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Improve Global Health:
Reduce Preventable Deaths
The LearnWell Global Lowcost Health
Initiative
| Course Number |
LWH911 |
| Objectives |
This course will help you understand 1. how
low-cost health measures can reduce global preventable mortality and 2. how
you can contribute to the reduction of global preventable mortality.
At the end of this course, you will
1. understand some of the
issues that contribute to preventable deaths, 2. be equipped to start
improving global health. |
| Credit Hours and Fee |
3.0 CE Credit Hours with a fee of $0.00 |
| Instructors |
Rudolf Klimes, PhD (Indiana University), MPH
(Johns Hopkins University),
Adjunct Professor, Folsom Lake College, Folsom, CA, and Aurora Green,
M.Sc. |
The Global Lowcost Health Initiative to
prevent 12 million deaths annually.
Welcome
to this
3-contact-hour Continuing Education course
(RN-CEP 11430, MFT- PCE
39) with instant online processing
and certification 24/7. Study the course below, take the 12-question
multiple-choice test and register online. If
you score 75% or above, you may print your CE certificate on your printer as
soon as you finish.
If you have difficulty printing your certificate,
click here.
You may retake the test once.
Do
the following for self-study. Do not submit the answers.
There is a 5 years difference in life expectancy between developed and
developing countries.
A few risks cause most premature deaths.
Heart disease cost the USA the most of any disease.
Nicotine reaches the brain within ten seconds after inhalation.

In all the world, there are over 50 million
preventable deaths each year.
Nine simple and inexpensive ways may save
over a quarter of them.
Improve Sanitation
1. Wash hands regularly
2. Drink purified water (8 glasses)
3. Build pit latrines where needed
Improve Nutrition
4. Eat a healthy diet and keep your BMI under
25
5. Give vitamin A to children, where needed
6. Use oral re-hydration, when needed
General Health
7. Quit smoking and harmful drugs
8. Walk or exercise half hour daily
9. Relax, rest and reduce stress as needed
What Can You Do?
| 1. Practice the nine areas of Global Health as they apply to you.
Prevent your own premature death. |
| 2. Pass on the information in this Global Health Initiative to
your friends, neighbors and co-workers. |
| 3. If possible, send the Global Health Initiative to
professionals and persons in developing countries. |
The 1st phase of Global Health in 2006-2007 deals primarily with items 1-4.
Global Lowcost Health Initiative
According to EarthTrends, the life expectancy in 2005 in
developed countries is 74.8 years, in developing countries it is 64.9 years.
This is about a 10 year difference.
http://earthtrends.wri.org/
The ten leading risk factors globally are: underweight; unsafe sex; high blood
pressure; tobacco consumption; alcohol consumption; unsafe water, sanitation and
hygiene; iron deficiency; indoor smoke from solid fuels; high cholesterol; and
obesity. Together, these account for more than one-third of all deaths
worldwide.
The report shows that a relatively small number of risks cause a huge number of
premature deaths and account for a very large share of the global burden of
disease.
For example, at least 30% of all disease burden occurring in many developing
countries, such as those in sub-Saharan Africa and South-East Asia, results from
fewer than five of the ten risks listed above. Underweight alone accounts for
over three million childhood deaths a year in developing countries.
In other, more developed, countries such as China and most countries in Central
and South America, five risk factors cause at least one-sixth of their total
disease burden. At the same time in the most industrialized countries of North
America, Europe and the Asian Pacific, at least one-third of all disease burden
is caused by tobacco, alcohol, blood pressure, cholesterol and obesity.
Furthermore, more than three-quarters of cardiovascular disease -- the world's
leading cause of death -- results from tobacco use, high blood pressure or
cholesterol, or their combination. Overall, cholesterol causes more than 4
million premature deaths a year, tobacco causes almost 5 million, and blood
pressure causes 7 million.
Source: 2002
http://www.who.int/whr/2002/overview/en/
In The USA
Expenditures for health care in the United States continue to rise and are
estimated to reach $1.66 trillion in 2003. Much of these costs can be attributed
to the diagnosis and treatment of chronic diseases and conditions such as
diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease and asthma.
