Mock Question 24

[Guest k2yf]

I'm new to this. If you were asked what do you think is the greatest healthcare problem facing the world today, how would you break down the question?

[Guest sachy]

First off, i would probably credit the healthcare system for being one ofthe best in the world, and that i wouldnt want to chagne the core of the act. If there were one problem i had, however, it would be with the length of time may have to wait for a procedure/see a doctor. Medicare is great, but if one cannot utilize what it is in place for, then it becomes useless (exageration). It's pretty difficult to decide on an exact plan of action that will solve this problem, while still remaining true to the core of the Canada health act. The federal government is on the right track, with its increased funding. However, the money the federal government uses nationally for health care, and the money recieved (from the fed gov't) and spent by the provinces must all be accounted for. The reviewing comitee proposed by Romanow in his report is a great idea; they can be the public's eyes, making sure that the money spent for health care is done so in an efficient and useful manner. The more money provinces save and keep from spending on less emergent things, the more doctors that can be hired.

Another possible solution would be the 24 hour 'grouped' clinics (not sure of the exact name). By having a clinic where the 7 or 8 doctors that practice there are all, essentially your doctor, cues for non-emergent things will hopefully be decreased.

 

I dont know, this is just waht i think.....

[Guest Kirsteen]

Hi there,

 

How about global overpopulation? That may be the root of a litany of different types of problems, including those faced by the healthcare sector.

 

Cheers,

Kirsteen

[Guest peachy]

Is that really true about global overpopulation? I don't know much about it, but I have definitely read articles claiming that in many countries the birthrates have slowed so much that it's no longer really an issue, and that the world has the resources to feed and support that many people if we allocate resources reasonably.

 

In terms of a global issue, I'd probably pick AIDS. Reading about AIDS statistics outside of North America, and especially in Africa, is .... just tremendously, tremendously scary and upsetting.

 

But I'm sure you know a million times more about each of these issues than I do, Kirsteen, you being the epidemiology expert...

[Guest Kirsteen]

Hey there peachy,

 

I'm an epi-neophyte and certainly no expert! :eek

 

As to birthrates, many "western" countries' birthrates are sagging; however, "western" country populations certainly don't encompass the majority of the world population.

 

There are a whole host of issues that sprout from overpopulation that relate to human health. (Interestingly enough, I learned more about these issues in the Environmental Chemistry course that I took last year, than in epidemiology this year.) In any case, it's probably quite possible to go on for hours about it, so perhaps it's better, for interview purposes, to select something a little more straightforward. HIV is certainly a good choice!

 

Cheers,

Kirsteen

[Guest k2yf]

I was thinking along this line too. But I'm just wondering how it will affect us in the developed world. I was also thinking that maybe many health problems truly facing the world today are the ones we have not observed, but will brew themselves into bigger problems in the future. I agree with Kirsteen on the overpopulating issue. It's not just about allocating resources and underdeveloped countries. Recent cases in Hong Kong regarding H5N5 virus are a result of high population density and faster transportation networks between rural and urban areas. Higher pollution may cause higher risks of lung cancer.

Thanks Kirsteen for putting up an umbrella over what I was thinking.

[Guest Kirsteen]

Hi there, and no worries!

 

A similar set of events (to your H5N5 example) occurred in one of the countries of southeast Asia (I can't remember which, but I saw a research presentation on this last year). Apparently a malaria outbreak occurred in an area in which malaria (at least from this one type of mosquito) was relatively rare. It was apparently due to the establishment of new trading routes, none of which had connected to this other, malaria-stricken region before.

 

Cheers,

Kirsteen

[Guest bj]

hi,

 

I was just reading your postings on overpopulation and thought I might add my two-cents worth. I did my undergrad in Environment and Health, so these global health issues often came up!

 

I would say that overpopulation is an important concern, but even more pressing to the global health agenda is climate change. As Kirsteen said, malaria is sprouting up in regions where it did not previously exist (think of West Nile virus) and will have an easier time establishing itself thanks to changing in local climate.

 

It is quite amazing to think of the repercussions of too many cars and too much energy use!

 

BJ

[Guest tirisa]

Hey K2yf,

 

You were wondering how HIV in Africa could affect us here... well here are my thoughts.

