When it comes to health, our zip code matters the same with our genetic code. Researchers have found out that life expectancy matters between people who are born in the rural place and urban place.

About 70 percent of the gap between the life expectancy has been attributed to the high rates of incidents, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), lung cancer, and cardiovascular disease than in the rural areas.

The national health initiative has set their primary goals to reduce the inequalities of health and to increase the expectancy of life. The disparities are caused by the difference in public health planning and decision making.

More so, the people in the rural area have lower income and high poverty rate. Thus, it prevents them from the access of quality health care services.They have higher rates of lung cancer and obesity.

The population in the rural area is only 17 percent. A reason why more of the public health services are offered and focused on the urban area. It reduced the burden to the nation but caused a greater gap to the disparities between the rural and urban community.

We develop the health of our community through health promotion. Health promotion is a process that controls and improves health. There are five key strategies to be an advocate for health promotion in the community to help change the community system and the people.

1. Build a public policy;
2. Create a supportive environment;
3. Reorient the health system;
4. Strengthen the community action; and
5. Develop personal skills

Health promotion is the combination of art and science to work with the communities of their health conditions. It focuses on the needs of the people in the community.

Concerns of the public are addressed when the ordinary people in the community have built a relationship with the community development practitioners. Opportunities are built through the creation of new skills, enable the people to act together, and help foster social equality and inclusion.

Health promotion and community development involve understanding the social conditions that greatly affect the health and well-being of the community. In addition, the appreciation of the community development approach is effective when the community capacity that is built is for a long-term change.

Innovation has been defined as an invention, a development, an implementation of new services, products, systems, and processes. It has been reflected that disruptive innovation will be experienced in the next years.

Health innovation becomes the trend in the emerging industry of the developing countries. Health innovation makes everything easy and quick in accessing medical information. The doctors and patients are being provided the opportunity to access more of health education and to collaborate on difficult medical cases.

Disruptive health innovation is revolutionary. It disrupts the old system and they innovate a new market, through this a new value of opportunities are available in the market.

Innovation is important to the economic growth and industrial progress. The advancement of the digital technology can create numerous opportunities and possibilities.

The innovations of healthcare focus specifically on areas and their analytical implications. The health innovations include remote patient management systems, telehealth, drug delivery system, wearable sensors, robotics, genomics, and social networking.

E-health related application can give major advantages to medical practitioners who use it, not only does it make the job easier but you can also be more efficient by the use of technology. People that cannot go their doctor immediately can still receive medical care.

Having an online health-related application installed on your gadget helps you in numerous ways. For example, you can get a notification on your doctor’s status like his schedule and you can also get your appointment from it, also it gives your advantage on managing your health routine by notifying you on what to do on that time.

Being able to see the medical records of your patient anywhere you are and even from different devices such as cellphone or computer give the doctor advantage that helps the patient’s diagnosis.

New technology today gives more opportunities to give medical practitioners to collaborate and share their expertise. It also gives an advantage to the patients being them to save more money and time by not setting a date and spend more money to see more expert medical practitioners.

People nowadays tend to use Google when they feel something is wrong with them and Google contains a lot of information that may be right of some of it is wrong. Using medical related application can help the patient the right information and avoid being stuck on false knowledge. Many people make their illness worse because of the lack of information or the false information that they get on random sites they find on Google.

The trend with advanced analytical software, genomic sequences and mobile technology have made the impossible possible through analyzing and capturing a wide array of information with regards to the population, patients, and the situation of their community.

As the future of innovative healthcare has already been presented in front of us, the next step is to evenly distribute these innovations for the world to experience the results of the latest revolution of the healthcare system. We should make the industry grow more.

Physical, chemical and biological are the three fundamental components that our environment has. Hazards can be found anywhere, air, water or land. These hazards are very crucial in our health it is the main cause of sickness and accidents.