- Approximately 129 million U.S. adults are overweight or obese which
costs this Nation anywhere from $69 billion to $117 billion per year.
- In 2000, an estimated 17 million people (6.2 percent of the population)
had diabetes, costing the U.S. approximately $132 billion. People with
diabetes lost more than 8 days per year from work, accounting for 14 million
disability days.
- Heart disease and stroke are the first and third leading causes of death
in the United States. In 2003 alone, 1.1 million Americans will have a heart
attack. Cardiovascular diseases cost the Nation more than $300 billion each
year.
- Approximately 23 million adults and 9 million children have been
diagnosed with asthma at some point within their lifetime, with costs near
$14 billion per year.
A much smaller amount is spent on preventing these conditions. There is
accumulating evidence that much of the morbidity and mortality associated with
these chronic diseases may be preventable.
For many Americans, individual behavior and lifestyle choices influence the
development and course of these chronic conditions. Unhealthy behaviors, such as
a poor diet, lack of physical activity, and tobacco use are risk factors for
many chronic conditions and diseases. A high calorie diet and sedentary
lifestyle commonly result in excessive weight gain. Overweight and obesity are
risk factors for a large number of chronic diseases, most significantly, type 2
diabetes, congestive heart failure, stroke, and hypertension. Encouraging
individuals to adopt healthy habits and practices may reduce the burden of
chronic disease in communities throughout the United States.
Recently, public and private efforts and programs are increasingly designed
to promote healthy behaviors. Employers are becoming more aware that overweight
and obesity, lack of physical activity, and tobacco use are adversely affecting
the health and productivity of their employees and ultimately, the businesses'
bottom line. As a result, innovative employers are providing their employees
with a variety of work-site-based health promotion and disease prevention
programs. These programs have been shown to improve employee health, increase
productivity and yield a significant return on investment for the employer. For
example, a recent review of health promotion and disease management programs
found a significant return on investment for these programs, with
benefit-to-cost ratios, ranging from $1.49 to $4.91 (median of $3.14) in
benefits for every dollar spent on the program. Several major companies with
award-winning cost-saving health promotion disease prevention programs are
profiled in this report and include:(1)
- Motorola's wellness program, which stet the company $3.93 for every $1
invested.
- Northeast Utilities Well Aware Program, which in its first 24 months
reduced lifestyle and behavioral claims by $1,400,000.
- Caterpillar's Healthy Balance program, which is projected to result in
long term savings of $700 million by 2015.
- Johnson & Johnson's Health and Wellness Program, which has produced
average annual health care savings of $224.66 per employee.
By changing the way they live, individual Americans could change their
personal health status and the health landscape of the Nation dramatically.
In 2003, it is estimated that the U.S. will spend $1.66 trillion on health
care expenditures.(2) Health care spending is
growing faster than the gross domestic product (GDP) and is projected to account
for 17.7 percent of the GDP by 2012, up from 14.1 percent in 2001. A small
number of chronic disorders-such as diabetes and cardiovascular diseases-account
for the majority of deaths each year, and the medical care costs of people with
chronic diseases account for more than 75 percent of the nation's medical care
costs.(3) As the population of the United States
ages substantially over the next several decades, the prevalence of chronic
diseases--and their impact on health care costs--will likely increase.
Each individual's health is shaped by many factors including medical care,
social circumstances, and behavioral choices.(4)
Increasingly, there is clear evidence that the major chronic conditions that
account for so much of the morbidity and mortality in the U.S., and the enormous
direct and indirect costs associated with them, in large part are
preventable-and that to a considerable degree they stem from, and are
exacerbated by, individual behaviors. In particular, overweight and obesity,
lack of physical activity, and smoking greatly increase the risk of developing
the most serious chronic disorders. Most of the dollars spent on health care in
the United States, however, are for the direct care of medical conditions, while
only a very small portion is targeted on preventing those conditions.(5)
As Americans see health care expenditures continue to increase, it is important
to focus on strategies that reduce the prevalence and cost of preventable
diseases. This paper summarizes recent research findings on the prevalence,
effects and costs of some of these key preventable conditions and highlights
several award-winning business prevention programs that make common "cents."(6)
1. Health Project website:
healthproject.stanford.edu/koop.