 

When you look at the ecomonic impact of HIV/AIDs in Africa, you first need to understand that HIV/AIDS afflicts the working age population most... ages 18-45 or so. Then, think of the impact on the micro-economic level, where one head of households is sick, can no longer work (one income gone), the other maybe will have to care for that person (two incomes gone) or will have to tend to the crops and animals on his/her own, maybe take the kids out of school to help in the fields or to care for the sick. With less agricultural produce to go to market, a family may not be able to pay school fees, so kids will have to get pulled out of school. If a sick father worked in a factory, then that's one less person producing in the factory. Anyway, this is just one family.

 

Imagine now millions and millions of families all who are producing less, either in agricultural or industrial products. The economic impact has been incredible in the agricultural, labor, health, and education sectors. So, the macro-economic impact of HIV/AIDs is that the countries GDP will fall drastically, there will be less exports of whatever the country produces, and less purchasing power by the country to buy drugs, food, pay for more doctors, teachers, etc etc. This in turn affects international trade by developed countries with those developing countries...

 

Anyway, I'm not an economist, so my terminology may not be totally correct, but I think that the ripple affect of HIV/AIDS in Africa is incredibly profound throughout the world.

 

Hope my thoughts were somewhat clear.

Cheers,

T

[Guest Kirsteen]

Hi bj,

 

I think you're bang on there; however overpopulation has a direct effect on the global climate in a number of ways. 1) More biomass = more carbon dioxide production; 2) more of a shift in demographics to more developed, stabler economies = greater energy consumption and far greater CO2 production per capita. A greater CO2 concentration in our atmosphere leads to a whole host of nasty stuff (the greenhouse effect), melting of the ice caps, El Nino/Nina, decreased Earth's albido and further heating... essentially an exponential downward spiral. My environmental chemistry professor was convinced that this was one of the most serious and imminent threats to human existence, aside from nuclear war; prior to taking that course, I wasn't.

 

People are great and life is valuable, but man, too many is not necessarily a better thing.

 

Cheers,

Kirsteen

[Guest macdaddyeh]

Kirsteen:

 

I recently finished an anthropology course in which we debated and studied and read about the motif of "overpopulation." As an epidemiologist you might really find it interesting that there is a current of thought out there that believes the notion of "overpopulation" is a falsely constructed idea.

 

That is to say that "overpopulation" defies definition and when people do use the term it is often western development agencies that use the notion of "overpopulation" to justify the perpetual deployment of unnecessary, colonial "development" projects.

 

Sure population is problematic in terms of resources, but I could think of a million other issues. Nonetheless, you did put forth some thought-provoking reasons for understanding the idea of "overpopulation."

 

Furthermore, I really agree with fellow posters that the greatest health care problem anywhere right now is AIDS. I in fact think it is very scary that they are attempting to come out with an AIDS vaccine; that is really not addressing many underlying systemic and cultural issues.

[Guest Kirsteen]

Hi there macdaddyeh,

 

You're absolutely correct: overpopulation is a construct and definitions surround constructs. I also agree with you that it can be used in many ways and by many people. "Health care problem" likewise, is a construct and can be viewed in many different ways again, by many different folks.

 

In short, there are quite a few ways to answer the original question and we've come up with a few here which is fab. If an interviewee can provide a few examples in the interview instead of blanking and providing none, all the better!

 

Cheers,

Kirsteen

[Guest sally2001]

macdaddyeh,

your handle totally reminds me of those two kid rappers in the early 90s who rapped about jumping and missing the bus.. macdaddy and daddymac (i think). lol

anyway,

i think you raised a great (and profound) pt about overpopulation. certainly if 6B people worldwide would live at the standard of the "affluent" world, there would be a crisis. while we've become so high-tech, we should remember that 75% of the world's population don't own phones.. only 1% (of the world's pop) has a university degree.

i remember talking to one of my former colleagues (a smart guy with a ph.d in physics) about medicine, biotechnology and biomedical engineering, and he says (in jest) "well the problem is that there are just too many people already. you don't need to cure them - we've already got too many!".

personally, as a culture, i think we've (ie N.Americans) are way too self-centered.