Global warming is one of the most devastating physical hazards that we are experiencing today. It is the rapid change in the earth’s temperature making it hotter, this change affects all the living things on earth and it causes sickness to us. Ice from areas like Antartica is rapidly melting which cause the sea level to rise which cause floods which can take away people’s lives. The heat of the environment can result in some diseases such as heat stroke, also it can burn houses. The main reason for this adversity is us people, the rapid growth of population causing us to cut more trees to fabricate, having more factories that smoke and waste damage our environment, making the space for plants to grow become smaller and smaller each day. Electromagnetic radiation is an important issue as well, the noise from the crowded earth can affect our well-being. We are also very exposed to radiations that can also harm us coming from our beloved gadgets or modern technology today.

Smokes from factories or smoke coming from cigarettes are the most known chemical hazards that can give you illness and may put risk to your life. You can get many kinds of diseases from this hazards that may cause death, examples are lung cancer, pulmonary tuberculosis, bronchitis, and emphysema, it can also damage your heart as well.  The large population is creating this problem not just from factories but also from vehicles that people use to commute every day. Air is not just the courier of chemical hazards, it can come from the water as well. Bacterias can be on your water pipes and it can contaminate your water, that is why most water companies now are using chlorinated water to protect people from danger but that doesn’t mean that chlorinating the water has no bad effects as well, some says that it can higher the risk of cancer and it can damage your teeth. You can get many kinds of illness from contaminated water, examples are diarrhea, stomach ache and many more. Nitrate in water can cause blue babies when a pregnant mother drinks water that hast nitrate. Throwing solid waste irresponsibly can cause harmful substances that can leach on water supplies, being inhaled or eaten. Always make sure of the place that you are living in, survey the area, make sure that waste is not thrown near your place and if so be more cautious, do not drink water from your faucet that comes from the water underground.

Authorities today are doing their best to improve the safety of the people, they are making sure that we are drinking clean water and they are making their best to minimize the smoke that can pollute the air and give us sickness.

For the past few years, the tourist is more into responsible travel than being in the sand under the sun.  So what is ecotourism? Ecotourism is a travel practice that as an eco-tourist you travel because you want to help the nature and its conservation. Every one of us envisions new things to discover in new places, taste food that we never taster before and to meet new people each time we travel. Tourism does not just about these facts, it also makes us learn the culture and lifestyle of others that can be an unforgettable experience for us.

Ecotourism is very important for us people and to our planet. It is very satisfying to come up with new learning experiences of traveling that can benefit and enhance ecotourism. Traveling with the goal to not just have personal satisfaction but to also help our environment is what an eco-tourist does. Communities that does not really on industrial needs is the most beneficial to it because it means that Eco tourist can enhance their land through eco-tourism by providing the extra fund for it. The more we get to know the place, the more we admire it and be inspired to protect it. Most of the tour guides are deeply educated in order for them to share their knowledge in order for the tourist to gain information and to understand the beauty of nature. It is normal for us people to be curious, as we explore new places we tend to reach out to the locals having to ask questions with the story and history of the place and that’s how we gain deeper knowledge about the sight. However, some of the locals may see the tourist as a nuisance that can create inconvenience to them. Locals may not like the increase of population that is visiting the site that can increase the traffic and some can disrespect their culture by not wearing the proper dress code. Mutual understanding is the key which enables us to learn about the others and they learn about us. You can share with them where you came from and tell stories about your place and kindly ask them to tell their stories as well.  Showing the locals that you respect their place and the people they can see you as a good guy and will be happier to open up with you.

We live in this world very much dependent on what nature gives us. Tourist attractions are a source of income but that does not mean that people are giving back to these communities. Instead, locals are forced to leave the life they grew up on and do things that are more profitable. These can result in the locals to leaving the place causing them to be devastated by the impact of the migration. Many of these cultures have already been gone for the tourism gains but we know better, there is always been a better way. Going to these attractions generates fun experiences and can grow funds in order to share with the community.

