“In Mexico we built a COVID-19 field hospital and developed COVID management protocols for Central American migrants – all the while continuing daily health clinics and ongoing monitoring for COVID in the refugee settlements,” reports Kerrie Flynn, family nurse practitioner with the Massachusetts General Hospital Center for Global Health. Kerrie is an energetic […]
For the entire world, what are leading risk factors for death? And, do YOU possess any of these risk factors? Such questions are both intriguing and relevant. After all, hypertension becomes much more compelling when it is YOUR diagnosis. First, two caveats about this chart: Risk factors maybe behaviors, microorganisms, genetic predispositions, socioeconomic
When does a COVID-19 infected person become a danger to others? This question has profound implications, both for prevention of the disease and for the lifestyles of everyone involved. And, the logic of the answers is relevant to a large number of other infectious diseases, like influenza, measles, chickenpox, and the common cold.
News surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic to date has focused on wealthy countries of China, Italy, Great Britain, in the United States. But what about the rest of the world – southern Asia, Africa, the Middle East? Certainly news organizations have a natural inclination to report about their own countries. Beyond this, the main reasons
Irrelevant and uninteresting are words that describe how most healthcare professionals view the subject of public health. Long ago, PH was a sleepy, required class just when we were anxious to begin our clinical experience. How perspective has suddenly changed. Beginning one month ago, public health became front page news and will continue commanding that
What lessons can be derived from the COVID-19 epidemic in China vs Italy? Both nations are relatively well to do. China’s per capital GDP is $16,000 USD and Italy’s is $27,000. China has 2.5 hospital beds per capita and Italy has 4. Both nations have rather dense populations, with China’s average of 377 per
These are anxious days. Similar to those immediately following 9-11, healthcare professionals throughout the nation report a marked escalation of patients complaining of restlessness, sleep disturbance, and difficulty concentrating. That COVID-19 at the moment is rare in most United States cities gives in little reassurance. Rather, people’s profound anxiety is mainly resulting from school
Amid the growing COVID-19 epidemic, individual responses have largely been composed of emotional anxiety and various personal defensive postures. But what responses are most outstanding? Please allow me to draw upon some ancient history by referencing Rodney Stark’s book, the Rise of Christianity: In 165 AD a smallpox epidemic swept through the Roman
Xi’an City, in the mountains of western China, was the origin of the ancient Silk Road – one that brought prosperity and stature to the People’s Republic. Today, I represent INMED at the China National Congress on General Practice – an event that represents great potential for health prosperity and for the stature of primary
This is vexing question is especially relevant today. Perennially, people have expressed concern that population growth would lead to doomsday scenarios in which jobs, fuel, and food supplies run out. In his 1798 book An Essay on the Principle of Population, economist Thomas Robert Malthus predicted that increasing population ultimately creates economic decline, and inspired