Thinking and Discourse Prompt One

Poll questions are used to receive feedback on a subject and see what the population generally thinks of a topic. How polls are worded often helps determine what people decide. The difference between the two polls is shown in how the people responded.

In the first question “Do you favor or oppose expanding Medicare to provide health insurance to every American?” is short and easy to read, it gets right to the point and for the most part you do not need much education to understand what is being asked.

In the second question “Do you favor or oppose creating a single-payer health care system, in which all Americans would get their health insurance from one government plan that is financed by taxes?” involves more thought. There is words and phrases that many people would not understand such as “single-payer” and “one government plan”. To a population that is less educated in politics may not know how to proper answer this poll.

In the answers, more people were inclined to favor healthcare for all Americans by 14% in the first question than in the second. Even though this is basically the same question, this significant difference shows that the way you word something is going to impact the results. Effective language being communicated is key when wanting to get accurate results, not only in a poll but between person to person interactions. The way something is communicated should be clear and make sense to everyone, if not the feedback received could be false from a lack of understanding. Many things may effects the results of a poll, peoples education, financial status, geographical factors, etc., are all examples of how people respond to questions. Someone will less education answering the second question may respond with a different answer than thought because of the advanced wording. The first question is more clear and upfront even though the second question is giving more information. Many people and companies will put language that a specific population will understand more in order for one of the answers to appear greater, even though this is creating a bias. Overall, the importance of language in consumer health is key, people are either going to understand what they are consuming (taking in) or not and this can effect not only them but the world around them.

Thinking and Discourse: Prompt Three

Being a consumer of anything should come with the understanding of what it is you are consuming. Most people want to know what is in the food they are eating, or they may do some research before spending money on a pricey purchase. Why not be aware of your consumer health decisions? Critical literacy as it relates to health, provides consumers with the knowledge and understanding to make informed decisions about their health and health products. Having a lack of understanding of one’s health insurance coverage can determine whether someone seeks medical care. According to a 2019 poll by Policy Genius, “more than one in four people (27.2%) said uncertainty over their coverage had led them to avoid treatment (Policy Genius, 2019)”. Visiting the doctor when you need to is seemingly a simple decision. As the poll shows us however, many Americans avoid care because they do not understand their insurance coverage plans. The fear of an exorbitant bill is preventing some people from being proactive in their health care needs.

Another important aspect in becoming a conscious health consumer, is the ability to determine what reliable sources of information look like. The concept of using theory to build credibility has proven to be especially necessary in the last few years. We have become inundated with misinformation and false narratives regarding Covid19 which has proven to create many roadblocks on the path to recovery. In the beginning of the pandemic there was a lot of uncertainty surrounding many aspects of the Covid19 virus. When mask wearing became politicized instead of being viewed as a scientifically supported way to prevent the spread of disease, it caused a divide between those who wore masks and those who did not. Theory and evidence-based claims are instrumental in educating the public and gaining their trust so that they are more likely to comply with public health guidelines (Pazzanesse, 2020).

I found the concept of “behaviors of intelligent consumers” to be especially helpful in establishing a baseline for becoming a better health consumer. Often, we are operating with a hegemonic ideology in which we keep doing or buying things even if they harm us or do not serve us. Being knowledgeable about the aspects of your consumer health needs, trusting science, and being proactive in taking care of yourself are some of the ways you can empower yourself and others to live with optimal health.

Since market justice centers on industry interests and has less regulation, practicing critical literacy is crucial in being a smart consumer. The interests of the market may not be in the best interest of the consumer, but more about making a profit off the consumer. These concepts are helpful to me as a consumer as they have given me insight into how I can make appropriate decisions for my own health and that of my family. Having the tools to navigate health insurance plans can save me from uncertainty and avoidance when it comes to making decisions about seeking care. One of my former jobs included explaining insurance benefits to patients. It offered me an inside look at just how many people do not understand what their benefits are or how they work. After my learning this week, I would share this information with people by stressing how important it is for them to become well versed in their benefits. I would encourage them to call their insurance company or visit the website for the ACA to understand what services are covered.

Reference List:

Health Insurance Literacy Survey: Confusion is growing in America. Policygenius. (n.d.). https://www.policygenius.com/blog/health-insurance-literacy-survey-2019/.

Pazzanesse, C. (2020, October 28). Calculating possible fallout of Trump’s face mask remarks. Harvard Gazette. https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2020/10/possible-fallout-from-trumps-dismissal-of-face-masks/.

Day two of Week Two – What should you be doing?

Remember that this course challenges you to read, think, and write about consumer-related health and social issues – and relevant strategies that might help improve our consumer health outcomes!

If you haven’t yet, you should review the Overview slides available at the Course Slides page. Then you should consider choosing one of the Thinking and Discourse prompts to respond to for this Thursday’s PW deadline.

That’s it! You’ll be a contributing Consuming Health Matters author with a voice and a point of view before you know it.

Happy Tuesday and stay cool if you can. –Dr. P

Great job! Heading out of Week One soon….