What is mental health? It is the root of your well-being it includes your physiological, emotional and social health. Having trouble with our mental health affects the way we think and how we feel. It also affects how we handle stress, communicate with others and make our daily choices in life. Neglecting mental health is a very big issue so it is important that you are aware of it.

These are the signs that you are having issues with your mental health.

Having low energy, feeling tired all day and not in the mood to do physical activities is one of the signs you may be just tired but it may be more serious than you think.

Sleeping too much or too little, having a difficult time sleeping early or waking up early can be a sign also.

Losing appetite, it is not normal for us people to reject the delicious food that is in front of us. Losing your appetite is a sign that you must be aware of because you can get sick due to lack of nutrients on your body.

Smoking and drinking becoming a habit, some of us use these kinds of stuff in order to get away from all the things and problems that we are thinking, these are alright but when it becomes more frequent it can be dangerous to your health and well-being.

Mood swings, this is the sudden change in your mood. It can ruin your relationship with others because you become hard to deal and go with.

Getting easily irritated, you get upset or irritated without any or shallow reason sometimes you will get jokes about the wrong idea.

Why take attention to your mental health?

Mental health can affect you physically, being mentally unhealthy makes you lose energy and feel lazy to do physical activities. This can result in you being physically weak and can feel physical pain for just a short period of time moving. These can affect your daily life such as your work and relation to your family because they may not get a chance to enjoy physical activities with you. It can also make you more vulnerable to sickness because your immune system might get affected as well.

It can affect you financially and can impact your family. Being mentally unhealthy can cause you to have more absences from work causing you to have less payment or even worse you might get terminated from your work.

Having mental illness can affect your family, you can get a gap from them because they might be frightened of you because you have the risk of being abusive and neglect them. Communication from your family members will be harder and they will carry a burden being worried about you.

Anyone wants to have a longer and happier life, people with mental illness has lower lifespan because of depression and anxiety which can result to suicide or other self-harming acts your family will be the one most affected is such act is made.

A study shows that being active physically can help you lower the risk of diseases such as heart problems, cancer, diabetes, depression and many more. Make it a hobby to walk or jog some distance even three to four times a week and it will certainly make you feel better.

Being fat and overweight can boost the risk of you having an illness such as high blood, diabetes, stroke, heart diseases, respiratory complications, problems with your gallbladder, and many more.

Smoking, almost half of the earth’s population is addicted to cigarette smoking. Being addicted to it may have some complication for your heart, respiratory system and higher the rate of you getting cancer. Because of the lifestyle that we have today people starts to use cigarette from a young age causing them to be more at risk of illness as they grow old. Having weak supervision from the parents is one of the most common reasons for this problem.

Abusing substances such as drugs and alcohol, many people are using these for relaxation but some people are abusing its effect that can harm your body, being alcoholic can damage your liver and kidneys and the use legal or illegal drugs can result to serious illnesses both physically and mentally.

Sex has become for people nowadays and it is the source of the STD called HIV or AIDS. This illness is rapidly increasing due to the lack of education to young people. HIV or AIDS can destroy your immune system making you feel weak and vulnerable to illness, massive weight loss will also come after.

Due to our lifestyle today we are more at risk of mental illness. Depression is one of the most common diseases that some people are experiencing. Depression is the state of you being very sensitive to what others think and what you think, depression if not monitored can result in suicide.

Seniors in some nurseries and hospitals die from injuries they get from falling. Hospitals need to strengthen their security to the elderly giving attention to them from time to time to prevent these kinds of accidents. Weak and old seniors are very prone to accidents like these, once they slip they do not have the strength to be able to protect themselves from falling.

Environmental quality is a factor in is health as well. Pollution is one of the biggest problems we are facing today. It is not a problem that the government can solve alone, it must be the unity of all people in order for us to stop or slow down the increase of pollution.

Poverty is a very big problem for centuries now. Due to the lack of fund free immunization is very often done and those who cannot afford are at risk of being contaminated by sickness which may cause death.

