Reference no: EM132283390
Student 1
New Measles Cases Discovered and Anti-vaxxers Are to Blame
Since the beginning of 2019, the number of measles cases has been climbing. Measles are a virus that is highly contagious and can be fatal at times. It is characterized by its symptoms.
The CDC (Center for Disease Control and Prevention) clinically describes measles as "an acute viral respiratory illness" with a high fever, cough, malaise, and a "pathognomonic enanthema", or Koplik spots, and ends with a red rash appearing approximately two weeks after exposure ("Measles | For Healthcare Professionals | CDC", 2019). The number of cases as of April 2019, is confirmed at 465 cases (Thebault, 2019).
Growing disease
The Measles epidemic is spreading. Since the beginning of 2019, the disease has been confirmed in more than a third of the U.S. states and most of the cases have been in children (Thebault, 2019).
The very contagious, at times deadly, disease was said to be completely gone in the U.S. Unfortunately, as the years have passed, some cases have been reported. The last time a massive measles outbreak occurred was 2014. In 2014, a total of 667 measles cases were confirmed (2019). According to Thebault, in 2014, 1.83 cases per day were reported, however, in 2019 "the rate has increased to 4.84 cases a day" (2019).
Vaccinations
Vaccines have long proven to stop the spread of disease. The number of people against vaccinating their children are climbing. A link to this growing skepticism is social media. The reasons behind "anti-vaxxers" is the lack of fact-spreading. One of the largest studies about vaccines is "The Lancet Study" which discusses vaccines and Autism.
This study was done in 1998 by Andrew Wakefield (a British gastroenterologist) stating that the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine was linked to autism and bowel disease (Watling, 2019). After this study was published, it was revealed that there were many inaccuracies in it.
These included a small sample size of 12 children and was funded by parents suing vaccine companies (Watling, 2019). Later studies completed with larger samples found no link between autism and vaccines. Now to 2019, the number of antivaxxers is large and the measles outbreak, public health experts state, is linked to the large number of unvaccinated children, in large part because their parents have refused to get them immunized (Thebault, 2019).
According to an infectious-disease expert at the Baylor College of Medicine, Peter Hotez, made the statement how these anti-vaxxers are causing "self-inflicted wounds" as a result of "an aggressive antivax misinformation campaign" (Thebault, 2019). There are several states who support unvaccinated children in schools, which is adding to the spread of the disease. Health advocates are continuing to spread the awareness about not vaccinating children and the consequences that will continue, including fatalities.
References
Measles | For Healthcare Professionals | CDC. (2019).
Thebault, R. (2019). CDC Finds 78 new measles cases as outbreak sprints toward record and experts blame anti-vaxxers.
Watling, E. (2019). Why do some people believe vaccines are dangerous?.
Student 2
Health Aides Low Wages Threaten Home Health Care, a Necessity for Millions
For most of us, the thought of having to live in a nursing home is far from our mind. Most of us hope when the day comes and we should need someone to help care for us we either have family or have the luxury of having a home health aide come to our home to help us. Being in the comfort of our own home is how most of us would prefer to live and not in a nursing home. However, over time home health aides are in shortage due to their fairly low wages for such a difficult job they have to do on a daily basis.
Home health aides are there to care for the elderly and disabled in the comfort of their own home removing the need for the patient to go to a nursing home. However, considering the low wages home health aides are paid, it will be hard to have more individuals dive into that field increasing the wages they are paid. Home health aides have a meticulous job, one that requires watching over someone constantly to ensure their health and safety.
Still, they are paid low wages which is mostly determined by the rate that Medicaid pays for their services considering Medicaid is the largest payer for home health services. One of the main reasons for the problems comes from the lack of funding for each state's Medicaid programs. Florida for instance has not increased their reimbursement rates for home health aides in decades which is ironic considering home health aides help to keep Medicaid costs low by keeping patients out of long term facilities and nursing homes. With home health aides being the third most in demand job, by 2024 the U.S. is projected to have a shortage of 450k home health aides.
All in all, while the government is sorting out the overall healthcare crisis, there should be special attention paid to the home health aides so patients are not forced into nursing homes and long term facilities. Solving the shortage sooner rather than later by increasing home health aide's salaries so they can live above the poverty level is a great starting point to ensure the shortage is smaller or nonexistent by 2024.
Opinion
Personally, this article is bothersome to me for the mere fact that home health aides should be paid a fair and decent wage. Their job is immeasurable and understanding the shortage makes me all the more confused as to why the government is not placing emphasis on home health aides. Home health aides are helping to keep costs down for Medicaid so they will not have to stay in nursing homes and long term facilities so their wages should be looked at and adjusted. Home health aides making an average of $12 is not a fair wage for anyone regardless of where you live.
Something needs to be changed, otherwise there will be more costs to be incurred for Medicaid if patients have to stay at nursing homes and long term facilities for care. Especially considering their stay at these facilities can lead to other health concerns.