Discussion Early Conceptions of the Cause of Disease
Discussion Early Conceptions of the Cause of Disease
DQ2 Developor illustrate a timeline of epidemiologic milestones in public health. What is one of the most significant milestones to you? Why?
Most of public health is based on the working hypothesis that disease is caused by exposure to noxious factors in the external environment. While this approach has produced great successes in primary prevention, a general theory of the origins of human disease cannot be found in the textbooks of public health or epidemiology. This paper suggests that, in all its manifestations, disease is a reaction of the human organism to, and/or a failure to cope with, one or more unbalancing changes in its internal environment. These are caused by one or more unfavourable exchanges with the external environment and/or failures in the structural and functional design of the organism. In the final analysis, human disease is attributable to the dependence of organisms on a fundamentally hostile external environment and to unfortunate evolutionary legacies. While this sketch of a theory suggests that there will ultimately be some hard limits to primary prevention, it also helps in identifying possible new approaches to prevention, including interfering with disease mechanisms, and remedying human organisms’ design failures.
In early spring 2004, I had the opportunity of visiting Crete for a project meeting funded by the European Union. We had lunch in a village, and were served a Cretan meal that included one of its more mysterious ingredients: green purslane leaves salad. The fame of the Cretan diet was established in the seven countries study, which showed that men in Crete had incredibly low rates of cardiovascular disease: less than 10% of the rate in Finland and the USA.1 This has been ascribed to their consumption of olive oil, fruits, vegetables, and red wine,2 and perhaps wild greens such as purslane that are rich in cardioprotective compounds such as α linolenic acid and flavonoids.3
Stories of how our diet influences our health are part of a wider “ecological” view of what causes disease in living organisms. As many textbooks of epidemiology and public health routinely explain, this tradition goes back to Hippocrates’ treatise ”Airs, waters, places”,4 and has inspired empirical studies of variations in disease rates between different localities until late in the 19th century.5,6 Such studies are still important sources of knowledge on determinants of disease, as shown by the seven countries study, and by Doll and Peto’s famous study on the causes of cancer. This used the 10‐fold to 100‐fold worldwide variation in incidence for most cancers, and the changes in incidence upon migration from one environment to the other, to point to the potential avoidability of this disease.7 This ecological view has become a central part of the paradigm of public health as it has developed since the 19th century, and has laid the foundation for many successful primary prevention measures.
Topic 1 DQ 1
Oct 3-5, 2022
What would spirituality be according to your own worldview? How do you believe that your conception of spirituality would influence the way in which you care for patients?
According to Hart (1994, p. 23), spirituality is the way a person lives out their beliefs in daily life and the way they “respond to the end conditions of individual existence” (Bożek, Nowak, , & Blukacz, 2020).A sense of peace and well-being are generated by spirituality, which is defined by faith, a search for life’s meaning and purpose and a feeling of belonging with one another. Through spiritual connection life satisfaction may increase or make it easier to accommodate illness or disability. Although, the idea of spirituality encompasses a huge range of personal experiences and convictions. Every individual has a unique perspective on spirituality. We may develop more comprehensive and compassionate healthcare systems by addressing the spiritual needs of our patients.
Nurses are being required more and more to recognize and respond to spiritual issues because of the emphasis on holistic care and meeting the requirements of each individual patient. Physical healing, pain relief, and personal development might result from attending to the patient’s spiritual needs. The nurse must attend to the patient’s emotional as well as physical demands in order to meet their total needs.The way in which we provide patient care would be influenced by our personal understanding of spirituality. For example, my spiritual beliefs consist of treating everyone with respect, compassion, care and equality regardless of their health status, race, spiritual view, gender, etc. I can take that into consideration into my practice by providing culturally competent, holistic care so I can better understand what I can do to assist the patient’s physical, spiritual, and mental wellbeing. Further, hospitals are held liable by The Joint Commission (TJC) for upholding patient rights, which includes making accommodations for cultural, religious, and spiritual values. The bodies, minds, and spirits of patients must all be taken into consideration by healthcare practitioners and systems (Swihart, Yarrarapu, & Martin, 2021).
Bożek, A., Nowak, P. F., & Blukacz, M. (2020). The Relationship Between Spirituality, Health-Related Behavior, and Psychological Well-Being. Frontiers in Psychology, 11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01997
Swihart, D.L., Yarrarapu ,S.N.S & Martin R.L. (2021). Cultural Religious Competence In Clinical Practice. StatPearls Publishing https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK493216/