Friday, 26 February, 2010
Nursing on the Front Lines
Trail blazing and longevity are synomonus with Mary Lee Mills. She was an advanced practice nurse midwife who stood the test of time. When she was making her mark on life and in the annals of midwifery history, she also gave a new meaning to service. She demonstrated rising above adversity and in the process she also brought someone alone with her-reaching down and lifting others up. In fact she helped uncountable numbers of people. A fantastic role model!
Mary Lee Mills, RN, MSN, MPH, CNM, was born in 1912 and raised in a rural area outside Watha, in North Carolina. She was one of 11 children and the granddaughter of slaves. Her education began in a school house that had one teacher. Segregation was the law and educational opportunities limited or none existent for Americans of African descent. She started from poor beginnings and went on to achieve international acclaim as an African American nurse while providing health care, education and inspiration to the people she met.
Trail Blazer
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Thursday, 8 January, 2009
How well one eat -good nutrition- plays an important role in healthy living. Starting at about age 30 body fat increases and muscle mass decreases. As the years go by there is a disproportionate number of obese individuals in our society. Why does this happen? Our metabolism slows down and the result is weight gain.
Eating well, as a general rule, does the following:
- Helps lower the risk of high blood pressure, heart disease and diabetes
- Help us loose weight or maintain our weigh
- Help lower our cholesterol
- Help build and maintain our bones
- Help lower our risk of diverticulosis and diverticulitis
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Monday, 5 January, 2009
Today, with an increasing older population and inadequate health system, there is an accompanying interest in complementary and alternative therapies.
One of the goals of The Healthy People 2010 Report is to increase the quality of life and years of life of all individuals. I am assuming that “years of life” refers to “longevity” or life expectancy. The United States rank # 19 with a life expectancy of 78.9 years and Japan ranks #1 with a life expectancy of 82.9 years for women. Men in the U.S. rank #25/ 72.5 years and Japan rank #1/76.4 years.
The focus areas of the report include, among others, health communication, heart disease & stroke, and nutrition & overweight. All these focus areas are included as risk factor for the Metabolic Syndrome. A poor nutritional status and obesity are risk factors for heart disease and stroke. Health illiteracy is a risk factor for a sundry of medical conditions and chronic diseases. Where is the quality of life if there is increased longevity and a decrease in the numbers of health care providers, access to health care and the quality of service?
Simply stated, age is a factor for most chronic diseases. The number of people who use CAM (complementary and alternative medicine) is increasing among adults and older adults do not discuss their use of CAM with their providers. This is one reason why communication/dialogue is important between the primary care provider and the patient. This does not happen in a fifteen minute session. As a result, patients seek other therapies such as CAM.
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