Good afternoon, PUBH 209 folks! All six of you are established as Consuming Health Matters authors now, which is terrific. I’m so proud. (Seriously, sometimes there are many more glitches….)

If you’re reading this right now, it’s a REALLY good time to start in on Consumer Health content.

Sooo… Why not try the Overview slides? They’re right at the top on the “4 Course Slides” page (note/remember that the #4 just puts the pages in an order. It doesn’t mean that there are four course slides!). (Note that if you have already begun reviewing these slides, it’s fine, but I just updated them to make sure links worked and to clarify a few things that are harder when we’re not face to face.)

Oh, and if you have a minute or two, please read a post by a classmate; you’ll find that those are the 6 most recent posts up under this one. You’ll also see that if you click on the “Intros” category, you’ll find them right away, too.

In a few minutes, Canvas will be open for you. Remember, you won’t see much from me there except grades and any extensive/private comments. BUT it will support you to connect with your peers in an easy way.

Ok, that’s all for Day 4. If I’ve mentioned in a comment that you may want to change your username to something a bit less revealing/more anonymous (or even if I haven’t mentioned that!), please consider doing so.

Happy Friday tomorrow, get lots done and stay cool if you can, and get in touch by email if you’re anxious or need support. –Dr. P

Glossary Post 5

For this week’s topic, I was excited to learn more about greenwashing because anything that can help me to be more environmentally friendly is a benefit. However, through the course slides and research outside of the classroom, I had learned more about the ethics of green washing and what is considered “green” and what is not”.

Greenwashing means “the concepts of “green” (environmentally sound), and “whitewashing” (to gloss over wrongdoing) to describe the deceptive use of green marketing which promotes a misleading perception that a company’s policies, practices, products or services are environmentally friendly” (Flows 2012). Greenwashing, because green itself is in the term, can sound like a good thing, but it is not. Many companies can promote their products as environmental and ethically friendly but in fact, they are not. For example, Tesla claims to be very environmentally friendly with their cars however, the batteries that are in the cars, are NOT environmentally friendly at all and cause a lot of damage to the Earth.

Another term that has to do with green washing that was in the course slides was lohasian. At first, I thought a Loha was an abbreviation for something and it turns out that I was correct. It stands for Lifestyles in Health and Sustainability. A lohasian is someone who has a lifestyle that is environmentally and ethically friendly with everything that they do. They buy organic foods, organic or natural care products, and any other services that match their life style choices. “Lohas represent 17 percent of the U.S. population” (Are you Lohasian? 2017).

The last term that I came across in my own research was volatile organic compound (voc). These compounds are “organic compounds that easily become vapors or gases…they contain elements such as hydrogen, oxygen, fluorine, chlorine, bromine, sulfur, or nitrogen” (Tox Town 2017). These are considered hazardous air pollutants because they are gases that we breathe in. They can also contribute to climate change when combined with nitrogen oxides.

• Greenwashing: the concept of being green to describe the deceptive use of green or environmentally friendly marketing which promotes a misleading perception that a company’s policies or anything else is environmentally or ethically friendly.
• Lohasian: Lifestyles in Health and Sustainability, someone who has a lifestyle that is environmentally and ethically friendly with everything that they do
• Volatile organic compound: organic compounds that easily become vapors or gases

Sources:

Are you Lohasian? (n.d.) Retrieved December 7, 2017 from             http://www.beliefnet.com/wellness/2006/06/are-you-lohasian.aspx

Flows, C. (2012, March 22). “Greenwashing”: Deceptive Business Claims of “Eco-Friendliness”.    Retrieved December 7, 2017, from         https://www.forbes.com/sites/realspin/2012/03/20/greenwashing-deceptive-business-         claims-of-eco-friendliness/#4bada7223d9a

Tox Town – Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) – Toxic chemicals and environmental health risks where you live and work – Text Version. (n.d.). Retrieved December 07, 2017, from https://toxtown.nlm.nih.gov/text_version/chemicals.php?id=31

Greenwashing Post Prompt

After reading the course slides on Greenwashing, I come up with this question. Is being Green too much and does it hinder us?I thought of this question because the slides on having a “green” life so too say really stuck out to me. Being green is great, you eat healthy-organic foods, and also buy organic products. But can this be too much?

I thought of this question because of someone that I know. Somebody I know, who is a mom, buys EVERYTHING either organic or “green” so to speak for her baby. Not too mention she is a vegetarian so everything she eats, her baby eats too. Now nothing is wrong with being a vegetarian and buying everything organic, but in a way it can be too much. This woman is also under the impression that just because something is “organic” makes it the best thing in the world and that she has to buy it because it is the absolute best thing for her baby. Yes, in a way buying green can be beneficial for us, but we have to look at other options as well. I recently did a post prompt on the difference between buying “organic” Honest Company Diapers vs. Luvs Diapers. The results were shocking and there was absolutely no difference in the products other than one was WAY more expensive than the other. You know which one it was? Yup, the Honest Company Diapers.