Because of the low number of public hospitals and the expensive private ones makes it harder for the people to access healthcare neglecting them to take care of themselves.

To produce petroleum products to fuel our transportation vehicles, to heat our homes, and to create other products, we need crude oil. These petroleum products may have made life easier. But, the process to find, produce and move crude oil has led to various negative effects on the environment.

The technological advancement that produces, explores and transports crude oil has reduced the drilling and producing of oil. When the miners explore and drill for oil, it disturbs the ecosystem of the marine and land life.

Seismic techniques are utilized to explore and discover for oil below the ocean floor, this procedure can harm the marine animals and fishes. On land, drilling for oil needs the area to be cleared from vegetation.

On the other side, the advancement of technology has increased the efficiency to explore and drill more for oil.

The emissions of the petroleum products have a negative impact on the environment. Carbon dioxide is the number one greenhouse gas that caused global warming. The nitrogen oxide and volatile organic compound can irritate and damage the lungs. The sulfur dioxide can result in acid rain which is harmful to the animals and plants.

With air pollution that comes from the burning of petroleum gas, the government has implemented environmental laws that aim to change the structure of gasoline to generate lesser emissions. These are called reformulated fuels, which is believed to burn cleaner than gasoline.

Hydraulic fracturing or also known as fracking is a technique used for oil production. It produces oil from shale and geologic formations. This technique highly requires a large amount of water, by which it can harm the availability of water and the marine ecosystem. More so, hydraulic fracturing can contain dissolved chemicals and contaminants which is found in the wastewater it produces.

These wastewaters are disposed of by injecting it into the deep wells or saltwater aquifers. This act can lead to earthquakes that can cause massive harm to the people.

We can hear oil spills from the news. Trucks, ships, trains, and oil wells or pipelines that transport oil from other refineries that are caught up in an accident results in oil spills. When the oil is spilled it contaminates water and soil which can result in drastic fires and explosions.

Thus, the federal government took action with this accidents. They developed a standard, regulation, and procedure that orders to reduce the potential spills and accidents. However, accidents are inevitable, when spills and accidents occur they are obliged to clean the spills.

When oil wells are plugged and becomes unhealthy, the area is restored. There are offshore oil rigs that are stopped to restore their area. After a year, the oil wells are abundant with sponges, coral, clams and other creatures. However, these reefs are artificial. It is purposely put to attract fish and other marine life animals to increase the population of the fish and recreate some opportunities for diving and fishing.  Let us participate in the ‘Rigs-to-Reef’ program.

Toys, plastic bags, computer, cellphone, chairs, tables and many more have given us an easier way of life. But the material used to fabricate these things which are called plastics has negative effects on both human health and the environment. As years go by plastics has been rapidly produced in order to fulfill the needs of us humans to use the technologies that need plastic in it. What are the cause of plastic pollution and its effect on humans?

Cause

Trash, wherever you go plastics are always there, from home, market, hospitals, churches and the list goes on and on. Every time plastics are thrown it may never or it will take centuries to dissolve it that is why the risk of having the environment polluted is very high.

Overusing, it is true that plastic is very affordable and convenient. You can use it for a long period of time that’s why people always choose these instead of materials that can easily be decomposed.

Using it as fishing nets, large fishing companies use large nets for their businesses the problem is that some of them leave’s the net underwater for a very long time causing it to release harmful substances that may harm fishes or other marine beings.

Hard to dispose of, plastics will take ages to disappear and we do not have enough space to put all our garbage, that’s why people tend to burn it and just results in air pollution

Effect

Air pollution, disposing plastic is impossible, burning then is not. But burning them has so much negative effect on our environment, plastic releases harmful substances that may affect people’s lungs and heart.

Land pollution, digging a hole and putting your plastic garbage in it is one idea, but harmful chemicals may seep underground it can damage the soil and worse is that it can reach in the water tubes in your area causing water to contaminated by harmful chemicals.

