Nikhila Juluri - Discussing Drug Distribution

Adolescent Health 

The time of  adolescence is often one of the toughest times. This period Is when major changes in their lives occur. In addition to this, many teenagers have not yet developed the ability to properly deal with issues. This could lead to serious and drastic measures such as suicide. A report created by the CDC showed that suicide rates in America have risen from 2017 to 2018 by nearly 60% for those aged 10 to 24 ( Dastagir, 2020). While the exact causes for this  rise are not known,  experts speculate that it could have been caused by the economic recession that occurred in 2008 where many people lost their jobs and homes ( Dastagir, 2020). A recent study  by Bushong (1992) showed that adolescent health is the one that hasn't improved in the past 30 years. The National Institute of Mental Health (NIH) does a great job creating and sharing various graphics on social media platforms.  These graphics advise teenagers on signs of mental health problems as well as resources they can reach out to for help. But it is also very important that mental health is discussed in the family household. This can be done by talking to your teenagers about changes that you might have noticed in their behavior and reaching out to them and asking them to talk about their feelings. When a teenager reaches out for help it is crucial that they are given the proper care. This can be done by taking them to a school counselor or someone else who they can talk to about their problems and get the help that's needed (MHA). Talking about mental health helps remove the social stigma from this issue (Banyan Mental Health). It can also help teenagers seek better treatment and not have to hide their feelings. By working together and using these ideas we can hopefully reduce the suicide rate in adolescence. 


Sources: 

https://www.mhanational.org/talking-adolescents-and-teens-starting-conversation 

https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/child-and-adolescent-mental-health/

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2020/09/11/youth-suicide-rate-increases-cdc-report-finds/3463549001/ 

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1574782/ 

https://www.banyanmentalhealth.com/2018/08/01/why-talking-about-mental-health-is-so-important/



Community Health

As the world has advanced people have begun living more comfortable lives that require less energy. With the development of cars people are able to travel from one place to another faster but I've been missing out on the exercise they could have gained by walking the same distance. Additionally,  many jobs are those where you sit in one place for a long period of time and don't involve a lot of moving. Only 19.3 percent of people are involved in daily exercise  (Lange, 2021). Exercise releases endorphins in the blood, improving mood ( Sanders, 2018). Studies have also noted a correlation between exercise and productivity, we're more exercise result in better work completion (Sanders, 2018). Big companies such as Google have recently launched a program where they offer exercise classes during the workday. Another study also showed that Intelligent physical exercise training during the workday resulted in overall health improvement as well as an increase in work productivity (Sjoggard, 2016). Other companies offer gift cards for employees who walk a certain amount of steps per month. If the government is able to create a large program where they reward people for exercising on a daily basis,  there will be an increase in the amount of Americans who exercise . This program can be one where they measure the amount of steps a person walks daily and has different rewards per month depending on their total steps. There will also be an increase in work productivity to do the implementation of a similar program. 


Sources

https://www.statista.com/topics/1749/physical-activity/ 

https://www.bbfp.com.au/latest-articles/how-exercise-improves-productivity-and-your-brain-function 

Worldwide Public Health 

There are many diseases that currently do not have any treatments or cures. But many companies are in the process of creating possible drugs for these diseases. However, this is a process that consumes a lot of money and time. The average cost of a new drug being brought into the market is about 985 million dollars (Terry, 2020). The cost includes trials that have failed. This price has been reflected in the drugs that everyday people buy. A Pew Charitable Trusts study discovered that American spent a total of about $65.8 billion in pharmaceutical drugs in 2016 (Meller, 2019). On the other hand, large pharmaceutical companies such as  Allergen had an annual profit of $15.8 million (Meller, 2019). In other words,  pharmaceutical companies are taking advantage of people and 4 390 to pay high prices for drugs while they take in all the money. To combat this issue,  Congress can create laws that decrease the amount of time a company has monopoly on their drug creation (Khullar, 2020). This way, generic drugs that cost last will be created quicker and be more available for patients as another option . 


Sources

https://www.biospace.com/article/median-cost-of-bringing-a-new-drug-to-market-985-million/ 

https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/democracy/reports/2019/08/30/473911/big-pharma-reaps-profits-hurting-everyday-americans/ 

https://hbr.org/2020/02/3-actions-congress-can-take-to-reduce-drug-prices 







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