Public Health in Oregon - Join The Conversation

I chose “other” because I believe every community needs universal access to primary health care.  As long as millions of people are outside the system, we won’t achieve cost control or better health outcomes. Communities need leadership on the national level for things to really change.

Our communities must peel back the layers and address the causes of obesity.  In order to prevent and treat obesity we have to rethink how we design our infrastructure and how we allocate resources.  This means transportation, land use, economic development, education, health care, public health, and other interests must collaborate for long-term solutions.  All citizens should have easy access to healthy choices that will help prevent and treat obesity and the burden it places on individuals, families, and communities.

While Bend is making progress, other Central Oregon towns lack sidewalks in many areas. The weather is good for walking, but many streets are unsafe. Art and/or other projects (landscaping, plants, etc.) that make walking interesting would encourage people to exercise.

Communities that endorse active transportation (walking, biking, public transportation) would have a long term impact on the health of our residents.  Using the principles of smart growth for changing our communities is necessary.

There are many important issues on this list that public health needs to address. For me, I feel like a top priority should be prevention of childhood obesity, as obese children are more likely to turn into obese adults. Obesity rates in the United States are increasing dramatically. In the past 20 years, the CDC reports that rates have doubled among children aged 6-11, and tripled among adolescents aged 12-19. Obesity puts individuals at risk for a number of physical and psychological problems, including heart disease, diabetes, certain types of cancer, social stigmatization, and low self esteem.  Treatment and management of these obesity-caused conditions require extensive use of public health funding and other resources.

The obesity epidemic is a very large problem with many contributing factors to consider. One I would like to highlight relates to the previous comment. When there is a lack of availability of sustainable, healthy, affordable food choices, individuals are forced to turn to cheap, high-fat, high-calorie options. This, in turn, can lead to obesity. It is important to make healthy options more affordable and easier to obtain. If we want to begin to fix this problem, the healthy choice has to be easier than the unhealthy choice.

http://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/obesity/index.htm

Food insecurity and hunger are important public health issues in Oregon that were not represented by the above list. Oregon has the highest rate of food insecurity with hunger in the nation.  So much time and energy is spent improving schools and education programs but the fact that the children who attend those schools are hungry and unable to take full advantage of the services can be easily overlooked.  Hungry children are more likely to have behavioral issues including irritability, aggression and anxiety.  Hungry children also have problems learning and retaining information.  This problem is not limited to families who are unemployed or living in rural areas.  Food insecurity and hunger are occurring more and more in urban families with at least one working parent.  I would urge the public health community to increase efforts in improving food availability, especially for children.

It was hard to choose from this list.  Some of these are priorities because of the great need, others rise to the top because of the great opportunity we have in making strides toward something “better.”

But I chose “depression and mental health programs” today because, for me, this area seems to suffer from a gross lack of understanding and dis-investment at all levels of our society—even more so than the others.  Also, because the systems to promote mental health are so underfunded and stretched (and in some cases, in disarray), it is imperative that we approach this topic through a preventive and community-wide perspective.