly population.

?“Especially for the elderly, social isolation can impact everything from mental health to an individual’s ability to access healthcare or obtain basic essentials like food, water, and medications,” he says.

?Violence and Trauma

More than 2,312 mass shootings have occurred in the United States since the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut. These mass shootings are one of many other violent crimes that have been impacting public health, which include:

• Homicide
• Physical or Sexual Assault
• Childhood Abuse

The impact of these shootings and other violent crimes is substantial, both for direct victims as well as those who did not directly experience the incident.

?Professor of public health practice and the director of ICMR School of Public Health, Dr. Tarun Bhatnagar Scientist - F, Ph.D., MPH, says, “Exposure to trauma can have a significant impact on health”. “When we think about the issue of gun violence, for example, it has an impact not just on the direct victims, but on entire communities as well. Exposure to trauma can impact brain development, especially in children, and have lifelong impacts on health.”

?Potential short- and long-term effects when exposed to trauma, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), include changes to the limbic system and functions, sleep disturbances, cognitive changes, dissociation, depression, self-harm, and destructive behaviors.

?Food Insecurity

Even in America, one of the wealthiest nations in the world, food insecurity and a lack of access to healthy and affordable nutrition are major concerns. According to the USDA, an estimated 10.5 percent (13.8 million) of U.S. households were food insecure at some time during 2020

Food insecurity can be caused by a range of factors. Negative effects compounded by COVID-19 such as low income and high food cost, for example, is a primary concern; as ICMR estimated the number of food insecure people to increase by 291 million in 2021 across low and middle-income countries. Access to nutrition is yet another issue. Poor urban planning, a lack of public transportation options, and a lack of full-service supermarkets in many communities have given rise to food deserts—a term that defines communities with a lack of access to affordable and nutritious foods.

?While food insecurity may lead to short- and long-term hunger, the consequences go beyond a missed meal. Chronic malnutrition and food insecurity are proven to have a significant effect on individuals’ quality of life. Some ramifications include an increased risk for obesity and chronic disease in adults, as well as mental and developmental conditions in children.

?Global Public Health and COVID-19

?In late 2019, COVID-19 infected its first human victims in the Chinese city of Wuhan in Hubei Province. In a matter of months, the virus has become an epidemic and ultimately a full, global pandemic, infecting more than 2 million individuals in 177 countries. As of March 21, 2022, the disease has claimed more than 965,000 lives.

?The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the importance of investing in public health infrastructure and public health systems,” Maniar says. “Not only [the] systems to identify as early as possible potential outbreaks of disease, but also the systems to respond to those diseases, [the] systems to educate the public, and all of the programs and policies that are designed to help individuals be as healthy as possible.”

?The pandemic has played an important role in highlighting the top threats to our global public health outlined above. “The disparities that exist in communities across the country and around the world have really become much deeper in the context of COVID-19,” Maniar says. “We see this in terms of the lack of testing capabilities, challenges in terms of access to healthcare, and when we think about comorbidities or other poor health outcomes that individuals may have which amplify the risk of a poor outcome for the virus.”

?COVID-19: Control and Prevention

The most critical steps for bringing the crisis under control include the following:

Step 1. Implement Widespread Testing

Widespread testing has allowed everyone who needs a test to get one—even those who are asymptomatic. Despite the improved accessibility for testing, similar challenges seen at the beginning of the pandemic continue to reemerge as variants of the virus surge.

?“We really need to make sure that we have these rapid response capabilities to these types of outbreaks so that we identify [them] early [and] have the infrastructure in place to test individuals for different infectious diseases,” Neil Maniar explains. “One of the challenges that we certainly face here is that once the first cases started emerging, we didn’t have the infrastructure in place to broadly test individuals in the population for COVID-19, and we still don’t. There are many many cases that are still undetected right now because we don’t have the capacity to test everyone who is suspected of having COVID-19.” In order to have a better response to this challenge in the future, it is critical to remain prepared for variant surges of COVID-19 and any future diseases.

?Step 2. Understand Where the Gaps Exist

Maniar describes how vital it will be for our nation to identify gaps in our existing public health infrastructure—on local-, national-, and international levels—and take the necessary action to reinforce any weak spots, whether they are in detection, mitigation, or recovery.

?“We need to have the capacity to be able to treat individuals who have COVID-19 while also maintaining our capacity to treat individuals that have all of the other health conditions that folks would normally go into a healthcare setting for,” he says.

?Step 3. Address the Underlying Issues of Healthy Equity

Since these issues become amplified in the context of a pandemic, drawing attention to them now will allow the national and international community to better prepare to respond to the next threat, as well as the ongoing crises that we face.

?“I think that piece is essential right now because, what we do know, is that the more severe cases of COVID-19 are among the individuals who have comorbidities, [including] heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes,” he Maniar says. “[These are] conditions which disproportionately impact underserved communities, and which increase the likelihood of poor outcomes associated with these outbreaks.”

?For this reason, he suggests that “as we think about how we are responding to COVID-19, we need to make sure that we’re addressing the issues of health equity and developing specialized mechanisms so that we alleviate health inequities rather than exacerbate them.”

?How Public Health Professionals Can Make a Difference

?As per the current scenario identified, effectively addressing each of these issues will require coordination of energy and resources at the local-, national-, and international levels. As such, there are many potential paths for public health professionals to make a difference and affect real change in their communities during this time of global crisis and beyond.

?Raise Awareness

?One of the most important ways in which these individuals can get involved is by raising awareness and visibility.

?“As public health professionals, we are obligated to make sure that people have the most accurate information possible, which they can use to inform their personal decisions as well as decisions that stand to impact society at large,” Maniar explains. “Public health professionals…can play a big role in nearly every step of the process—from research to innovation to practice.”

How to Become a Public Health Professional

For individuals who are interested in working to address one of the challenges outlined above, we personally recommend pursuing an education that will arm you with the knowledge and expertise needed to be effective.

?“Find a program that will allow you to learn more about the specific topics that interest you, and that you would like to work to address,” We suggest. There are numerous public health career options for professionals looking to make a difference. For instance, becoming an epidemiologist, focused on investigating the sources of disease outbreaks, is one of the many professions that will undoubtedly have a lasting impact.

?Consider pursuing a Postgraduate diploma in public health administration (PGDPHA) provides first-hand experience and knowledge aimed at informing, strengthening, and preparing communities for viruses such as COVID-19 and beyond.

?Wondering how you can make a difference and address these key public health issues in your community and beyond? Visit our website https://gcforcb.org/ “Preparing for Emerging Public Health Trends” below, and learn about the steps you can take to make a positive impact today.