A theme that’s come up over and over, as we discuss the issues of community health and wellness, is access. We’ve talked about lots of different kinds of access–through education, financial resources, insurance, transportation–but one of those that has seemed most surprising to you all is the idea of food deserts, places where access to healthful foods is restricted by one thing and another. This weekend, I happened to see a bit on CNN regarding Gina Keatley’s Nourishing NYC program (intended to provide increased access to fresh fruits and vegetables) and thought you all might find this, and some related, resources interesting.
This also provides us with a way of thinking through how one might move from a personal interest (in my case, access) to a researchable topic (food deserts) to a “first draft” research question (What is a food desert, and what can be done to address the problem?)
- Food Desert Locator (From the USDA’s Economic Research Service. Lots of good info on this site!)
- “Stranded in ‘food deserts,’ hundreds of thousands of N.J. residents lack access to healthy, fresh food” (news article from nj.com, August 8, 2011)
- AmpleHarvest.org (and HERE is a write-up on Ample Harvest from the White House!)
- CNN Hero, Holly Hirshberg, The Dinner Garden
- CNN Hero, Gina Keatley, Nourishing NYC
Does it encourage you to see that “everyday folks” JUST LIKE YOU *are* doing something about the problems we’ve been discussing?
It’s time to start thinking about what your research trajectory will be….. Reply to this posting, and tell us: What questions, issues, or problems about community health/wellness have captured your attention? What would you like to know more about? What do you wish you could DO something about? Do some exploratory research on at least ONE of these interests, and report back to us on your findings. (Be sure to link to the sources you are talking about.)
For this post only: click reply and post on the class blog. (…though of course you are always welcome to COMMENT on the class blog, any post, any time…)
Health (=) Literacy 
Some of the issues that have caught my attention about community health/wellness is the unbelievable rate of drug and alcohol abuse among teens and college students in my community. I would like to know more about how things got to the point they are at now and what can be done to fix this steadly increasing problem. Also there is a big problem with distribution of drugs in this county. I personally know many people who have been convicted of drug distribution in this county. I:\GQ – REASONABLE DOUBT – 906S-000-006.mht This website shows how Robeson County is well known in the United States for its Cocaine distribution.
Hi Payton! Unfortunately, I can’t view the image you tried to share with us… (the address looks like you’re trying to link to a file on a physical drive, rather than on the net, maybe?) BUT: this is a really interesting post nevertheless. I knew we were a major spot in drug trafficking by “virtue” of us being 1/2 way up the I-95 corridor, but I didn’t realize the county itself was known for this! I just kind of thought this was a convenient waystation for those traveling north-south as part of the distribution chain. Interesting stuff! I can’t wait to see where you go with this!
The first thing that caught my mind when we started discussing Portfolio 2 is the overall effects of chiropractic care for things other than standard “back and neck” issues. I’ve personally seen some of the benefits that chiropractic therapy can have on the body. I would like to know if this could eliminate the need for some people to pay for traditional “healthcare services.” Most insurances cover some portion of it and even if insurance is not available, it’s much cheaper than doctors and medicine. I wish that I could help people realize the effect that chiropractic can have on their health. I found this interesting article on some of the benefits.
http://www.cascadewellnessclinic.com/benefits.shtml
Candace: This is a GREAT topic, and many people have no idea how much impact chiropractic care can have on what seem “unrelated to the bones” kind of things.
The first thing that caught my attention about the health and wellness in our community is FOOD! OBESITY! I was shocked when my interview said that obesity is the BIGGEST problem in our community. We have no healthy restaurants near our campus and have mostly nasty, oily, greasy food such as McDonald’s, KFC, Burger King, and many more. So I was thinking what is really being done to improve this and when I thought about it, NOTHING really!! Another problem was poverty in our community. It is one of the POOREST COUNTIES IN NC (Robeson County). The poorest people come from Robeson County. When doing this research, I found this:
link:http://davidboston.suite101.com/poverty-in-north-carolina-a61122
I was completely shocked when reading it.
