Effect of Health Behaviors on TB Risk Factors
The progression of TB from the point when one contracts the bacteria in an inactive stage to the stage where the disease becomes active in the body of the patient is dependent on the control and health interventions taken by the patient. There exists a series of health behaviors that influence an increase or decrease in the risk factors associated with TB. In general terms, health related risk factors for TB are associated with diseases or health conditions that weaken the immune system of an individual, thus, making them susceptible to the bacteria (Johnson & Acabchuk, 2018). Smoking is a health behavior that increases the chances of on getting cancer and heart problems which are risk factors contributing to the transition of the TB bacteria to an active form. Other health-related behaviors include excessive alcohol consumption, poor eating habits that lead to Obesity and lack of physical activity.
Exposure to multiple surgeries or organ implants is a known health related issue that increase the risk of contracting Tuberculosis since it weakens that body as well as the immune system of the affected people (Johnson & Acabchuk, 2018). Health related behavior such as unprotected sexual behavior that cause AIDS can be implied as risk factors that increase the progression of TB numbers globally. Poor hygienic behavior in known to be a factor that make it possible for the TB causing bacteria to be harbored and later transferred to human beings. On the flip side of the coin, there exists health behavior that reduce the extent to which TB get spread from one person or region to the other. Adherence to vaccination protocols put in place by public health departments is guarantees that people are protected from contracted the deadly bacteria (Johnson & Acabchuk, 2018). Covering the mouth while coughing in public places is a health behavior that reduces the chances of spreading the viruses that moves from one host to the other through droplets.
Disease Surveillance Systems
Disease surveillance pays a critical role in the investigations of an outbreak, implementation of public health interventions and contact tracing. In the US, the integrated disease surveillance is the commonly used strategy in the management of TB (Kunst et al., 2017). The surveillance method is applied is a blend of various systems such as the laboratory-based strategy, border screening and periodic population-based surveys. The surveillance technique links laboratory data at all levels of the US health system and population-based surveys for the purpose of ensuring that there is control and response. The actualization of the surveillance system in the US is structured into districts to ease the collection of data from health facilities, analysis and information response strategies (Kunst et al., 2017). Activities that are conducted under this surveillance system include registration, case-patient detection, reporting, confirmation and relay of feedback data to a central system.
In the US, the integrated disease surveillance system depends on the successful efforts of coordination, performance evaluation, resource provision, training and communication. No wonder, the US federal government allocates billions of dollars to Center of Disease Control (CDC) which is the organization mandated to undertake surveillance activities besides other roles associated with the control of communicable diseases in the country (Mlotshwa et al., 2017). The success of the integrated disease surveillance system in the US can be attributed to efforts conducted by CDC in situational analysis, preparation of strategic plans, training, recruitment of human resource and consistence in progress evaluation (Mlotshwa et al., 2017). The surveillance strategy has helped the US government to identify areas of priority when dealing with communicable diseases, planning, budgeting and identification of gaps in public health.
Risk Communication Case Study
In a workplace setting, risk communication plays a critical role in making stakeholders such as employees be cognizant of possible mitigation measures. In the case of Sara, there was need for the management of the health facility to make the employees of the organization aware about her situation and the steps she had made towards recovery (Abuse, 2020). With such information, her colleagues would not have socially discriminated her because of her situation. Risk communication takes into account communication strategies, communication process, actors, medium, and target groups. Risk communication was very essential in the case of Sara since it would have helped her colleagues interact with her while adherence to practices that would have reduced their chances of contracting the disease (Abuse, 2020). In the case study, Sara’s colleagues would have adopted risk mitigation measures such as the washing