A proper analysis of a population’s health indicators can reveal important information regarding the individuals’ well-being. As such, monitoring such indexes as environmental impact, alcohol consumption, and frequency of injuries can allow the government authorities to measure the current health concerns of the country’s citizens. After that, policies can be introduced to mitigate possible risks and promote the communities’ welfare. This action is crucial to perform, mainly due to the connection between the common health indicators, mortality, and morbidity, which might negatively influence the population’s medical condition. For instance, the health indicator of drinking alcohol continues to drastically affect the citizens of Florida, elevating the rates of mortality and morbidity in the region. To gain a comprehensive understanding of this index’s link to these two concepts, it is essential to analyze the correlations between the aspects of alcohol consumption, mortality, and morbidity.
The chosen health indicator is alcohol drinking, specifically adults who drink excessively. Excessive alcohol consumption leads to many disorders and diseases, including fatal ones. Moreover, it lowers a person’s immunity, making one more susceptible to other illnesses that do not arise from alcoholism. In addition to the negative impact on physical health, alcohol may also provoke mental problems. It includes depression, psychosis, irritability, and brain disorders such as loss of coordination and memory. Moreover, with prolonged alcoholism, there is a risk of switching to heavier substances, namely drugs. When consuming alcohol excessively, a person loses interest in self-development and work, leading to dismissal and a wandering lifestyle. In turn, it increases the rate of criminal activity in the region, as one needs to get financial resources by illegal means.
In order to visualize the consequences of the selected health issue, it is necessary to analyze mortality data from diseases often provoked by alcoholism. As one can see from the graph, the highest death rate in Miami in 2019 was a stroke, with an indicator of 50,4 (MiamiMatters, 2022). It is well-established that alcohol affects human blood vessels, worsening their capacity due to the formation of blood clots. Thus, one can reveal the link between alcohol consumption and the highest mortality rate indicator.
In the human body, alcohol primarily affects the liver, as it is responsible for its breakdown. Thus, among the severe consequences of alcoholism are problems with the liver and cirrhosis. Moreover, it also formulates Miami’s second-highest death rate in 2019, with an indicator of 21.1 (MiamiMatters, 2022). Approximately equal mortality rates the pancreas cancer and colorectal cancer. These diseases are also expected consequences of alcoholism and are difficult to tolerate, as can be seen from the graph. Further, breast cancer is among the death rates in Miami in 2019, and the indicator is 9,2 (MiamiMatters, 2022). As one may notice, the mortality rates of these diseases are high, though not critical. However, it articulates the importance of the alcoholism issue.
In conclusion, it is necessary to identify a gap in programming that formulates such indicators. It includes not enough anti-alcohol advertising and insufficient educational programs for young people. Moreover, the reason for this is also inappropriate promotion of a sports lifestyle as a means of raising mood and an effective method of getting rid of depression.
The Healthy People 2020 Leading Health Indicators are valuable resources released by the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (ODPHP) in the USA. ODPHP identified a set of indexes that are most likely to cause significant health issues in the American population in 2020, creating a comprehensive overview of the major concerns to be addressed in the future (ODPHP, n.d.). These indicators have been further described and connected to a number of programs that aim to establish such conditions where the impact of the indexes on the nation’s health can be diminished. Such initiatives are crucial for maintaining an appropriate level of the population’s welfare and continuing to improve the living environment for all communities in the country.
The selected indicator is binge drinking, namely the percentage of adults who engaged in binge drinking in the past 30 days. Healthy People 2020 objective SA-14.3 Baseline was an indicator in 2015 year that adults aged 18 years and over reported the selected issue, which made up 26,9 % (Healthy People, 2020). In Florida, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health (SAMH) Program aims to control and decline the substance abuse level among adolescents and adults (Florida Health, n. d.). The HP2020 Target was to establish a level of binge drinking reports of 24.2%, thus, making a 10% improvement over the baseline (Healthy People, 2020). This was formulated by launching programs to disseminate information about the severe consequences of alcoholism and prevent the abuse of alcoholic beverages.
The outcomes of this program are formulated by the indicator of adults reported to be engaged in binge drinking over the past 30 days after two years. Thus, the percentage of the selected issue reporting in 2017 in people aged 18 and over was 26,4 % (Healthy People, 2020). Thereby, the decline of the chosen issue rates reported in 2015 and 2017 was not statistically significant. The reasons for this are difficult to determine, namely whether it depended on the effectiveness of the programs or on people’s perception. With this approach, the group principle of work was involved, the effectiveness of which depends on many factors.
Hereby, based on the statistical indicators found, one can conclude that the program was ineffective when evaluating them. It can be explained by the principle of the program, namely, ignoring the individual approach. Binge drinking is characterized by a strong dependence on alcohol in the individual due to the long-term intake of the substance. It seems that addiction to substances does not require a general group approach but an individual one, taking into account each person’s social, physical, and mental characteristics. In other words, when working with alcoholism, personal meetings are necessary to discover all the features of the person’s environment.
I did not find any evidence in my community of alignment with the Healthy People 2020 goals through local programs and funding. However, The Florida Department of Health partners with the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF), which is a part of the SAMH program (Florida Health, n. d.). Long-term results may explain the summary of the program, namely its potential effectiveness. Despite the fact that the indicators of 2015 and 2017 did not have a significant difference, the program can be effective in the long run. It is formulated by the fact that many people have the opportunity to find a website on the Internet and see the necessary information. It includes help centers, substance abuse control centers lists, and other types of data.
Moreover, the experience of these programs in the country can serve as effective instruction for the further development of this direction. In other words, based on this activity, one has the opportunity to develop larger-scale programs. Such programs may include implementing thematic educational centers that would inform the population about the negative consequences of alcohol consumption. Likewise, one may develop more effective treatments for alcohol addiction based on different fundamentals. As already indicated, dealing with addiction should be built on an individual approach since it is necessary to consider each person’s characteristics. Thus, these could be centers of individual assistance with the usage of health programs.
In addition, it is necessary to implement programs to promote a sports lifestyle. It may include opening more sports schools, hosting sporting events, and encouraging excellence in sports. For example, one might set up a program of monetary rewards for certain achievements, such as medals in competitions or league titles and trophies. It would encourage more people to connect their or their children’s lives with sports, which is certainly not compatible with alcoholism. Finally, more stringent measures could be introduced, such as limiting the purchase of a certain amount of alcohol. Although a negative reaction from the people may accompany it, it would significantly reduce alcoholism and, accordingly, death rates.
To conclude all mentioned above, one may notice that alcohol-consuming health issues formulate an essential point. Alcoholism may provoke severe diseases, which consequences lead to death. Moreover, it worsens the individual’s quality of life and increases the criminality level. The HP program to decline the indicator of adults engaged in binge drinking was not statistically effective. However, it may have positive long-term consequences. Besides, developmental strategies may be built on the basis of this program.
References
ODPHP. (n.d.). Leading Health Indicators. Web.
MiamiMatters. (2022). Web.
HealthyPeople. (2020). Web.
Florida health. (n. d.). Web.