This is a big problem (no pun intended) in the nation as a whole, now, it seems, and one well worth your time in researching. You might do a bit of poking around to see what’s being done about this problem elsewhere, to see if you can ultimately make suggestions for things that might help address the problem here? Also, I would suggest exploring the linkage between poverty and food access.
Good info on the link you provide, BUT as you continue researching, really consider the credibility of each source you choose. What do you know about this author and/or this site? What date was it published? Have things changed?
One of the things I saw recently which I thought might be of passing interest to you is this: http://www.ncpolicywatch.com/2010/12/17/hope-and-hard-luck/#map (“Poorest counties lead state in per capita lottery sales”). There’s a neat little interactive map that lets you look at things county by county.
One problem that has caught my attention in Robeson County is the high crime rates. Im curious to know the cause of the high crime and if the fact that I-95 runs right through lumberton is the problem. One solution could be that you start from scratch meaning start helping the kids while they are young so that crime won’t be a factor when they grow up. An article that explains a potential solution is located below. It shows that people do care and they are trying to stop this “madness.”
(sorry, I wasn’t sure how to make a hyperlink)
http://ncace.web.unc.edu/media/robeson-county-is-one-of-most-violent-in-state/
good topic! I think you’re onto something with the idea of starting to change this by working with providing the kids better support, to forestall this problem later in life. As you work on this, look to see what programs/policies have worked elsewhere to do this, and what we already have in place here, too.
Your hyperlink worked. Great article!
I agree with dg1avid. He is right. I go to UNCP and heard so many stories as well of crime rates. It’s really high, but also happens to be one of the SAFEST schools in the UNC system school. One story I heard that a house was robbed in Pembroke, NC and they were shot after being robbed. Another story I knew was that two student on the UNCP campus was robbed. It was all over my email. It is said and prove to a fact that Robeson County has one of the highest crime rates in NC. I know this is true after reading the article. Completely shocked. What can be done to reduce the crime rates here in Robeson County? SOMETHING??
http://www.fayobserver.com/articles/2011/01/05/1057412?sac=Home
I like how you’ve considered the campus safety aspect of this too (and am relieved to hear that it is, in fact, one of the safest in the system, despite the reputation). Good initial research question! Run with it, and see where it takes you.
The issue that has caught my attention, is the use of performance enhancement use among athletes. The anti doping agency has agreed to test athletes randomly, during on and off season. However athletes seem to find more ways to beat the test, athletes know the side affect of these drugs could result in stroke, or death etc. why do they take it? to get a competitive edge, but I dont hink its worth the risks.
This is a very current topic, and one I’m sure will be of interest to many classmates and other readers. Something to think on as you begin research: do you mean just steroids/doping, or are you also interested in other types of performance enhancement? (for example, hgh?) http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/performance-enhancing-drugs/HQ01105 Another aspect you might consider: how does (and/or should) this affect our perceptions of our heroes? http://www.allgov.com/Controversies/ViewNews/Was_the_Lance_Armstrong_Doping_Case_Whitewashed_by_US_Attorney_While_Investigation_Continued_120217
The main thing that catches my attention near our area around UNCP was mainly health. There’s a high rate of people who are obese and not healthy. Looking at the Food Desert Locator and comparing the county I’m originally from to Lumberton there’s a high increase in percentage of people with low access. Main risks that cause from obesity may be strokes, heart attacks, and other affects.
Good start! Remember: food choices can affect our health even when we are not visibly obese (and those of us who ARE obese can be otherwise very healthy despite that appearance).
One question I do have is what is going to be done about fast food restaurants are they going to continue serving Americans all these grease food knowing that it is bad for us or will they team up with a group to make their food a little bit healthier. Since I live in Roberson County right will there be more places where kids can go and play instead of sitting inside of their house playing video games, I think this is one of the main reason that we have obesity in America.Things that I would like to know more about is health grocery store because I know the food is healthier than regular grocery store but why are the prices so high, and why cant they sell healthier food in a regular grocery store.
Several good questions here! Which do you most want to pursue?
http://www.fayobserver.com/articles/2011/01/05/1057412?sac=Home
This is what caught my eye…
Murder rates here in Robeson county are 4 times the national average and young people are twice as likely to die before they are old enough to vote!! Robeson County is considered the most dangerous place in the state. I wonder if there’s so much violent due to this being such a rural area.
