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Digital Divide, Shorter Lifespan, and Poor Health

Digital Divide, Shorter Lifespan, and Poor Health

by | Jul 3, 2020 | Blog & News, Featured, Uncategorized

Residents of U.S. communities with low internet and computer use experience 7 years of shorter life expectancy than their counterparts in communities with high internet and computer use, so says a new research study.

In addition, residents of communities with low internet and computer use are at an increased risk of mortality from various chronic conditions, poor health, mental distress, hospitalization, smoking, obesity, and physical inactivity.

These findings were contained in a new research by researchers and policy makers from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and published in the journal, International Journal of Translational Medical Research and Public Health.

In the study led by Gopal Singh, PhD, researchers examined the socioeconomic, demographic, and health characteristics associated with computer and internet use in the U.S. They investigated these associations at the individual and community levels using big data from different sources such as the national census, health, and mortality data spanning 2013 to 2019.

According to Dr. Singh, “despite the significant increase in computer and internet use over the past two decades, few studies have examined socioeconomic, demographic, and health characteristics associated with computer and internet use,” adding that “community-level differences in computer and internet use and their associated health disparities have received little attention.”

The study team found startling gaps in broadband internet and computer use and related health inequalities in the U.S. According to the study:

  • More than a quarter million (or 34%) American Indians and Alaska Native adults, 5.1 million (23%) Blacks/African Americans, and 7.2 million (21%) Hispanics lack access to broadband internet.
  • Approximately 5.7 million (27%) adults with less than a high school education or living in poverty do not have broadband internet access.
  • More than 30% of the rural population (or 46 million people) lack access to broadband internet and 20% do not own or use computers. Lack of broadband internet access is particularly acute in small rural towns of America.

This is especially timely research as many health offices are closed and hospitals have shifted focus to testing and treating Coronavirus patients, patients seeking care or treatment services outside of those parameters, such as for prescription changes or refills, are asked to utilize telehealth.

The study also highlights that closing the social divide in internet and computer use can positively impact individual empowerment, educational attainment, economic growth, community development, access to health care and health-related information, and health promotions efforts.

Lead And Your Health: Beyond Childhood

Lead And Your Health: Beyond Childhood

by | Apr 6, 2020 | Blog, Featured

Many people often have trouble carrying on with their day-to-day exposure to lead. Over the past years, there has been some progress on reducing exposure to lead. However, there are some people that have to deal with lead in their communities. I took it upon myself to do a little more research on lead and I came across this article from the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) that discusses the association between exposure to lead and poor health. After reading this article, I have learned a lot on how lead can impact our human health. The findings are intriguing and so I wanted to share widely.

Lead is a metal that is found deep in the ground and is found in small amounts, like silver, zinc, or copper. Lead can be identified in the soil, old homes, household dust, drinking water, pottery, airplane fuels, toys, and inexpensive metal jewelry. Lead can enter the body through inhaling or eating it. As we may all know, children are mostly to get exposed to lead because they like to put anything in their mouths. Currently, there is an approximately 4 million households that have children that are exposed to high levels of lead. There are half a million U.S. children between the ages of 1 and 5 with blood lead levels above 5 micrograms per deciliter, which is the government-prescribed minimum lead level.

Being exposed to lead can cause numerous health issues, such as nerve disorders, decreased kidney function, cardiovascular issues, and fertility issues. The magnitude of these health issues is a more reason why I think we should all try to stay clear of lead at our homes or any other building. There are medications that can help people have lead in their bodies, but are not recommended to children that have a blood lead level lower than 45 micrograms per deciliter.

Nonetheless, there are many ways that you can use to prevent your family from being exposed to lead. These include:

  • Avoid storing food in imported pottery and dishware;
  • Observe any recall toys and jewelry by visiting the consumer product safety commission; and
  • Call the local health department about any lead that may be in the paint, dust, or drinking water that may be in your home.

Learning about lead and the impact it can have on a person’s health is important because it can create awareness of this issue and teach people on how to handle these types of situations when it occurs. This article was informative. I hope you find it informative too and may have learned one or two ways in which you can protect lead exposure and protection from its effects.

For more information, take a look at what we are doing at the Health, Environmental Education and Awareness (HEEA) program. At the HEEA day, we educate members of our community on the relationship between the environment and public health. Experts share nuggets of life-saving health and environment information in a joyful and entertaining atmosphere.

While doing the research for this article, I can tell you one thing: human health is rather truly complex. But there is hope. One way to achieve hope is to obtain and empower ourselves with the latest information and research on different health conditions is important for protecting your health. There are a lot of valuable information published by health care providers, researchers and other experts from around the world. You can read this free and updated information on health issues affecting mothers, women, children and families online at the International Journal of Maternal and Child Health and HIV/AIDS. You can also read other interesting articles on public health, medical research, and how research is changing our lives at IJTRansmed.

You can read more at www.niehs.nih.gov; here at https://globalhealthprojects.org/programs/environment/heea-program/ or at https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/lead/default.htm or https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls

*At the time of writing, Ms. Kanisha Blake, MPH (Epidemiology) was a public health intern at the Global Health and Education Projects, Washington, DC, USA, under the mentorship and supervision of Dr. Romuladus E. Azuine.