Introduction
Every healthcare intervention program seeks to ensure that the community does not continue living in an environment characterized by the ever-rising number of diseases. In the last few decades, my community, Miami, Florida, whose zip code is 33012, was in the list of regions where communicable diseases had claimed the lives of a considerable number of people. Some of such diseases include Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, and Hepatitis C. As revealed in this paper, the situation prompted the establishment of strategies to address the menace, including Healthy People 2020 policies whose core agenda was to help in reducing the number of fatalities associated with the above communicable diseases. Since its inception in 2010, the program has had a significant positive impact on the lives of people not only in my community but also everywhere around the globe.
Impact of Hepatitis A, B, and C
Several diseases may find their way into the bodies of healthy people through means such as blood transfusion or exposure to air particles that contain disease-carrying germs. Hepatitis A, B, and C are among such ailments that are spread through the above means. Miami is currently recording a declining number of fatalities associated with communicable diseases, especially Hepatitis A. Nevertheless, the community has also reported a rising number of individuals suffering from unremitting Hepatitis B and C (Miami County Public Health, 2017).
In other words, Miami’s endeavor to fight communicable diseases has ended up consuming huge financial resources. Based on the results of a study carried out by Acton (2013) to determine the “Impact of Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection on all-cause and disease-specific mortality of patients on regular dialysis” (p. 43), it is apparent that Anti-HCV-Positive Miami inhabitants on dialysis have higher chances of experiencing liver issues. Worse, such complications have resulted in the death of some people in this community. In addition, individuals who have been exposed to Hepatitis A, B, and C usually undergo stigma because of their deteriorated health. Many people never want to interact closely with victims of the above ailments (Gillis et al., 2013). Consequently, Miami residents who face any form of discrimination after suffering from Hepatitis A, B, or C may be encouraged to report such cases to the appropriate authorities. The culprits may be taken into custody in line with Healthy People 2020’s mission of enhancing the health of individuals not only in my community but also across the world.
How the Diseases were Identified
All stakeholders involved in the fight against communicable diseases play a crucial role in discovering the existence of particular illnesses. In other words, identifying Hepatitis A, B, and C called for collaboration among various health agencies such as the WHO, including Miami residents and medical practitioners within and outside the community’s health facilities. Getting information about Miami residents who had the above illnesses was possible following various screening sessions that were carried out in the region. For instance, the WHO has a communicable disease public health framework that is strategically deployed to monitor the status of communicable diseases in any particular region such as Miami. The tool was utilized to reveal existing and new cases of Hepatitis A, B, and C within the region. Specifically, the WHO intervened by “developing a “network of networks”, which linked together existing local, regional, national and international networks of laboratories and medical centers into a super surveillance network” (WHO, 2017, para. 6). As such, statistics concerning the outbreak of Hepatitis A, B, and C in Miami were recorded as soon as any case was reported, hence paving the way for the establishment of a timely action plan to manage the situation.
The Plan of Action to Contain the Diseases Based on Healthy People 2020
The objective of Healthy People 2020 is to ensure that countries across the world partner with communities, governments, and non-governmental bodies to facilitate the health of the global population. Through this partnership, stakeholders can curb or reduce the multiplication of communicable diseases to the extent that financial resources that could have been channeled to treating such ailments are utilized in other productive projects. According to Healthy People 2020 (2017), attempts to fight communicable ailments should go beyond physical borders since the spread of any disease is not limited by such boundaries. As Yun et al. (2016) observe, this awareness influenced campaigns by the specified stakeholders to sensitize Miami residents to go for preventive mechanisms such as vaccinations while at the same time ensuring that they could access antibiotics whenever needed to fight any instance of Hepatitis A, B, or C.
Conclusion
Hepatitis A, B, and C are among the diseases that have threatened the lives of Miami residents. Their existence has led to the utilization of considerable financial resources to treat patients suffering from the diseases. In some cases, such patients face stigma, owing to their deteriorated health. Deaths have also been reported among people who are exposed to the above ailments. Hence, in line with Healthy People 2020’s mission of enhancing individuals’ well-being, Miami residents have been encouraged to adopt preventive mechanisms such as vaccinations. Those who show signs of the discussed ailments have also been sensitized on the need to take medication consistently as prescribed by medical practitioners.
References
Acton, A. (2013). Hepatitis C virus: New insights for the healthcare professional. Atlanta, GA: ScholarlyEditions.
Gillis, J., Cooper, C., Rourke, S., Rueda, S., O’Brien, K., Collins, E.,…Raboud, J. (2013). Impact of hepatitis B and C co-infection on health-related quality of life in HIV positive individuals. Quality of Life Research, 22(7), 1525-1535.
Healthy People 2020. (2017). Immunization and infectious diseases. Web.
Miami County Public Health. (2017). Communicable disease monthly reports. Web.
WHO. (2017). Global infectious disease surveillance. Web.
Yun, K., Urban, K., Mamo, B., Matheson, J., Payton, C., Scott, K.,…Lin, H. (2016). Increasing hepatitis B vaccine prevalence among refugee children arriving in the United States, 2006-2012. American Journal of Public Health, 106(8), 1460-1462.