So basically my point here is that buying “organic” products and living a so called “green” lifestyle really can be hindering us. Another word would be tricking us, the “greener” companies are tricking us just to get our money by promoting there products by saying that they are “healthy for us” or “makes us green”, but really all these products have the exact same ingredients in them. So by buying the less expensive products we are still getting the fresh, healthy products that we hoped for.

Greenwashing

Prompt:
What does it mean to go “green”? How can you contribute to a green environment?

After reviewing the slides, I learned that greenwashing is essentially a market of products that companies sell as green in order to seem environmentally friendly. This can vary from water bottles that are made from 100% recycled plastic to organic pillowcases or recycled paper.

Going green is ideally growing to become more environmentally friendly through our everyday choices. That being said, you can contribute to a green environment by taking the bus or walking; recycling rather than just throwing everything in the trash, or using reusable bags when you go grocery shopping instead of plastic bags. By also investing in a water filtration system and a hydro flask it can help save the environment long-term even though the initial costs can be expensive.

Helping the environment is like saving pocket change, it may not seem like much at the time but in the end, it adds up quickly.

Glossary Post 3

Moral obligation and self-identity

Theory of Planned Behavior

sustainable consumers

Moral obligation and self-identity- the process of knowing what we should do vs. how we view or want to view ourselves. This process is being aware of yourself and the changes that need to be done. What will allow people to fully make that change. What is the biggest barrier people face when they know what they should be doing? The first step is to acknowledge it, then the second step is to make an attempt.

Theory of planned behavior is the constructs of attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, & intention. This entails that there might be a relationship between the outcomes of peoples actions and the reality of their behaviors, intentions, norms and attitudes. If we cab improve a persons attitude and behavioral control, could that have an effect on their willingness participate in a desired action.

Sustainable consumers is a term that implies that a person is willing to meet their own needs, but does not lose sight of the needs of others in the long-term. There can be a balance. If people made conscious decisions that would positively impact not only themselves in the future, but others too, i believe that their would be a lot less stress and concern in peoples lives.

 

Greenwashing Post

Do you do anything to reduce your environmental footprint?

How can you improve/reduce your environmental impact?

There are things that I do that are helpful to the planet, even if they do not completely reduce my environmental footprint. This includes taking public transportation to school and recycling my plastic water bottles. However, I am not very good about reducing my environmental footprint overall. I do things that are harmful to the planet when there are other greener alternatives. I buy fast food or go to a restaurant and that food tends to be wrapped up in paper, foil, or it is placed in cardboard boxes, or Styrofoam containers. I don’t shop online often, but I do sometimes. My environmental impact increases with the transportation that is used to bring me those products. I also use harmful cleaning products to clean around my house, even though there are alternatives, and I use plastic bags in the grocery store.

Many of these things are easy fixes, all I have to do is make them a habit and I would be more green. I can take my own canvas bags to the grocery store rather than using the plastic bags provided. I can eat more at home rather than go out so much to reduce the amount of packaging that is thrown away, and I can mix up natural products to clean, like vinegar, baking soda, and lemon instead of using cleaning products that are harmful to the environment. Shopping physically in the stores also prevents the need for transportation to bring me my products. It is important to have sustainable habits so that we do not further harm the planet for future generation.

Glossary Post

• VBAC- Vaginal Birth After C-Section 
• Intervention approach to Birth 
• Midwifery 

The choice to have a vaginal birth (Natural birth) after a c-section (surgical procedure for delivery through incision) is up for debate. Over the last decade, delivery by c-section has become increasingly common. In some states  women who previously had a C-section delivery are often denied the option of having a vaginal birth their next time. The reasons for this range from hospital policies, to a lack of doctors willing to do it. This is because of the possible medical and legal risks involved. It has been stated that a vaginal birth after c-section is not as risky as original assumed. Roughly half of women who had a c-section report being interested in a vaginal birth. By allowing women to choose how they would like to give birth introduces an opportunity for women to take part in their health care and invest in their bodies. This could make some headway into drawing more attention to women’s health and sexual health.

The previous term can fit in perfectly to the intervention approaches to child birth. Intervention approaches to birth are various assistance by medical provides in the process of pregnancy and birth. This can include c-section, induction, episiotomy, and VBAC bans. These interventions are used for specific medical needs and or hospital policies. Mothers who have of specific medical needs, or who have a birth plan can also receive access to midwifery services. Midwifes are female (usually) nurses trained to assist women in childbirth. They are there to assist women during and post pregnancy to ensure all birth plans run smoothly. Most people do not know that they qualify for midwifery services through their health care insurance. Many insurances in Washington state cover midwifery services. It is important for women, especially mother expecting new babies to be aware of their barriers, options and qualification. We must truly utilize our resources because to could alter our quality of life even in the smallest way. We should get what we pay for.

Sources:

http://beta.latimes.com/health/la-he-0323-hosp-vbac-20100323-story.html

Birth slides