Many people believe that, with the large numbers of homes left uninhabited in New York, homelessness should be an easy problem to solve. However, aside from the obvious economic issues, this does not take into account the effects of mental health. According to a 2009 report from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 20%-25% of the homeless population in the U.S. suffers from some form of severe mental illness. However, only 6% of Americans are severely mentally ill. This implies that, aside from economic issues, mental health plays a key role in a person’s ability to avoid being homeless. Thus, improving mental health assistance is needed both to decrease rates of homelessness and improve the general quality of life of those with severe mental health issues.
According to the New York State Department of Health website, chronic diseases account for 23% of hospitalizations, and 60% of deaths in New York state. The website also states that “heart disease and cancer account for over half of all deaths in New York State.” The site continues on to say that many of these chronic diseases are preventable and one’s risk of developing them can be reduced by a healthy diet, exercise, and avoiding smoking. However, in a city such as New York, where some jobs require employees to be sitting for long periods of time, where stress levels can be high due to the fast pace of the city, and where not everyone always has the time or patience to cook or seek out a healthy meal, achieving this is easier said than done.
Antibiotic resistance is an issue that could potentially put many new Yorkers at risk. As people continue to create drugs to fight different bacteria, improper treatment of those infected means bacteria will continue to gain resistances and impose a greater threat on human health. In a crowded area such as New York where a train ride can expose one to a plethora of pathogens from all over the state and possibly elsewhere, this has the potential to be a severe problem. New or at least improved methods of tackling antibiotic resistant bacteria need to be implemented.
To tackle the problem of increased antibiotic resistance, one must first look at the cause. According to the CDC, Antibiotic resistance is mainly caused by the overuse and misuse of antibiotics. This overuse and misuse comes in the form of using antibiotics to treat viral infections (which antibiotics have no effect on), saving leftover antibiotics for the next time one gets sick, not following the directions given by ones doctor about the use of the antibiotics, and using antibiotics on bacterial infections other than that which the antibiotic was prescribed to treat. My solution to this problem would involve an apparatus similar to an insulin pump. It would essentially have the same function, but instead of automatically pumping insulin into the bloodstream at a rate designed for the person using it, it would do so using antibiotics. Instead of having to remember to take the antibiotic several times during the day, a one would only have to remember to put it on each morning. Due to the potential cost and aversion toward such an apparatus, its recommended use would be for microbial infections that either pose a severe risk of loss of life to the person infected, or for bacteria that are currently highly resistant to most antibiotics and at high risk of becoming resistant to the most current antibiotics if not properly dealt with. The amount of antibiotic given to the machine prescribed should be exactly as much as is prescribed by the doctor to decrease risk of saving or misusing the antibiotic. The amount of antibiotic left in the apparatus can be monitored by a doctor to see if the infected individual has been using the apparatus appropriately.
Sources:
http://www.nationalhomeless.org/factsheets/Mental_Illness.pdf
http://www.cnn.com/2015/01/02/opinion/gupta-health-challenges-2015/
http://www.cdc.gov/getsmart/community/about/antibiotic-resistance-faqs.html
http://www.diabetesselfmanagement.com/diabetes-resources/definitions/insulin-pump/