That IS shocking! It would be interesting to compare this place to others that are similar (rural, same kind of demographics re. income, race, etc.) It would also be interesting, if we could figure it out, to see if EVERYONE in the county is at the same level of risk, or if it is specific to certain groups, income levels, etc. etc. etc.
One problem in Scotland County that caught my attention was the fact that Scotland county ranks first, in the state unemployment rate, and considered a tier 1 county, meaning it is economically depressed by the state department of commerce. This problem correlates directly with, the county being ranked 86th out of 1000 for healthy outcomes, in North Carolina. It’s interesting, considering the fact that America has showed biggest growth in three years. What is being done to create jobs in Scotland county? When jobs aren’t created it creates health concerns.
Correction, 86th out of 100
Good thinking through this! I love the question as a starting place for your research. Run with it!
A huge problem that caught my eye during this was the food obesity and crime rates. When I did my interview I was able to learn that crime Is everywhere and even places that you are not thinking it will or would happen. When you start researching things you begin to learn more and more about that topic. When it come down to obesity that Is something that Is going on all over the world and seems to get worse everyday. Almost every corner that you come to in a town there Is fast food restaurant. These places do not help out with this issue at all. Thinking about eating healthy Is something We should all think about. With reading the story above about Holly from Texas her gardening story and her DINNER GARDEN program seems like. Wonderful thing that more people should try. Eating healthy Is important. She tries to spread the news about getting healthy and gardening at the same time with her program. There Is a website that you can get more information from about this dinner garden program. I just think if more people would eat healthy and stay active We as a community could possibly help prevent the number of obesity rising!
What could the community do to help prevent obesity from rising is a GREAT research question!
Something that has concerned me about the health and wellness of our community are the high levels of cancer and Alzheimer”s disease in Robeson County. I have personal connections with both of these terrible diseases. Unfortunately, I lost three dear members of my family this past year. My grandfather on my mother’s side passed away in August. In his last days, he grew to where he could not recognize us, caused by Alzheimers. My godmother passed away in November. Then, the final blow was the loss of my Pa Pa, my grandfather on my father’s side, in January. He passed during his second battle with lymphoma cancer.
Because of these experiences, I have two research questions. One, why is there not more medical assistance for families who have a loved one with Alzheimers Disease in Robeson County and throughout the nation? Most families become the caretakers without any medical help. And secondly, why is there such a high concentration of cancer patients in Robeson County? Is it because of where we live? As demonstrated in one of the “Unnatural Causes” videos, could our zip code determine if we become a victim to cancer? How can I help people in my community and their loved ones reduce the chance of falling victim to these diseases?
Alzheimer’s certainly does seem to be on the rise. I hadn’t realized it was such a huge thing here. Researching the illness, and the support systems needed/available, seems very useful.
I also like your other alternative–cancer in Robeson.
You might do some exploratory research on each as you consider your research proposal?
I have recently been exploring video games a lot lately. There is a world wide community of gamers across the globe, and I wanted to how that effects the social interaction between people. It also affects in terms of being obesity, which is a major concern with the UNCP area. This is something that interests me greatly, and hopefully link it to the UNCP area.
Both of these are rich avenues for research within the larger topic area you’ve chosen. Which would you MOST like to pursue? You’ve 3 blog posts due each week–you might use two of those to think through the possibilities for each topic, and then the third to develop a proposal for the one you select? I’m particularly intrigued by the idea of how video games affect interaction between people…. but you might actually like the other better (in which case, you should choose it) or might see a way to link the two and treat them both as part of a larger research question. Be careful, though, about taking on a really broad question….
vah004: OMG!!! My great grandma Alzheimer’s but she died last year at 96. She had the disease for 15 years. And my grandma has it right now too and she’s about to be 77 and my mom was the caretaker for her. She’s in a nursing home now though in TN.I feel the same way about the disease. Its takes alot on a family in general to deal with this disease. Its really serious and people should pay attention and give more awareness to this. My mom took care of my grandma from the time I was in third grade till the 12th and graduated from highschool.
