Infrastructure, Public Health Linked, Crisis in Flint Shows
The ongoing water crisis in Flint, Michigan, has raised national outcry. It has also drawn attention to the nation’s aging infrastructure and the risks it poses for health.
The city’s water, once sourced from Lake Huron via the city of Detroit, was switched to the Flint River in April 2014. The corrosive water wore away the protective build-up in Flint’s lead pipes and the tap water was now contaminated. That meant that the people drinking and using the water now faced poisonous blood lead levels: a citywide increase that more than doubled among young children, and in some neighborhoods, nearly tripled, according to a study in the February issue of APHA’s American Journal of Public Health.
US water and sanitation systems are old, and they are starting to show wear—and that is cause for new public health concerns. Flint is not the only city to face a lead contamination issue, though that is likely little comfort to the parents of the children who have tested at high blood lead levels. Lead poisoning, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, can affect a child’s IQ, her or his ability to pay attention, and academic achievement. The effects of lead poisoning cannot be reversed, CDC noted.
— Lindsey Wahowiak
Read the full article in The Nation’s Health at http://thenationshealth.aphapublications.org/content/46/3/1.3.full
Prisons Taking Steps to Protect Health, Well-Being of Inmates
In the past year—or since coming to prison or jail—nearly 20 percent of US prisoners and 18% of jail inmates have been in some form of restrictive housing, such as solitary confinement or disciplinary segregation, according to 2011 to 2012 data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics. Nearly 30% of prisoners and 22% of jail inmates who had “serious psychological distress” were placed in some form of restrictive housing.
However, thanks to actions in several states and by President Barack Obama, correctional systems are working to change those statistics. In January, Obama announced he was adopting recommendations from the US Department of Justice, which includes ending solitary confinement for juveniles in the federal prison system and increasing mental health treatment options for inmates.
Obama also requested $24 million in his fiscal year 2017 budget proposal to expand “secure mental health units” for prisoners with serious behavioral health issues and to provide more psychologists who are trained to provide mental health care for prisoners in need of restrictive housing, according to a White House fact sheet.
— Natalie McGill
Read the full article in The Nation’s Health at http://thenationshealth.aphapublications.org/content/46/3/1.1.full
UNICEF: More Action Needed to Stop Worldwide Female Genital Mutilation
At least 200 million girls and women have experienced female genital mutilation across 30 countries, according to a new report from UNICEF. Half of the women and girls who have experienced such mutilation, which is considered a violation of children’s rights, live in just 3 countries: Egypt, Ethiopia, and Indonesia.
Released in February, ahead of the United Nations’ International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation, the UNICEF report found that girls aged 14 years and younger represent 44 million of those who have been cut, with the highest prevalence of female genital mutilation among girls in this age group occurring in Gambia, Mauritania, and Indonesia.
— Kim Krisberg
Read the full article in The Nation’s Health at http://thenationshealth.aphapublications.org/cgi/content/full/46/3/13-a?ijkey=b0.Hm0H..lyaY&keytype=ref&siteid=nathealth
For more public health news from The Nation’s Health, APHA’s official newspaper, visit www.thenationshealth.org.