Information presented in the report on notable employee wellness programs was
obtained primarily from this website.
2. Table 2-National Health Expenditure Amounts and Average
Percent Change by Type of Expenditure: Selected Calendar Years 1980-2012. CMS
website/OACT projections (cms.hhs.gov/statistics/nhe/projections-2002/t2.asp).
3. CDC website:
www.cdc.gov/nccdphp
4. McGinnis JM. "United States," in Critical Issues in
Global Health, ed. C.E. Koop (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2001), 80-90.
5. McGinnis JM, Williams-Russo P, Knickman JR. The case
for more active policy attention to health promotion. Health Affairs.
2002; 21(2):78-92.
6. Health Project website:
healthproject.stanford.edu/koop.
Information presented in the report on notable employee wellness programs was
obtained primarily from this website.

Improve Sanitation
1. Wash hands regularly
| The
most important thing that you can do to keep from getting sick is to
wash your hands.
By frequently washing your hands you wash away germs that you have
picked up from other people, or from contaminated surfaces, or from
animals and animal waste.
What happens if you do not wash your hands frequently?
You pick up germs from other sources and then you infect yourself when
you
- Touch your eyes
- Or your nose
- Or your mouth.
One of the most common ways people catch colds is by rubbing their
nose or their eyes after their hands have been contaminated with the
cold virus.
You can also spread germs directly to others or onto surfaces that
other people touch. And before you know it, everybody around you is
getting sick.
The important thing to remember is that, in addition to colds, some
pretty serious diseases -- like hepatitis A, meningitis, and infectious
diarrhea -- can easily be prevented if people make a habit of washing
their hands.
When should you wash your hands?
You should wash your hands often. Probably more often than you do now
because you can't see germs with the naked eye or smell them, so you do
not really know where they are hiding.
It is especially important to wash your hands
- Before, during, and after you prepare food
- Before you eat, and after you use the bathroom
- After handling animals or animal waste
- When your hands are dirty, and
- More frequently when someone in your home is sick.
What is the correct way to wash your hands?
- First wet your hands and apply liquid or clean bar soap. Place
the bar soap on a rack and allow it to drain.
- Next rub your hands vigorously together and scrub all surfaces.
- Continue for 10 - 15 seconds or about the length of a little
tune. It is the soap combined with the scrubbing action that helps
dislodge and remove germs.
- Rinse well and dry your hands.
It is estimated that one out of three people do not wash their hands
after using the restroom. So these tips are also important when you are
out in public.
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/op/handwashing.htm |

2. Drink purified water (8 glasses
daily)
| There is no such thing as naturally pure
water. In nature, all water contains some impurities. As water flows
in streams, sits in lakes, and filters through layers of soil and rock
in the ground, it dissolves or absorbs the substances that it touches.
Some of these substances are harmless. In fact, some people prefer
mineral water precisely because minerals give it an appealing taste.
However, at certain levels minerals, just like man-made chemicals, are
considered contaminants that can make water unpalatable or even unsafe.
Some contaminants come from erosion of natural rock formations. Other
contaminants are substances discharged from factories, applied to
farmlands, or used by consumers in their homes and yards. Sources of
contaminants might be in your neighborhood or might be many miles
away. Your local water quality report tells which contaminants are in
your drinking water, the levels at which they were found, and the actual
or likely source of each contaminant.
Some ground water systems have established wellhead protection
programs to prevent substances from contaminating their wells.
Similarly, some surface water systems protect the watershed around their
reservoir to prevent contamination. Right now, states and water
suppliers are working systematically to assess every source of drinking
water and to identify potential sources of contaminants. This process
will help communities to protect their drinking water supplies from
contamination, and a summary of the results will be in future water
quality reports.
http://www.epa.gov/safewater/dwh/contams.html
|
|
Purifying Water
Boiling and chemical sterilization are two ways to purify water.
Any water that is obtained from sources outside the home or water
that does not appear clear should be sterilized. Non-sterilized water
may be contaminated with the parasite Giardia.
Straining water. Strain water containing sediment or floating
material through a cloth or paper filter before beginning the
purification process.