It is SO hard on the families; isn’t it? We haven’t had Alzheimer’s in my family, BUT have a lot of strokes, and so I’ve had a grandmother and now an aunt that are affected in many similar ways. There really is a need for support for the families!
A problem that caught my eye while thinking about portfolio 2 is teen pregnancy. Where I’m from, by the time I left high school there was at least 4 pregnant girls in the class below me, not to mention I saw a girl try to go through school the class before me while pregnant and she ended up dropping out. This often slips everyone’s minds because it directly doesn’t effect them, but this seems to be a growing problem among our generation that I have noticed. My mom had me only months after her 18th birthday, I’ve heard numerous times what she had to go through when I was growing up and the stress it had on our family, work, and school – she couldn’t go to college because she chose to have me instead. I would like to know why school’s are so threatened by the idea of talking to teens about sex and pregnancy prevention. I know from personal experience that in my school back home even though we had pregnant girls in our school, it didn’t seem to phase anyone and I know that there’s constantly conflict when it comes to having condoms in schools. It’s clearly a problem, I mean why would you want to throw everything away you have going for you to have a baby when you’re 16? I would also be curious to know how the effect of TV shows like “16 and pregnant” or “Teen Mom” is having on the teens view of teenage pregnancy, also a view from parents, and also educators. I did a little research on the facts of teenage pregnancy and saw this website : http://www.dosomething.org/tipsandtools/11-facts-about-teen-pregnancy
I love this topic. I don’t get, at all, why schools don’t do a better job of sex education. What if you phrased the “first draft” of your question something like: What is the connection between sex ed and teen pregnancy? What educational programs/tactics work best in preventing teen pregnancy?
something that has caught my attention in Robeson County is the amount of people that are on prescription drugs for no reason at all. We call these people “pill popper” and this problem needs to stop ASAP. Doctors these days especially around here will write a prescription for pain to anyone who says they are hurting. Then most of the time they go and sell the pills. Teenagers are already addicted to prescription medication more they than are to any other drugs especially in the school around here and its only going to get worse if we don’t do something soon.
This is SUCH a huge (and growing) problem in our nation, because of the easy accessibility and because (I think) of our ideas about prescription drugs as “safe.” Run with it! I might suggest, given your focus on doing something about this, that you make sure your research question helps you to look for solutions, too?
What has caught my attention while learning about community health and wellness is how much stress students in general have to deal with. I’ve come to realize that stress is a major negative aspect in one’s life. As a student, homework and studying can sometimes be overwhelming; on top of that a person could have personal reasons of why he/she might be going through so much stress. My question is: besides all the simple tricks we all know to reduce stress, is there something more powerful to reduce the amount of stress a person has to face?
I like the idea of narrowing this broad topic by looking at stress in terms of education/college life, and with the goal of finding possible solutions.
One thing that I have been seeing personally over the last couple of weeks and at the end of last year is a lot of college students Binge drinking. A lot of people that I know have been admitted to the hospital or recieve a ticket for drinking. I would like to know what is the psychological reason behind binge drinking and how could we help prevent this from happening?
good question! I might broaden this just a bit–I suspect that psychological reasons are only one reason. Ask the question in a way that is less limiting, so you can find other possible reasons too?
One thing I’ve noticed about this country is how poor it is. I drive through Parkton and Red Springs everyday to get here and it just looks so runned down. Why? and exactly how bad is it? I can obviously see how bad it is, but I wanted to see numbers. I was amazed by what I found on this website.
http://www.robesonian.com/view/full_story/17255374/article-Robeson-tops-N-C–in-poverty?instance=home_news_lead
The first line says Robeson country ranks #1 in poverty out of the all the counties in NC and 80 in the US out of 3,143 counties. Also individuals living below poverty level only made about 10,000 a year. Thats crazy! I wonder what can be be done to fix this?
It’s heartbreaking, isn’t it? So many small towns have suffered in the same ways. You might want to take a somewhat historical approach to this. I *think* looking at how things got this way might help you see some ways out? You might also compare us to other, similar places, and see what solutions have worked elsewhere?
