Igor: You're a Barrier!

While speaking with people in the Discovery Zone about the barriers that stop them from accessing health and community services, transportation is most often cited.  Whether it's no access to public transportation, lack of private transportation operators (such as taxis) or lack of access to a car, transportation can be a big impediment for people who must travel for services.  Today, we are getting an example of another barrier - weather!  Hurricane Igor is making himself known in this area and some people with appointments in the health and community services sector, will probably not be able to make those appointments.  

Looking at Gender as a Determinant of Health

One of the determinants of health is gender.  Gender can impact our health due to various attitudes, behaviours, values and relative power that society gives to the two genders. Many health issues are a function of gender-based social status or roles. 

Women and men have different health issues and can be impacted by the same issues in different ways. Heart disease, for example, affects men and women differently.

Some issues are gender specific. For example, cervical screening for women is an important tool to help detect cancer. For the Bonavista Peninsula (defined as from Chance Cove to Bonavista) the screening rate for 2009 was 30%. The map of the Bonavista Peninsula shows that cervical screening rates in this area are low.

One person who is trying to address this issue is Dr. Roxanne Cooper who has converted a mobile trailer into a travelling Mobile Pap clinic.  Check our her story in NEXUS, the NL Medical Association's newsletter and join her Facebook group where you can also see photos of the trailer (one photo pictured here).

Speaking with Staff

To end the primary research component of information gathering for the needs assessment, we have been speaking with Eastern Health staff.  Small discussion groups have been held today and will continue tomorrow with the final one on Monday.  Much of the discussion is similar to the comments that we've heard from people in the community.  A draft report will be provided to the needs assessment Steering Committee for their input at the end of September. 

Speaking with Specialists

As one of the last focus groups with the needs assessment, we met with the specialist physicians at the Dr. G.B. Cross Memorial Hospital.  We asked them about what's working well in the region, what are the challenges and what makes a community healthy.  We also took the opportunity to talk about some of the things we've been hearing throughout the needs assessment process.  One of the comments we hear throughout the process was concern about the recruitment and retention of specialists.  People want to be reassured that there is significant effort being made into recruitment and retention.  They also acknowledge that there are a number of partners involved in ensuring that once new physicians come to a new area, they feel welcomed and valued. 

Fetal Alcohol Awareness Day

Today, September 9, is Fetal Alcohol Awareness Day.  Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) is a term that describes a range of disabilities that may affect people whose mothers drank alcohol while they were pregnant.  The Public Health Agency of Canada has a lot of information about this spectrum disorder. 

Today is an opportunity to increase public awareness about the dangers and implications of drinking alcohol while pregnant.  It's also an opportunity to make people aware of the challenges that people with FASD face.  FASD is not something we heard about during the needs assessment process.  For many people, however, it is a reality of their daily life.

A Look at Literacy

Well, August has been a nice long break.  But work continues on the needs assessment with an end in sight!  Today, September 7 is International Literacy Day.  While in North America in general, literacy rates are very high, there are pockets where there is not the case.  Literacy has come up in the needs assessment in a couple of ways.  The whole concept of "health literacy" understanding what a health care professional is saying to you and understanding what and why you are taking medications has been raised as an issue.  This is particularly the case for seniors.  Also related to seniors and literacy is the concept of elder abuse with some examples given of seniors who aren't literate being asked to sign something which takes away their ownership of something.  Can you think of ways that literacy impacts on your health?