- Heat sterilization. Boiling water is the
preferred method of purification because disease-causing-
microorganisms cannot survive the intense heat. Bring water to a
rolling boil for 1 minute. Pour the water back and forth from one
clean container to another to improve the taste. Adding a pinch of
salt could also help.
- Chemical sterilization. In some
situations, boiling may not be an option. The alternative is to
treat the water chemically. Plain household chlorine bleach may be
used. Be sure the label states that hypochlorite is the only active
ingredient. Bleach containing soap or fragrances is not acceptable.
With an eye dropper, add 8 drops of bleach per gallon of water (16
if the water is cloudy), stir and let stand. After 30 minutes the
water should taste and smell of chlorine. At this time it can be
used. If the taste and smell (and appearance in the case of cloudy
water) has not changed, add another dose and let stand. If after one
half hour the water does not have a chlorine smell, do not use it.
-
http://www.fema.gov/rrr/waterf.shtm
|

3. Build pit latrines where needed
Whereas, the inhabitants of the Town of Lamoine are
deeply concerned about the tremendous crowds which have attended outdoor
pageants, amusement shows, theatrical performances, including music
festivals and exhibitions, in various parts of the United States and the
results thereof, and
Whereas, said events have led to serious
problems in the way of inadequate toilet, waste disposal, potable water, and
first aid facilities, obstructions and damages to roads and highways,
violations of liquor and drug laws, and destruction of both public and
private property.
Now, therefore, the following ordinance is
passed in the interest of promoting the general welfare, preventing disease,
promoting health and providing for the public safety.
1.
No person shall exhibit, sponsor, hold, promote or operate any
pageant, amusement show, theatrical performance, including a music festival
or exhibition, which in excess of 500 people are reasonable anticipated to
attend and where a substantial portion of the entertainers or person
attending will be out of doors without first procuring from the municipal
officers a lisensee therefore at least 7 days prior to the event and payment
of the sum of $100 to the town therefore.
2.
No license shall be
granted by the municipal officers unless the applicant satisfies the
municipal officers that the following facilities will be available for such
event in the area to be used and no such person shall hold such an event
unless such facilities are available:
A.
Water supplies of
potable quality shall be reasonable spaced throughout the area to be used
with a minimum amount available of 1½ gallons per day per person. Such
water may be batch chlorinated in a tank to provide a chlorine residual of
at least .5 parts per million. At each facility there shall be adequate
spigots with cups, or dispensers.
B.
Separate male and female
facilities shall be available to a public sewer system or septic tank, or
trenches or pits may be used under the following specifications. Trenches
shall be one foot wide and two feet deep with at least fifteen feet of
trench for each reasonable anticipated 100 persons. After use trenches
shall be filled with earth to a point well above ground level. If pit
latrines are used, pits shall be two feet wide with a depth of at least 5
feet with in no case the pit to extend into ground water or ledge and with
such pits to be in soil having porosity such that liquids shall drain from
the pit. At least one toilet seat shall be provided for water toilets or
pit latrines for each 40 persons reasonable expected to attend.
Urinal pits may be made
available for men to replace one-third of the pit latrines with discharge to
a soakage pit, such pits to be at least 4 feet square by 4 feet deep filled
with one to four inch stones and with the pit ventilated by screened
ventilators extending to within 1 foot of the bottom. If such urinal pits
are used, there shall be at least 1 for each reasonable anticipated 100
males. All toilet facilities shall be adequately screened for privacy with
canvas or wood.
C.
At each toilet facility,
there shall be hand-washing facilities, which may utilize stored water with
outlets equipped with spring operated spigots, with adequate provision for
disposal of waste water to soakage pits and with soap dispensers available.
http://www.lamoine-me.gov/Town%20Hall/Ordinances/OutdoorFestivalOrdinance.htm

Improve Nutrition
4. Eat a healthy diet and keep your BMI under
25
|
Action List for Whole Grains
Did you know that there are some great reasons to eat more whole
grain breads and cereals?
They are low in fat.
They are good sources of fiber, vitamins, minerals, and protein.
They can be fixed and eaten in may ways.
Here are some actions to get you started and keep you going. Try two
or three actions now and try more later.
Choose whole grain varieties of bread, muffins, bagels and rolls (whole
wheat, bran, oatmeal, multigrain).