I agree with pap002. From living in this community surrounding UNCP, I think a major health and wellness issue would be obesity. There aren’t any healthy restaurants in the area. North Carolina is ranked 5th worst in the US for childhood obesity. I would have never thought that NC would have been ranked that high. After researching the internet for different websites I found a good one that is broke up into many topics in detail.
http://www.eatsmartmovemorenc.com/ObesityInNC/ObesityInNC.html
What a great resource you’ve found! Childhood obesity is a really complex problem, and one it’s really important for us to address as families/communities AND as a nation. Did you know this is Michelle Obama’s pet cause too? http://www.letsmove.gov/
It is truly remarkable how people can take time out of their lives to help those who are in desperate need of help. I had no idea there were so many food deserts in America, and I didn’t even know such a thing existed. I think it is great that these non-profit organizations are helping the community and they seem to having success with that, however for the food desert areas that have an abundant amount of fast food restaurants, why doesnt the governement put at least one grocery store with good prices in the area aswell? If there is no room for a building they could tear down some of the fast food and put up a grocery store instead, like maybe a low-income grocery store with prices to feed the needs of those who have low income? I would like to know more about the reason that there are so many food deserts still when the government should do something about it and fix the problem. I would like to spread more awareness, I didn’t even know this was such a huge problem until now, more people should be made aware. This link, http://www.fooddesert.net/, actually talks more about raising awareness and how everyone can help to make a difference and bring this dreadful problem to an end.
good suggestions! Is this something you think you want to research for portfolios 2 and 3?
A big problem in my hometown and surrounding areas is gangs. Just to talk about them makes a lot of people cringe but I like behind the scenes details because I like to know how they operate. This topic captures my attention because young children are joining them. If they are our future then what do we have to look forward to? I would like to know why people join them, what makes one gang better than another, why is there so much animosity between the two sets of people that son’t really communicate with each other? Why do girls join them? I wish I could just give them a chance to talk their issues out so that they won’t have so much anger towrds each other. An atricle that i read
( http://www.helium.com/items/102868-women-in-gangs-why-they-join ) states that women join gangs to protect themselves from men in other gangs. What is that they want protection from? Why are the men targeting these women?
Women in gangs isn’t something that get enough attention, I don’t think. I am interested to see what you find out!
There are three topics that i was thinking about and they are video games,boys and girls clubs, and teen suicide. These three are things that are impacting the youth of today and I like to help people from my own experience. I really think I can make a difference and a better future.
These are all really rich areas for research, and potentially quite useful to readers. Which are you most interested in? What would you like to find out?
I have many areas of interest when it comes to forming a research topic for Portfolio 2. To hone in on a few I would say Mental Health is extremely important, specifically bipolar disorder or schizophrenia. This is a gray area for many, because it is not easily discussed. I would like to find out if a person with one of these disorders can eventually function in society without having to rely on medication to sustain them. http://www.allaboutcounseling.com/library/mental-health/
Another idea was Alzheimer’s, because it is close to my heart. My grandpa struggled with it for many years before he passed away last year. It is one of the worst prognosis’s a doctor can give because any one involved knows its only a matter of time.. I could research, the struggles families go through as the disease progresses. Or what new medical advances can lessen signs of Alzheimer’s. http://www.health-choices-for-life.com/alzheimers_disease.html
There is SUCH a stigma against mental health disorders in our culture. I really don’t think these issues are talked about enough. For that reason, I think I’d be MOST interested in hearing what you could find out about schizophrenia. Your research question, above, seems a good starting place.
That said: both are good topic areas, and you should choose the one that most appeals to you/will most sustain your interest over time.
My biggest interest as is with anything is how the economy plays into health and access. I feel like it has really been covered quite well by the videos we watched. So the second question is how in the world are their food deserts in places like new york city. I mean not just food deserts but actual starving people. It is disturbing that there are even people starving in the US. I was made aware of this by a commercial, and it sort of freaked me out to see that people in America have problems finding food. http://www.nyccah.org/learn-about-hunger/hunger-in-nyc This site has good information about the problem of access to food in the city of New York along with a map showing how many people are deprived of needed nutrition in certain areas within the city. I may be able to link this to economics. Something like how a booming economy can cut access in cities to select groups. I am not quite sure how to do it yet but its a lead I am working on. One of the things I notice though is out of these situations crop a mentality that accepts their situation as permanent and unchangeable. I have considered several processes in trying to fix this because the first step to recovery is in the mind.
