ESSENTIAL ISSUES IN PUBLIC HEALTH
The three essential public health issues which are discussed in this essay include: Intimate Partner Violence, Malaria and Obesity.
Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) is a critical, but underrated public health issue. It refers to any form of physical or sexual violence, psychological abuse, stalking and other controlling behaviours which is carried out by a person with whom a close physical or emotional relationship is being or has been shared with. IPV is viewed by the World Health Organization (WHO), as any type of behaviour(s) by an intimate partner or former intimate partner that causes harm either physically, sexually or psychologically (WHO, 2016). However, there has been a lot of controversial debates …show more content…
(Mitchell and Anglin 2009, p. 19-22; Larsen, 2016). Although IPV can potentially happen to anyone irrespective of their age, gender, socioeconomic class, beliefs or religion, “the overwhelming global burden of IPV is borne by women” (WHO, 2012). Globally, recent findings indicate that about 35% of women (i.e. 1 in 3 women) have been physically and/or sexually violated by an intimate partner or have been sexually violated by a non-partner in their lifespan (WHO, 2016). The occurrence of physical and/or sexual IPV among women who have been in a relationship is most dominant in the WHO African, Eastern Mediterranean and South-East Asia Regions (WHO, 2013). Furthermore, 38% of women murdered worldwide are killed by an intimate partner (WHO, 2016). The issue of IPV should be taken more seriously because its short and long term health consequences both during and after the cycle of abuse, which includes but is not limited to, physical injuries, reproductive impairments, sexual transmitted diseases, increased susceptibility to HIV, chronic stress and mental health issues (WHO, 2016; Larsen, 2016), negatively affect the general well-being of the affected person and can eventually lead …show more content…
Five out of the various kinds of Plasmodium parasite are known to cause malaria in humans; the most common and deadly is the Plasmodium falciparum. Malaria is classified into uncomplicated malaria and severe malaria based on the severity of the disease symptoms which include fever, vomiting, nausea, headaches, general body weakness, severe anaemia, seizures, confusion, low body sugar and kidney failure. It has similar symptoms with some other diseases so it is firmly diagnosed by the use of blood test which identifies the malaria parasites in the blood of an affected person. Malaria is preventable and treatable but can be become fatal if it is not diagnosed and treated promptly (NHS UK; CDC, 2016). Children under the age of five, pregnant women and travellers or migrants are the most vulnerable to the disease. The 2015 World Malaria Report by the WHO reports that about 214 million new cases of malaria were identified worldwide in 2015; Africa had the highest amount of cases (88%), while South-East Asia and the Eastern Mediterranean Region were 10% and 2% respectively. Comparing this with previous reports of the past years, the global malaria burden has significantly declined; between 2000 and
The three essential public health issues which are discussed in this essay include: Intimate Partner Violence, Malaria and Obesity.
Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) is a critical, but underrated public health issue. It refers to any form of physical or sexual violence, psychological abuse, stalking and other controlling behaviours which is carried out by a person with whom a close physical or emotional relationship is being or has been shared with. IPV is viewed by the World Health Organization (WHO), as any type of behaviour(s) by an intimate partner or former intimate partner that causes harm either physically, sexually or psychologically (WHO, 2016). However, there has been a lot of controversial debates …show more content…
(Mitchell and Anglin 2009, p. 19-22; Larsen, 2016). Although IPV can potentially happen to anyone irrespective of their age, gender, socioeconomic class, beliefs or religion, “the overwhelming global burden of IPV is borne by women” (WHO, 2012). Globally, recent findings indicate that about 35% of women (i.e. 1 in 3 women) have been physically and/or sexually violated by an intimate partner or have been sexually violated by a non-partner in their lifespan (WHO, 2016). The occurrence of physical and/or sexual IPV among women who have been in a relationship is most dominant in the WHO African, Eastern Mediterranean and South-East Asia Regions (WHO, 2013). Furthermore, 38% of women murdered worldwide are killed by an intimate partner (WHO, 2016). The issue of IPV should be taken more seriously because its short and long term health consequences both during and after the cycle of abuse, which includes but is not limited to, physical injuries, reproductive impairments, sexual transmitted diseases, increased susceptibility to HIV, chronic stress and mental health issues (WHO, 2016; Larsen, 2016), negatively affect the general well-being of the affected person and can eventually lead …show more content…
Five out of the various kinds of Plasmodium parasite are known to cause malaria in humans; the most common and deadly is the Plasmodium falciparum. Malaria is classified into uncomplicated malaria and severe malaria based on the severity of the disease symptoms which include fever, vomiting, nausea, headaches, general body weakness, severe anaemia, seizures, confusion, low body sugar and kidney failure. It has similar symptoms with some other diseases so it is firmly diagnosed by the use of blood test which identifies the malaria parasites in the blood of an affected person. Malaria is preventable and treatable but can be become fatal if it is not diagnosed and treated promptly (NHS UK; CDC, 2016). Children under the age of five, pregnant women and travellers or migrants are the most vulnerable to the disease. The 2015 World Malaria Report by the WHO reports that about 214 million new cases of malaria were identified worldwide in 2015; Africa had the highest amount of cases (88%), while South-East Asia and the Eastern Mediterranean Region were 10% and 2% respectively. Comparing this with previous reports of the past years, the global malaria burden has significantly declined; between 2000 and