TEAGAN KURUNA

The MPH formerly known as Teagan Keating. Also: progressive, vegan, podcaster, writer, feminist, public health communicator, twitter evangelist.  You can also find me online at teagank.com and actionphasepodcast.com and on Twitter @TeaganMPH. Say hi!

[cartoonpolitics]

(story here)

[teagankuruna-blog]

Yes.

[teagankuruna-blog]

2Amys + slow friends = olive and a Stillwater

[doctorswithoutborders]

In 2015, we’re asking for a rapid, accurate and affordable TB test to better diagnose kids, and for the roll-out of a new, easier-to-use combination pill. http://ow.ly/G38a8

[nprglobalhealth]

Teach someone to fish, the saying goes, and they’ll eat for a lifetime. Teach a nurse to become more involved in helping people heal, and patients could enjoy a longer life. That’s the philosophy behind training nurses to mentor other nurses, says Sheila Davis at Partners In Health. The nonprofit introduced nurse mentorship programs in Rwanda in 2010 and Haiti in 2012 — and plans to expand to Ebola-stricken Liberia and Sierra Leone. Davis spoke to NPR about how raising nurses’ expertise has very real benefits for patients.

Read more: Teaching Nurses How To Speak Up — And Speak Gently

[pulitzercenter]

Tuberculosis, or TB, is the world’s second-deadliest infectious disease and kills 1.4 million people every year, according to the World Health Organization. While its bacteria are easily transmitted through the air, the disease can be readily treated and cured. Yet much of the world lacks sufficient treatment.

That’s the case in Vietnam. The country is successful at treating patients once diagnosed, but prevention and detection efforts are poor. Nearly half of TB cases go undetected, a main reason that the disease is responsible for some 18,000 deaths a year — nearly twice as many as automobile accidents.

Insufficient education about the disease in Vietnam means people don’t know how to prevent it. Some who don’t know they are infected end up suffering in silence, which increases the likelihood they will pass the bacteria on to family members and acquaintances. Others, rather than taking proper TB medicine, use over-the-counter drugs from local pharmacies, which can make the illness worse.

[vaccineswork]

Emmanuel Dominic Laku, Medical officer, Walag’lang Primary Care Health Clinic, Central Equatoria, South Sudan. 

I am in charge of this clinic in this village close to Juba, our nation’s capital. In fact, there is only me here, I have no nurses or assistants, and there are many, many people in the surrounding villages who rely on this facility for all their health requirements. This means in one day I can be called on to help with everything from a snake bite to malaria to a broken arm or bad diarrhoea. 

We are quite well-equipped here. I have a fridge which runs from kerosene, although sometimes we have no replenishments of fuel because vehicles cannot pass on the roads to bring it here. Also thanks to Gavi and the government, we have supplies of vaccines, including the new Pentavalent, which was only launched in South Sudan in July, and already we had supplies. You know, most clinics in this country struggle more than we do. 

Giving vaccinations, for me, is very rewarding. The child is not sick, so it is not in pain already. And I know that what I am doing with that vaccine will prevent pain or even death in the future. We can only appeal that those who are supporting us continue to help.

————————————————————————————————————————————————-

Photo: Gavi/ Mike Pflanz

[teagankuruna-blog]

So interesting how he says "we are quite well-equipped," and yet he's the only person working at the clinic. Maybe this shows just how connected he feels to the surrounding villages?

[publichealthmemes]

That would be ignorant, right?

[cartoonpolitics]

"The healthcare business is probably the most distressing example of what happens when we ‘let the market decide.’ Health care for profit means delivering the least amount of health care service for the maximum amount of money." .. (Paul D’Amato)

[texansforreproductiverights]

(Source)

[cartoonpolitics]

Obama is now calling for $75 million in federal spending to fit 50,000 US police with body cameras, which have been shown in trials to reduce public complaints of police brutality and excessive use of force .. (story here)

[badkidsjokes]

His Name Is Willson

A MAN ALWAYS LAUGHING HIS NAME IS WILLSON. 1 DAY A FREIND OF WILLSON ASK HIM:WHY YOU ALWAYS HAPPY? WILLSON LOOK HIM FREIND AND SLAP HIM FREIND AND THAT DAY WILLSON NEVER LAUGH BECAUSE WILLSON IS GHOST NOW

[teagankuruna-blog]

I just love this so much.

[beingliberal]

“As thousands gathered to make their voices heard during a rally earlier this week, one officer and a young man paused to hear each other out. This image, shot by freelance photographer Johnny Nguyen, shows Portland Police Sgt. Bret Barnum hugging 12-year-old Devonte Hart during the Ferguson demonstration in Portland on Nov. 25, 2014. According to Sgt. Barnum, the interaction took place at the beginning of the rally. With emotions running high as speakers were addressing the crowd, he noticed a young man with tears in his eyes holding a ‘Free Hugs’ sign among a group of people. Sgt. Barnum motioned him over and the two started talking about the demonstration, school, art and life. As the conversation ended, Sgt. Barnum pointed to his sign and asked, ‘Do I get one of those?’ The moment following his question was captured in the photo above, which shows Devonte’s eyes welling up with tears once again as he embraces the officer.” —-  Read more:http://www.oregonlive.com/multimedia/index.ssf/2014/11/photo_police_officer_and_citiz.html —- From Common Culture: Life in the American Midwest at: www.facebook.com/commonculturemidwest

[teagankuruna-blog]

Even this police officer gets a free hug from a young demonstrator at a Ferguson rally in Oregon. Not a dry eye in sight.

[teagankuruna-blog]

Droplet vs airborne transmission via @nprglobalhealth

A virus like Ebola is transmitted through the droplet route (red). This means it is contained in large, heavy drops of liquid that can't spread far from the source, aka your mouth, nose, blood, etc., because gravity pulls the heavy droplets toward the ground. This means that if you get splashed with Ebola-infected liquid, you're in trouble.

A virus like measles is transmitted through the airborne route. This means that the measles virus is present in tiny droplets that travel through the air like paint coming out of a spray paint can. This means that a person can sneeze, leave the room, and if conditions are right, the virus can remain in the air for hours. Measles is so infectious because it is transmitted through the air.

Learn more at NPR's Goats and Soda http://www.npr.org/blogs/goatsandsoda/2014/12/01/364749313/ebola-in-the-air-what-science-says-about-how-the-virus-spreads

[pubhealth]

WheresTheFP.org campaign from EngenderHealth.org

[teagankuruna-blog]

220 million women want contraceptives but can't get them.

[teagankuruna-blog]

Chris Rock is right: White Americans are a lot less racist than they used to be.

"Let's hope America keeps producing nicer white people."

But white Americans are still plenty racist.

[cartoonpolitics]

[teagankuruna-blog]

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.

[andystepanian]

#FergusonSpeaks http://www.upworthy.com/one-of-the-biggest-racial-injustices-of-our-time-as-told-by-those-living-it?c=fea

[teagankuruna-blog]

"I don't want to see a better tomorrow. I want to see a better forever...Tomorrow will not help me."