Vulnerable Populations

In the readings and videos I've watched this week, it is clear that chemicals have the potential to affect human health adversely throughout their lifetime. From the video, Little Things Matter, it is said that "the way we regulate toxins, which assumes there is a safe level, fails to protect children." Children are especially vulnerable to the adverse effects of toxins and we really should be doing more to ensure their safety and protection. In a previous class, I learned that children are a sympathetic population, meaning, as a society we are concerned and care a lot about children. So, it is curious to me why more policy and action related to the exposure to and regulation of toxic chemicals are not being written and put into practice to protect this vulnerable population.

I was also asked to consider and reflect on the following questions this week: 1) Why are we still only focused on sedentary lifestyles and diets when addressing obesity in the US? and 2) Why are we not also looking at ways to decrease exposures to those chemicals that may be contributing to the epidemic? In the 2015 presentation on reproductive health and the environment, Dr. Tracey Woodruf pointed out that doctors are the interface with patients. They have authority and are trusted. She pointed out that doctors think that one's environment is important, but at the same time they lack familiarity with the topic and they don't know what to do about it. Perhaps this is why focus has not shifted or even expanded to include environmental exposures as determinants of health. This situation was perhaps alluded to in the Ted Talk, What makes us get sick? Look upstream., given by Dr. Rishi Manchanda. In treating his patient with chronic headaches, he was the first of many doctors to ask about her home. And, in fact, her home was unsafe and was manifesting in her headaches and her son's asthma. Did other doctors not know to ask these questions about the patient's living environment? Did they think about the potential health effect of her living situation, but just did not know how they would go about addressing the issues that are not typical medical practice? Dr. Manchanda mentioned that there are not enough "upstreamists" and that we need more. I think increasing the awareness and education about environmental exposures among doctors, social workers, public health professionals, and the general public are important to begin changing the narrative and addressing harmful environmental exposures.