Assignment #2

  The former current events article, “Ten Great Public Health Achievements – United States, 1990-1999” was assigned in class. It listed and then further explained ten accomplishments carried out by public health administrators within one decade. The ten achievements documented were definitely not the only one reached in the United States, but they were considered the most important and influential. While there still remained many others, these were the ten that qualified as the most prominent: “vaccination, motor-vehicle safety, safer workplaces, control of infectious diseases, decline in deaths from coronary disease and stroke, safer and healthier foods, healthier mothers and babies, family planning, fluoridation of drinking water, recognition of tobacco use as a hazard.” The article described how improvements in the aforementioned areas lead to success in increasing the quality of life in America.

  One achievement in particular that resonates with me is motor-vehicle safety. Through the local news and previous public health lectures, I have been made very aware that number one hazard causing death in the teenage age group are motor-vehicle accidents. Cars, especially in the fast and busy society that has been established in the United States, have become an integral part of our society despite their dangers. Over the years, cars have become increasingly faster, bigger, and more powerful, and at the same time the majority of the people in this country are dependent on them to carry out their daily lives. I have a few friends and family members who have come near to tragic ends involving automotive vehicles. Without the implementations added by public health administrators, such as more heavily enforced seatbelt laws, increased amount of highway guard rails, and an improved quality of airbags, my family and friends may not have survived their accidents.

  Another achievement that particularly resonates with me is safer and healthier foods. This is something that inevitably affects everyone in the country because food is absolutely essential for survival, and there is no way to get around that fact. If food is becoming generally less hazardous and more beneficial for people's health than it has the power to improve the lives and healths of lower income families who previously did not have the resources to spend extra money on healthier foods. With improvement in the same direction for the future, this achievement will further depletion of obesity rates and malnourishment.

  One achievement made in the past century due to public health measures that was not mentioned in the article is the improvement of public sanitation. Public bathrooms have become increasingly more environmentally friendly and evasive of germs. This has been achieved with lowering the use of paper towels and employing hand dryers, as well creating motion sensor toilets, sinks, and soap dispensers which drastically decreases contact with germs and saves resources. Also, a toilet that has two levels of flushing has been recently developed. It dispenses more or less amounts of water, depending on the state of the waste, and this aid to water conservation is also a great help to our environment.