It IS disturbing how many are starving here in the US (and even more disturbing to think that we might support those suffering here at home less than those in other countries.) Try framing it as a research question (or set of questions) and see what it leads you to.
PS I agree. Solutions is an important thread to follow through on as you research this topic.
A topic that I was interested in is childhood obesity. There’s alot of overweight children in Robeson County, especially at the Boys and Girls Club were I work at. I would like to come up with ways to avoid childhood obesity so that children could live a healthier and better life. If you go to , at the bottom of page 2 you will see how childhood obesity is a problem and how it may cause children to experience health problems and other issues later on in life.
You have SUCH a connection to this generation, it would be really interesting to see you work on this topic. What if you took parents as your final audience, or maybe even the kids themselves? How would you phrase your research question(s) in a way that would prepare you for that conversation?
One of the health epidemics in Robeson County and surrounding counties is the rise of diabetes. This hits home with me because quiet a number of people in my immediate family are diagnosed with diabetes.
Diabetes is a disorder of metabolism and the way the food is broken down. In North Carolina, the state percentage of diabetes is 8.91% while Robeson County is a whopping 7. 81%. Why so high? Many people believe its genetics, but in all reality it’s the poor choices people make with lack of exercise and poor dieting. Being the only thing that has changed from generation to generation is the way we eat.
I think you’re right–the changes in our diet seems a likely culprit. You might be interested to watch the episode of “Unnatural Causes” called “Bad Sugar.” (I’ve returned it to the library, in case you want to check it out.)
Here’s the episode descripton: http://www.unnaturalcauses.org/episode_descriptions.php?page=4
You’ll also find episode transcripts on site, if you’d rather read it than watch it.
Here’s the library listing for the video, to aid in finding it (if you want):
http://uncclc.coast.uncwil.edu/search/X?SEARCH=unnatural+causes&submit=Search&searchscope=3&SORT=D&m=g&b=p
While doing Portfolio 1 my interviewee kept talking about childhood obesity and how it dramatically affects one’s health in the long run. My question is how can we prevent childhood obesity in a fun and easy way? My major is Elementary Education and I love sports, so I tried combining them into a research question and I got childhood obesity and sports. There are numerous articles such as http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/otl/news/story?id=4015831 and http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Sport_and_children that describe how getting physical activity, like playing sports, can help end childhood obesity.
You are in the perfect place to research this topic! I like that you have a real application in mind for this–your own eventual classroom! Good starting place with the sources. Run with it!
Many issues within Pembroke and the surrounding areas have caught my attention, but there is one problem in particular that I would like to know more about. Access to health care, transportation, job opportunities, etc. pose a big problem to citizens in the area, but why hasn’t anything been done to solve these issues? Why aren’t there more restaurants located in Pembroke or places for kids, college students, and even adults to hang out at? Yes, Pembroke is not the wealthiest place, but if more businesses were brought in then more job opportunities would appear. This would result in less unemployment and give residents a means of income. In this area, there is one bar (Mighty J’s) that maintains pretty good business. I know a lot of college students, including myself, go there to hang out and eat. My question is why not add more of these types of hangouts? I have heard rumors about a Buffalo Wild Wings coming to Pembroke by Pointe Apartments. This would be a great place for kids to hang out instead of getting into trouble and it would also provide many jobs for residents. Not only would it be great for the community to bring in more restaurants, but it would also be a good thing to bring in fresh markets or more places for people to obtain healthier food. Obesity is a problem in the area and I think one contributor is the fact that there are many unhealthy fast food restaurants and no healthy food places/grocery stores. Again, the opportunity for jobs would increase if these businesses opened up in Pembroke. The unemployment rate is 11.4% in Robeson County, which is more than twice the national benchmark (http://www.countyhealthrankings.org/north-carolina/robeson). I feel like if the community started focusing on ways to improve the rate of unemployment, then there would be a chain reaction that could result in an improvement in health/wellness in the area. I wish more people would start voicing their opinions and push for these kinds of solutions to help improve the well-being of citizens in this area.