It damages the food chain, plastic comes in various sizes enabling eat to be eaten by the smallest living things on earth. For example, planktons may eat some of the particles of plastics causing them to die which will result in the food shortage of animals that consumes planktons such as whales and other sea creatures.

It kills animals, mindless animals may see it as a food making them eat it and kill them eventually. Internet shows pictures of dead animals having their stomach being full of plastics and garbage or some animal died because he is tangled or stuck into the garbage.

Poisonous, lately news spreads all over the world children being killed by a harmful substance which is found in their toys that is made of plastics. Plastics may be very useful to us humans but it can be as deadly as well.

It may be cheaper to buy but it is always very expensive to repair the damages that plastic can give to us humans pollution, sickness, deaths and many more. So think now and be more responsible.

There is no denying that our environment is rapidly changing. As these changes occur we people must be more aware of the problem that comes with it. A natural disaster may come, constant change of weather and many more can occur in an instant and us people must be ready for it anytime.

Global warming has been a problem for us for a long time now, our environments temperature is rising and we people are to blame. Maybe some of us does not feel the drastic change but some people all over the globe may experience a more drastic change that makes their lives a lot harder than it should be.

Environmental problems

Deforestation, trees is the main source of oxygen it creates fresh air from the carbon dioxide that we people produce. People today are abusing our forest, people cutting down small and big trees just for the sake of money. The result people cut down trees more than they can reproduce them causing the some of the big forest to lose almost half of its trees that is why air pollution right now is more devastating.

Overpopulation, this problem is the root of all problems of our environment. There are too many people on our earth that our resources become short, resources such as water, food and other natural resources and being short on resources means people are forced to harvest small animals or cut down small trees in order to compensate in the shortage but it only makes it worse for us.

Global warming, in the past few years the earth’s temperature is vastly increasing resulting in sickness or disasters. People might get heat stroke from too much heat and we are also more prone to skin cancer because of this matter. Ice from areas all over the world melts causing the sea level to rise and results to flood.

Depletion of our ozone layer, the ozone layer is the one which protects us from the UV rays that comes from the sun. These rays are very harmful to us humans and also to the animals and trees as well, the thinning of our ozone layer makes us at risk of sickness and disasters.

Pollution, air and water pollution is very crucial for us humans. Increasing number of factories and vehicles cause our air to be polluted, having polluted can cause us pulmonary problems such as tuberculosis and lung cancer. Throwing our waste into the sea is a source of sickness live stocks such as fish and many more marine creature can be affected as well making us lose more resources that we have.

Loss of biodiversity, increase of population takes away space that is intended to be a natural habitat for animals. Some species are already extinct due to human activity such as hunting or being short on resources as well because humans are taking what is for them. Humans need animals to survive and we are the ones destroying their homes and killing them.

Biodiversity, by definition from the word bio which means life and diversity, generally means the variety of life on earth or a certain environment. Climate change, on the other hand, is a change in the climate patterns of the earth or its region. Climate change and Biodiversity have both been linked together. The rapid change in climate affects a lot its biodiversity, for instance, ecosystems and the ability of species to adapt to certain changes.  

Climate change affects almost everything on Earth including biodiversity. One of the greatest impacts on biodiversity is the loss of Ice in the Arctic. By this, the amount of Carbon Dioxide (CO₂) increased and the oceans are more acidic up to 30% before the industrial revolution. Cold oceans hinder the development of marine wildlife. Just to name a few, coral reefs, oysters, crabs, snail, and plankton.Higher CO₂ can also contribute to temperature spikes, with this species isbe physiologically be affected, for instance, the endemic species in the tropical rainforests of Queenslandwarmer called the green ringtail possum. These creatures don’t have the ability to control their body temperature when it rises above 30°C. In the human perspective and to plant life, climate change has its own benefits. In the aspect of farming the rise of CO₂ in the atmosphere benefits plant species thus, this can be good for farmers.