What's a whole grain? It's a grain that still has its outer
covering, which contains the grain's fiber and many of its vitamins and
minerals.
Choose a whole grain (oatmeal, wheatena) variety when you have hot
cereal, or a cold breakfast cereal that provides at least 4 grams of
fiber for serving.
Have whole wheat varieties of pancakes or waffles.
In recipes that call for flour, use at least half whole wheat flour.
For dinner at least twice a week, serve whole wheat noodles, brown
rice or bulgur (cracked wheat).
Try higher fiber cracker varieties, such as whole rye crackers,
whole grain flatbread, or some of the new mulilti-grain crackers. Check
the label to make sure you're choosing a low-fat variety.
Once a week or more, try a low-fat meatless meal or main dish that
features whole grains (spinach lasagna, red beans over brown rice and
vegetable stir-fry).
http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov/cic_text/food/guideeat/grains.html |
Weight Management
|
Experts agree that the best way to
reach a healthy weight is to follow a sensible
eating plan and engage in regular physical activity.
Weight-loss programs should encourage healthy
behaviors that help you lose weight and that you can
maintain over time. Safe and effective weight-loss
programs should include:
- Healthy eating plans that reduce calories
but do not rule out specific foods or food
groups
- Regular physical activity and/or exercise
instruction
- Tips on healthy behavior changes that also
consider your cultural needs
- Slow and steady weight loss of about ¾ to 2
pounds per week and not more than 3 pounds per
week (weight loss may be faster at the start of
a program)
- Medical care if you are planning to lose
weight by following a special formula diet, such
as a very-low-calorie diet
- A plan to keep the weight off after you have
lost it
-
http://win.niddk.nih.gov/publications/choosing.htm
|
|
|

5. Give vitamin A to children, where needed
High potency vitamin A given twice a year reduces the number of
child death by 34 percent. It made the children less vulnerable to measles,
malaria, diarrhea and dysentery. While WHO provides it to 400 million children
in developing countries, only about one-third of children who need it receive
it. A pill costs about four cents.
Between 100 and 140 million children are vitamin A deficient.
• An estimated 250 000 to 500 000 vitamin A-deficient children become blind
every year, half of them dying within 12 months of losing their sight.
• Nearly 600 000 women die from childbirth-related causes each year, the vast
majority of them from complications which could be reduced through better
nutrition, including provision of vitamin A.
Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) is the leading cause of preventable blindness in
children and raises the risk of disease and death from severe infections. In
pregnant women VAD causes night blindness and may increase the risk of maternal
mortality.
Vitamin A deficiency is a public health problem in 118 countries, especially in
Africa and South-East Asia, once again hitting hardest young children and
pregnant women in low-income countries.
For deficient children, the periodic supply of high-dose vitamin A in swift,
simple, low-cost, high-benefit interventions has also produced remarkable
results, reducing mortality by 23% overall and by up to 50% for acute measles
sufferers.
http://www.who.int/nut/vad.htm

6. Use oral rehydration, when needed
| Among children in the United States, acute
gastroenteritis remains a major cause of morbidity and hospitalization,
accounting for >1.5 million outpatient visits, 200,000 hospitalizations,
and approximately 300 deaths/year. Direct medical costs for rotavirus
diarrhea, which represents approximately one third of all
hospitalizations for diarrhea among U.S. children aged <5 years, have
been estimated to be $250 million/year, with an estimated $1
billion/year in total costs to society.
Worldwide, diarrhea diseases are a leading cause of pediatric
morbidity and mortality, with 1.5 billion episodes and 1.5--2.5 million
deaths estimated to occur annually among children aged <5 years.
Although the total number of deaths from diarrhea is still unacceptably
high, these numbers have been reduced substantially in the 1980s and
1990s. For example, in 1982, an estimated 5 million deaths/year
occurred, and in 1992, the estimated annual deaths declined to 3
million/year
A substantial portion of the decrease in mortality is attributable to
worldwide campaigns to treat acute diarrhea with oral re-hydration
therapy (ORT). The development of ORT represents a successful
collaboration between basic and applied biomedical research. The
application of ORT also represents a case of reverse technology
transfer, because protocols originally implemented to benefit patients
in developing countries have changed the standard of care in
industrialized countries as well.