How to attract more businesses of various types to town is a GREAT topic, and one that would address a lot of your concerns above. Focusing specifically on attracting healthier food options might narrow this, but might turn out to feel too limiting to you, since you seem interested in obesity/health concerns, but also quality of life concerns (like…having a job!) Play with it both ways, and see what you think?
Well, the most important issue that captured my attention about the health and wellness of our community has to be the fact that there are so many citizens that are uninsured or dependent on medicare/ medicaid. This truly is startling; knowing that almost every other person I will meet in a day is unable to pay for their medical care, if something were to happen. Other than raising the national debt, I really would like to know what our local, state, and federal governments have in plan to solve this issue. I wish that I could formulate a plan to solve this, but it takes an extensive knowledge of the inner workings our government’s bureaucracy. http://www.healthcare.gov/law/full/index.html Our current government has plans in the coming years to hopefully turn us around gradually, but it requires more support from the states.
So, is your research question to kind of interrogate the Health Care Reform plans, to see if it might help us out of this problem, or simply cause other problems?
The biggest thing that stood out to me was the STD statistics for Robeson County. This county has a way higher rate for STD’s then alot of the other counties in North Carolina. This interested me because i wondering how it got to be as bad as it is now. One of the biggest problems around here is Chlamydia. This website shows some facts about Chlamydia in the county compared to all the other counties in North Carolina. http://www.countyhealthrankings.org/north-carolina/robeson/45
SCARY isn’t it? The good news is that STDs have improved here, some, in recent years. As part of your research into this, remember to see what’s contributing to this improvement, whether it’s holding steady or getting steadily better, and what we might need to do more of? Do you want to focus on one specific STD (ie. chlamydia) or the set of diseases as a whole?
One thing that I am concerned about around this area is AIDS. I was reading some information on health issues in Robeson County and one of the first things that i seen was that Robeson County exceeds the NC rate of AIDS by 49%. Thats crazy to me just because where i’m from AIDS isn’t an issue. Do I think that there can be something done? Yes but I think it would be hard to do, only because kids do not listen. http://www.coastalalliance.org/regional_needs_assessment/recommendations/Robeson_County_Summary.pdf
THAT is so frightening! I knew it was bad, but had no idea it was THAT bad! What year does this report date from? Do you know? How to improve this situation is such an important question for the campus, and local, communities.
After reading the second source provided above it made me think about how difficult it may be for others to get healthy foods for their families. The word they used to describe this called “Food Desert” is a very interesting way to look at this topic. I dont think i would’ve put food and desert in the same sentence. Biut the fact that “food deserts” are a real thing and that it not only affects one person but the fact that it affects families as well. From what i read from this topic i would like to learn a little more on how this “food desert” affects younger individuals. In the way that it may cause them bigger issues in the future. Like child obesity and how this can be prevented by just addding a local healthy mark in certain areas. The article explained a little bit upon how first lady Michelle Obama has conducted some efforts on getting rid of child obesity. The major thing first lady has done was created a campaign called “Let’s Move!”. This made me want to go into further research and see what Mrs. Obama has done with this campaign. I found out that Mrs. Obama has many people behind her campaign like well known celebrity Beyonce. Beyonce created a song to go along with this campaign which will hopefully make kids and parents want to move and want to get into shape. You can see for yourself what this “Lets Move” campaign is all about at: http://www.letsmove.gov/
GREAT start! I look forward to seeing what you find out!
PS: Food and desert are so odd together to me, that I keep trying to type food and dessert…. speaking of obesity…. 🙂
When I read about the food dessert, I felt sorry for the people who cant shop in a grocery store near by their county. Instead of shopping within a waking distance, they have to drive or possibly walk within a 15 min distance. The main problem with this story I believe is that its not the laziness of the people about driving far, but its about people who can not afford healthy food. Sure there are plenty of restaurant and fast food place near by, but that’s they are not healthy. The stores they live near by are not only expensive, but also unhealthy. I believe the government should put grocery stores that provide the essential near by. The health and wellness of the citizen do matter.
