Beyond 28-31; Lifelines 10-11
1. The greatest advances in health and longevity should go to what?
2. Why was BiDil removed from the market?
3. What broad consensus now obtains regarding health differences between and within groups?
4. Funding in 2014 was 50% greater for research areas including the word gene (etc.) than for those including the word _____.
5. Name an "unthinkable" medical experiment to which incarcerated individuals have been subjected.
6. Creating ethical standards for medical research is the flip-side of what "coin"?
7. Most viewers of The Constant Gardener would probably conclude what, mistakenly, about its fictional drug company?
8. Apart from being extraordinarily lucrative for the local doctors who procure test subjects in developing countries, what's another important reason why so much human research is conducted in Africa and other poor regions outside the U.S.?
9. Research in Nigeria for Pfizer was compromised by an apparently fraudulent claim involving a nonexistent what?
10. What two questions should be prerequisite to conducting research in the third world? What should precede human research anywhere in the world?
DQ
- Do you have a duty to be your best self? To whom?
- Is aging a "scourge worse that smallpox"? 265
- How can emergent biomedicine be suitably tailored to public (not just personal & profitable) health?
- COMMENT: "Health is determined by far more than health care." 269
- What forms of preventive medicine/health care do you think would have the greatest constructive impact on health in the U.S.?
- Is there any rationale for ever using human "guinea pigs" for research?
- Are adequate safeguards in place to prevent future research abuses targeting prison populations?
- What do you think of South Carolina's kidney proposal 278
- What's wrong with offering incentives to imprisoned women to donate their eggs?
- Have you read and/or seen The Constant Gardener? What's your review? (If you haven't, are you mad at Marcia Angell for her spoilers)?
- What do you think of CG's Hollywood ending (in the film)?
Lifelines
1. What were some of Senator Mikulski's memorable sayings?
2. What did Dr. Wen know she needed, but didn't think she had time for?
3. 3,500 babies with severe birth defects would cost the U.S. how much?
4. What are the typical metrics of public health, and what's problematic about them?
5. How many people suffer serious falls in the U.S. every year, with what consequences beyond serious physical injury?
6. What did Dr. Wen and her associates know about incremental progress?
DQ
- Why aren't men ever criticized for being "bossy"?
- How long will it take for our society to begin to accord female professionals the same show of respect males regularly receive?
- If you aspire to a career as a medical professional, do you worry about having enough time for reflection and personal wellness? How will you manage that?
- Have you had a strong mentor? Do you plan to be one?
- How can public health acquire a "face"? 168
- Are you an incrementalist? (And what's another word for that? Starts with m...)
Ch 11
1. What did the Eastern Center's staff do for the "Day of Service and Celebration"?
2. What training was the Baltimore city council the nation's first to mandate?
3. What Florida law did Dr. Wen see as an egregious intrusion into medical practice?
4. What was the premise of the "Safe Streets" program?
5. Why did Dr. Wen take issue with the "Defund the police" movement?
DQ
- Have you ever felt unappreciated for your service to an under-served community? Were you able to commiserate with the desperation of those who'd seemed unappreciative? 178
- "When you're a hammer, everything's a nail." How do we diversify our public health toolkit, so that not everything's a "hammer"?
- How do we break the generational cycle of violence and trauma?
3. What broad consensus now obtains regarding health differences between and within groups?
ReplyDeleteHealth differences between groups are not driven by clinical care but by social-structural factors. (Realistically, health differences are probably caused by both of these factors.)
Right. Things are almost always more complicated than an either/or.
Delete4. Funding in 2014 was 50% greater for research areas including the word gene (etc.) than for those including the word _____.
ReplyDeletePrevention. (side note I can't wait for Maria's presentation that expands on this topic!)
5. Name an "unthinkable" medical experiment to which incarcerated individuals have been subjected.
ReplyDeleteTesticular transplants and radiation studies, injections of live cancer cells, dioxin slatherings, and exposure to psychotropic chemicals and mind-control agents.
DQ: What forms of preventive medicine/health care do you think would have the greatest constructive impact on health in the U.S.?
ReplyDeleteI think one of the biggest things to address would be access to health foods. Of course, this might extend what we think of as healthcare related. But health truly starts with nutrition. There are food deserts that may have a bunch of fast food restaurants but not good places to get fresh produce. This is a larger issue because fast food is often cheap and homecooked meals are not. It's also hard to expect people who work multiple jobs and shifts to have the time to cook versus eat out. Making changes in diet could reduce risk of many diseases including diabetes and cancer. If there was a way we could make nutritious food available for more people, I think that would be a good first step.
DQ: Why aren't men ever criticized for being "bossy"?
ReplyDeleteHistorically and stereotypically, men were considered the default "boss," so being "bossy" was considered an asset and instead called assertiveness or leadership. In the past, it was expected that women be more submissive and in the background instead of the forefront. Even now, I think it is generally expected that women act in ways that promote more harmony within the group compared to their male counterparts. So, if you have a person who is opinionated, passionate, and ready to lead, it is more likely that the woman will be called "bossy" (that is probably one of the nicer labels) whereas the man will be called "assertive" or a "born leader." Hopefully, this will continue to change as we have more women in leadership positions and as stereotypical gender roles continue to be challenged.
It's kind of a Catch-22: to get women in positions of political leadership the voters have to stop denigrating strong women as bossy, and stop praising domineering men as authoritative. How else will a Hillary beat a Drumpf?
Delete1. The greatest advances in health and longevity should go to what?
ReplyDeleteThey should go towards "we" medicine, not "me" medicine.
2. Why was BiDil removed from the market?
ReplyDeleteThere was no real clinical evidence that the drug worked better in African Americans.
8. Apart from being extraordinarily lucrative for the local doctors who procure test subjects in developing countries, what's another important reason why so much human research is conducted in Africa and other poor regions outside the U.S.?
ReplyDeleteIt is a way of circumventing FDA regulations.
What did Dr. Wen and her associates know about incremental progress
ReplyDeleteIt made a lasting and tangible difference to the people they serve.
What training was the Baltimore city council the nation's first to mandate?
ReplyDeleteMore stringent inspection for lead in toys
What was the premise of the "Safe Streets" program?
ReplyDeleteViolence is a contagious illness.