ORT encompasses two phases of treatment: 1) a re-hydration phase, in
which water and electrolytes are administered as oral re-hydration
solution (ORS) to replace existing losses, and 2) a maintenance phase,
which includes both replacement of ongoing fluid and electrolyte losses
and adequate dietary intake. Although ORT implies re-hydration alone, the
definition used in this report has been broadened to include maintenance
fluid therapy and appropriate nutrition.
The full benefits of ORT for acute gastroenteritis have not been
realized, especially in countries with developed market economies that
have lagged behind less-developed countries in their use of ORT. One
reason for this low usage of ORT might be the ingrained use of
intravenous (IV) therapy or the reduced appeal of a technologically
simple solution. This is especially true in the United States, where
children with all forms of dehydration are treated with IV fluids rather
than ORT. Approximately 30% of practicing pediatricians withhold ORT for
children with vomiting or moderate dehydration. In addition, the
practice of continued feeding during diarrheal episodes has been
difficult to establish as accepted standard of care. Although
substantial in vitro and in vivo data support the role of continued
nutrition in improving gastrointestinal function and anthropometric,
biochemical, and clinical outcomes, early appropriate feeding is often
withheld.
In 1992, CDC prepared the first national guidelines for managing
childhood diarrhea. Since the last recommendations were published in
MMWR, data have emerged regarding diarrhea treatment, including the
importance of zinc supplementation and the value of more effective oral
solutions of lower osmolarity (i.e., proportionally reduced
concentrations of sodium and glucose). These recommendations update the
previous report, review the historical background and scientific basis
of ORT, and provide a framework for assessing and treating infants and
children who have acute diarrhea. The discussion focuses on common
clinical scenarios and traditional practices, especially with regard to
continued feeding. Limitations of ORT, ongoing research in the areas of
micronutrient supplements, and functional foods are reviewed.
These updated recommendations were developed by specialists in
managing gastroenteritis, in consultation with CDC and external
consultants. Relevant literature was identified through an extensive
MEDLINE search by using related terms. Articles were then reviewed for
their relevance to pediatric practice, with emphasis on U.S.
populations. Unpublished references were sought from the external
consultants and other researchers.
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr5216a1.htm
ORT Formula:
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
8 teaspoons sugar
8 ounces orange juice (optional)
Dilute to 1 liter with water
http://www.uspharmacist.com/oldformat.asp?url=newlook/files/Feat/ACF2EF8.cfm&pub_id=8&article_id=37
See also
http://www.rehydrate.org/ and
http://www.cps.ca/english/statements/N/n94-03.htm and
http://www.nand.org/

General Health
7. Quit smoking and harmful drugs
How Smoking Harms People of All Ages
- Toxic ingredients in cigarette smoke travel throughout the body,
causing damage in several different ways. (p. 616)
- Nicotine reaches the brain within 10 seconds after smoke is
inhaled. It has been found in every part of the body and in breast
milk. (p. 616)
- Carbon monoxide binds to hemoglobin in red blood cells,
preventing affected cells from carrying a full load of oxygen. (p.
616)
- Cancer-causing agents (carcinogens) in tobacco smoke damage
important genes that control the growth of cells, causing them to
grow abnormally or to reproduce too rapidly. (p. 44-45)
- The carcinogen benzo[a] pyrene binds to cells in the airways and
major organs of smokers. (p. 616)
- Smoking affects the function of the immune system and may
increase the risk for respiratory and other infections. (p. 616)
- There are several likely ways that cigarette smoke does its
damage. One is oxidative stress that mutates DNA, promotes
atherosclerosis, and leads to chronic lung injury. Oxidative stress
is thought to be the general mechanism behind the aging process,
contributing to the development of cancer, cardiovascular disease,
and COPD. (p. 619)
- The body produces antioxidants to help repair damaged cells.
Smokers have lower levels of antioxidants in their blood than do
nonsmokers. (p. 618–619)
- Smoking is associated with higher levels of chronic
inflammation, another damaging process that may result from
oxidative stress. (p. 619)
Citation
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The
Health Consequences of Smoking: A Report of the Surgeon General.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention
and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health, 2004.
