When working in any field, there is no doubt a degree of diversity that must be dealt with, but in health care it is especially prevalent. Chronic conditions are taking over the health of many Americans. One condition I have seen the most resulting problems with is obesity. The rise in obesity is staggering and the resulting health of these patients is greatly compromised.

 

In Public Health with Dr. Sara Corwin, health disparities and chronic diseases was a huge topic. We learned about different diseases and how they typically coincide with each other.  Unhealthy dietary patterns can be due to lack of knowledge of healthy options, lack of financial means to purchase healthy foods, or the convenience of fast food for time and money. One big topic is Public Health was how these unhealthy diets lead to obesity and in turn, obesity leads to problems such as diabetes, heart disease, high cholesterol, and a plethora of other dangerous conditions.

 

One result of chronic obesity that was not as commonly thought of was degenerative joint disease, also called osteoarthritis. It is not as commonly though of as a public health concern because it is not a life threatening condition. It can however, severely diminish the patients’ quality of life and contribute to many other harmful and life threatening conditions over time. It is has three causes: genetics, extreme over activity, and obesity, the overwhelmingly most common reason being obesity.

 

During my time as an intern at USC Sports Medicine Clinics, this was probably the most commonly dealt with issue in orthopedics. We had many overweight patients present with joint pain and without even examining them we could be almost certain that it was degenerative joint disease, or osteoarthritis.

 

In my public health class you were given the statistics pertaining to these issues, but seeing them first hand really puts the issues in perspective. You saw the health histories of these patients as well as other concerns, such as not getting the brace or treatment we recommended because insurance would not cover it or it was too expensive. Working with these people taught me to show empathy for these individuals that are suffering from these health disadvantages. In class, they were simply a statistic and I believed that they just did not try to improve themselves and that something could be done to improve their situation. Seeing the real world situation showed that there was no simple fix. Health problems that result from disparity are all a cycle and the problem goes further than the patients.

 

In my public health course and in the USC Sports Medicine Clinic, I learned to find patterns in information I am given. In my public health course, you are taught about health disparities and epidemics that occur. Seeing these issues in the clinic first hand, made these statistics I had received real. In the clinic, I discovered that these health disparities and disadvantages were all a cycle of both health problems and disparities.  One issue leads into another, which can cause more issues, and it continues. In this course, you see the facts on paper, but in the real world, you learn to discover how all of these facts connect. As a medical student, recognizing patterns and connections in material is very beneficial.