I agree–I think it’s more about cost than laziness. Plus also too: if you CAN walk that far for better choices, I think most would, but it’s often not just a consideration of distance, but also of safety, time to do it, ability to haul stuff BACK over that distance, on foot, etc.
After completing the first project, which was interviewing someone from Robeson, Scotland, and Hoke County, I realized one big concern that we have in our community and that is violence. Thi world is so corrupted and in bad shape. I hate to even turn on the tv now days because all its full of is violence and negativity but even that can not close out the truth becuse it is happening right in your back yard. I wish there was somee kind of cure for violence, I would spread it all over the World. Like in fairytales, “What do you wish for?” -World Peace.
I know what you mean about avoiding the news because it is always SO awful.
How can you spin this into a research question? I definitely think there’s something there….
Through my interview I learned that diabetes and high blood pressure were very common health issues in this area. My interviewee said that the types of foods that are commonly eaten in households of this area were the contributing factor of these conditions. I am interested to learn what kinds of “foods” are commonly eaten in this area that cause high blood pressure and diabetes.
That’s a REALLY good question. I suggested to someone above they might consult “Bad Sugar,” from Unnatural Causes, to help start on this research. I think it might also be useful to you. I thought you also might find this interesting: http://clinical.diabetesjournals.org/content/22/4/190.full
http://www.countyhealthrankings.org/north-carolina/robeson,I found this as I was searching for statistics in one of our previous blogs. I some how managed to find it again. In this link it shows the ratings for STD’s for national counties, state counties, and Robeson county. The lower the rate the better off you are. The national rating is 83. The state rating is 414. The Robseon county rating is 753. This is a huge problem in Robeson county that interests me because it effects the health and wellness of the people.
The stats are awful. What research question(s) would help you explore these numbers, and start to anticipate possible solutions/improvements?
Ive have been thinking about portfolio 2 and I really want to write about shopping addiction and different aspects of it . I know a few people I could interview on this topic and would be a great source to my research!
That’s a very good topic, and I’m curious to learn more about it myself! There actually are scholarly articles on this–I did a quick google search and found: http://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=%22shopping+addiction%22&hl=en&as_sdt=0&as_vis=1&oi=scholart&sa=X&ei=PftDT7igNo22twe1-tThBQ&ved=0CDEQgQMwAA
I’m positive we could find more.
Be careful of relying on a very small set of interviews. If you don’t have time to plan a really GOOD interview (which takes more than you might think) and to gather a good, broad set of data (which requires more than just a couple of people), you might be better off using a published interview (which I’m sure we could also find).
A topic I have been very interested in and that is close to me is concussions in football. It is a serious thing that is happening in the sport and has even gone as far as to change some of the rules in how the game is played now. I think it would be a very good topic to do Portfolio 2 on because the amount of information you can gather on the topic. I also thought since I played the sport I can maybe help make sure they don’t happen as much during the spring or next football season. http://parenting.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/01/12/football-and-the-fear-of-concussions/
You’ve got a GREAT reason for choosing this (and it also indicates a possible audience for your work–players, coaches, or both–for portfolio 3). It’s a really hot topic late, and one well worth your consideration!
Something that I have been interested in concerning this project is animal neglect. This topic interest me because I love animals and the fact that some people treat them so badly is crazy. For this project, I would probably go with some questions like why do people do it? What kinds of animals are usually the target and why? And what does the person who does it do with their life? Some of these questions really concern me. Also, I might go in the direction of figuring out why people go against neglecting animals but they eat me and food that comes from animals. Some of these things might be totally different and that is what I want to find out.
Animal neglect is a good idea! My hubby and I were talking about this problem just yesterday. I’m not sure about this bit of your proposed questions: “what does the person who does it do with their life?” Tell me more about what you think that would illuminate for you? Are you trying to get at what kinds of people do this? I suspect the answer will be “all kinds.” Or are you trying to get at solutions? Tell me more.