In 2012, the arctic just had a record-breaking ice melt with its area of 4 million km² by the end of September 2012 compared to its historical average of 7 million km². Climate change is getting faster and more severe in the Arctic and the rest of the world. These shifts in temperature, which brings the average above freezing point can alter the region completely. This event is what affects the biodiversity of the whole world and is an eye catcher to world organizations that monitor the status of our planet. With the Ice melt, the effects are not just on the arctic area, but rather in the whole world. Sea Ice, for instance, helps prevent extreme hot temperatures on the planet by reflecting some heat back to space, melting sea ice means lesser heat is reflected back thus there will be an increase to the average world temperature. With this cold areas will tend to get hotter and species who live in cold areas will have a hard time to adapt and eventually disappear. In the tropical regions, rising temperature can also cause droughts and plant life and wildlife will experience the change. For example, as seen in South Western Australia heat waves had an effect on the marine ecosystems biodiversity in the summer of 2010 and 2011. Warmer sea temperatures leads to the migration of manta raysandwhale sharks further south than the usual.

By this, the Earth’s climate will continue to change and have its effects on biodiversity. The planet will still further warm up as time goes by and to some species it may not have a drastic effect on them. Primarily microorganisms and invertebrates due to short generation times. They may be able to adapt to these changing conditions or in response might be able to evolve. On the other hand, too many species especially to those who inhabit climatic envelopes, they may find it challenging to adapt to the change and could pose a great threat to their existence.

What is COPD? COPD or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is a common lung disease that makes us getting a hard time to breath. There are two types of COPD, emphysema, andchronic bronchitis. Chronic bronchitis is a long-lasting cough and mucus while emphysema involves the damage to your lungs over time. What is the cause of COPD? Smoking, most of the people that have COPD are people who smoke from a very long time. What are the symptoms of COPD? Having a hard time to breathe when engaging into physical activities, chest tightens, wheezing, having mucus on your throat every time you wake up because of the excess mucus from your lungs, unwanted weight loss, swelling of your feet or ankles, lacking energy and blueness from your lips and nails.

How can our community prevent COPD?

As an individual, we always have to start from ourselves if we want to help our community. If I am a smoker I need to try to stop it or at least minimize it for the sake of my health and others that may get second-hand smoke coming from me. It is understandable that smoking is addictive and once you started smoking it is very hard for you to stop we can help give you some tips in order for you to stop or minimize smoking and spread awareness to others on your community. First things first is you need to have a reason, find a reason that can make you motivated that can help you on quitting, for example, make your family your reason, you do not want to leave them very early because of the chance of you getting lung cancer is very high and you might die at a very young age or even. Second is you got to be prepared, quitting on smoking will always have drawbacks your body will experience withdrawal symptoms because of being used of having a high amount of nicotine in it, consult your doctor first and ask medications if withdrawal occurs. Make your family and friends help you on what you are trying to achieve, they can motivate you and can stop you whenever you are very eager to smoke. You can also try going to a therapist and ask them for some tips on how to stop smoking. Do not rush yourself into quitting, it is always a slow process. Start first by minimizing the number of cigarettes you smoke every day until your addiction will slowly fade. Be engaging in physical activities such as exercising, making it a habit will disappoint you on smoking because you will be afraid to lose all your gains once you smoke that one stick of cigarette. Surround yourself with a group of people that do not smoke, first of all, you started smoking because of peer pressure, having people around you that does not smoke makes it easier for you to adopt instead of going with people who smoke heavily that can always tempt you into smoking.

Building Healthier Communities: Local Health Departments Implement the ACHIEVE Initiatives, is a compendium of success stories highlighting how NACCHO’s ACHIEVE Communities have been able to positively impact their community through increased collaboration, increased and sustainable funding, and make their communities happier, healthier, and safer places to live.

ACHIEVE is a partnership between local communities and national and state organizations joined in a movement to create healthier places to live, work and play.