Smoking remains the leading cause of preventable death and has
negative health impacts on people at all stages of life. It harms unborn
babies, infants, children, adolescents, adults, and seniors.
http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/sgr/sgr_2004/Factsheets/7.htm

8. Walk or exercise half hour daily
- Significant health benefits can be
obtained by including a moderate amount of
physical activity (e.g., 30 minutes of brisk
walking or raking leaves, 15 minutes of
running, 45 minutes of playing volleyball).
Additional health benefits can be gained
through greater amounts of physical
activity.
- Thirty to sixty minutes of activity
broken into smaller segments of 10 or 15
minutes throughout the day has significant
health benefits.
- Moderate daily physical activity can
reduce substantially the risk of developing
or dying from cardiovascular disease, type 2
diabetes, and certain cancers, such as colon
cancer. Daily physical activity helps to
lower blood pressure and cholesterol, helps
prevent or retard osteoporosis, and helps
reduce obesity, symptoms of anxiety and
depression, and symptoms of arthritis.
- Cardiovascular disease (heart attacks,
strokes) is the number one killer of men and
women in the United States. Physically
inactive people are twice as likely to
develop coronary heart disease as regularly
active people. The health risk posed by
physical inactivity is almost as high as
risk factors such as cigarette smoking, high
blood pressure, and high cholesterol.
- Source:
http://www.fitness.gov/resources_factsheet.htm

9. Relax, rest and reduce stress as needed
Things to Remember When
Trying to Understand Disaster Events
- No one who sees a disaster is untouched by it.
- It is normal to feel anxious about you and your
family's safety.
- Profound sadness, grief, and anger are normal
reactions to an abnormal event.
- Acknowledging our feelings helps us recover.
- Focusing on our strengths and abilities will
help you to heal.
- Accepting help from community programs and
resources is healthy.
- We each have different needs and different ways
of coping.
- It is common to want to strike back at people
who have caused great pain. However, nothing good is accomplished by
hateful language or actions.
Signs that Adults Need Stress Management Assistance
- Difficulty communicating thoughts
- Difficulty sleeping
- Difficulty maintaining balance
- Easily frustrated
- Increased use of drugs/alcohol
- Limited attention span
- Poor work performance
- Headaches/stomach problems
- Tunnel vision/muffled hearing
- Colds or flu-like symptoms.
- Disorientation or confusion
- Difficulty concentrating
- Reluctance to leave home
- Depression, sadness
- Feelings of hopelessness
- Mood-swings
- Crying easily
- Overwhelming guilt and self-doubt
- Fear of crowds, strangers, or being alone
Ways to Ease the Stress
- Talk with someone about your feelings– anger,
sorrow, and other emotions-- even though it may be difficult.
- Don't hold yourself responsible for the
disastrous event or be frustrated because you feel that you cannot
help directly in the rescue work.
- Take steps to promote your own physical and
emotional healing by staying active in your daily life patterns or
by adjusting them. This healthy outlook will help yourself and your
family. (i.e. healthy eating, rest, exercise, relaxation,
meditation.)
- Maintain a normal household and daily routine,
limiting demanding responsibilities of yourself and your family.
- Spend time with family and friends.
- Participate in memorials, rituals, and use of
symbols as a way to express feelings.
- Use existing supports groups of family, friends,
and church.
- Establish a family emergency plan. Feeling that
there is something that you can do can be very comforting.
* When to Seek Help: If self help strategies are not helping or
you find that you are using drugs/alcohol in order to cope, you may wish
to seek outside or professional assistance with your stress symptoms.
http://www.mentalhealth.samhsa.gov/publications/allpubs/KEN-01-0097/default.asp
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Test
Study this web-site for 3 hours for an
approved (RN-CEP 11430, MFT- PCE 39) 3-hours Continuing Education Certificate
(0.3 CEUs). Click here for the self-correcting test
, and 2) receive your
certificate immediately online. There is no fee for this course and the
certificate. Do NOT take the test before you studied the
course thoroughly. Explore the suggested boxed websites under each of the nine
topics. All is online, nothing by post-mail.
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