Immunisation Infection Disease

Immunisation Infection Disease Immunisation has been continually confirmed in both research trials and in the field to be one of the most successful medical interventions we have to avert disease. As Mims et al (2004: 513) outlines, the rationale of immunisation is simple: to provoke a primed status so that on initial contact with the applicable infection a quick and successful secondary immune response will be induced, leading to the avoidance of disease. A vital part of immunisation programs is the production of ‘herd immunity-that is an increase in the populations overall immunity status to the point that successful transmission cannot occur due to a lack of susceptible individuals. According to Rogers et al (1995), opposition in this field arose as early as the 19th century when vaccination was first introduced in Europe. There were instant objections on religious grounds and doubts about the effectiveness of vaccines were also articulated along with the rights of the individual to refuse immunisation. P resent-day objections to mass child immunisation reverberate these early apprehensions. Below an overview is given of the sociological factors associated with non or under immunised children in developed countries. How these factors combine to explain this immunisation status is additionally discussed along with suggestions of potential efforts to increase immunisation uptake rates. A number of studies (Brynley et al 2001 Turner et al 2003) conducted in developed countries have identified many sociological factors that are associated with low immunisation uptake among children. Primarily these factors include unemployment, low or high maternal education, single parent status, overseas birth or late birth order and low socio-economic status. In addition to these primary factors other reasons for reduced immunisation uptake are associated with immunisation myths, inadequate service provision or access, child gender/age, late commencement of immunisation and maternal mental instability. A childs low immunisation status may be the result of one or a combination of the above interacting factors. There are a variety of myths circulating in the community with regards to immunisation. Begg and Nicoll(1994) noted some common myths that include: â€Å"a child with allergies should not be immunised, children taking antibiotics shouldnt be vaccinated and immunisation is now unnecessary.† Although most myths have a tangible basis with traceable origins all myths should be disregarded on scientific grounds. According to Begg and Nicoll most immunisation myths emerge due to the ignorance of health professionals compounded by the propagation of conflicting material. The media has been quick to take advantage of the professions ignorance, predominantly where there are questionsabout the risks coupled with immunisation. Hall (2001) thus puts forward that parents who are unresolved about child vaccination may receive medical advice which is uncertain, while receiving from those in opposition to immunisation strongly argued and seemingly well researched information. A great deal of the controversy surrounding immunisation appeals to parents deep-founded regard for the wellbeing of their children and their trepidation principally of injections. Hall also suggested that parents may have difficulty in conveying their concerns to health professionals, and these concerns may induce parents to lean towards arguments against immunisation. Such arguments endow parents who have immunisation reservations with rationale to oppose vaccinating of their children. Low education can greatly disadvantage a mother making decisions concerning immunisation. Forrest et al (1998) mentioned that such a mother may not be able to read or properly comprehend vaccination information and thus not base decisions regarding their infants health on scientific evidence. The parental response therefore to a childs immediate distress may outweigh their attitude towards future benefits from vaccination. Those struggling due to a language barrier, particularly migrants and those of ethnic origin may also encounter similar difficulties. Conversely Rogers et al (1995) explains that people with high education usually choose to oppose vaccination for other reasons. These parents rational is multifaceted being deduced from a mixture of world views held about healing, the environment, holism and responsibilities of parenting combined with the reading of scientific and alternative literature which cast doubts on the effectiveness of immunisation. Lack of education may also be a barrier to individuals who are unemployed or of low socio-economic status (SES) due to the above reasons. As evident in a study conducted by Li and Taylor (1993), this may be further compounded by low financial position. With a high proportion of the unemployed or those of low SES living in temporary housing, especially in inner city districts, it may be hard for health professionals to keep track of immunisation records and provide reminders about necessary appointments. Those with low income as described by Hull et al (2001) may also not have use of a vehicle making it difficult to access immunisation services; this is a particular problem for those who live in rural areas and can lead to incomplete immunisation in infants. Children from large families and of late birth order or those of single parents have also been found by studies conducted by Hull et al (2001) and Li and Taylor (1993), to have lower immunisation uptake. Hull et al noted that single parents may encounter greater difficulties in both organising periods off work and have monetary limitations that increase the difficulty in accessing immunisation services. Likewise as discussed by Li and Taylor, parents with many children may find it hard to access immunisation services due to busy schedules or transportation issues. Moreover parents of large families may have had previous adverse immunisation experiences with elder siblings and thus their caution or opposition to vaccination is reflected in the lack of immunisation among younger siblings. Harrington et al (2000) suggested that adverse immunisation experiences are associated with the combination of crammed clinics, long waiting times, inconvenient hours and trouble acquiring an appointm ent. Additionally many mothers undergo emotional distress due to the knowledge that they are party to the pain inflicted on their infant as a result of vaccination. This perhaps is integrated in the opinion articulated by some parents that health centre immunisation is intolerably forceful and callous due to the lack of compassion shown by health professionals; with evidence revealed in the study conducted by Harington et al, that mothers prefer to have their infant vaccinated by general practitioner, in a ratio of >4:1, with the pre-existing relationship helpful during immunisation visits. A study conducted on factors associated with low immunisation uptake (Hull et al 2001) also demonstrated a strong association between late immunisation commencement and low overall immunisation uptake. A late commencement of immunisation may echo a parents attitude to vaccination or reflect a lack of knowledge regarding immunisation as a whole or its schedule. Hull et al also noted that illness is the primary cause for late commencement with many parents believing that there is an increased risk coupled to vaccination during this time. The decision to vaccinate may be further confused by dissenting personal attitudes towards vaccination. Similarly a study conducted by Turner et al (2003) found that women suffering from mental health problems including depression and anxiety, several months after birth were between 3 and 5 times more likely to have commenced the immunisation schedule late or not at all. Mothers with mental instability may find the seemingly normal tasks associated wit h motherhood difficult. With the maintenance of a normal day a challenge the importance of immunisation may be decreased. Gender can also affect immunisation uptake however as illustrated by Markuzzi et al (1997), this is dependant on the specific disease to which vaccination may confer protection. For example Markuzzi et al noted that in the UK it has until recently been considered that boys do not require vaccination against rubella. Therefore the live attenuated vaccine was only administered to adolescent girls to protect them from developing the disease while pregnant and transmitting it to the foetus resulting in congenital rubella syndrome. Consent is an additional problem which may affect vaccination rates, especially for overseas visitors or those from minority ethnic groups who may not understand the language of the country in which they now reside. Even with parental consent (Forrest et al 1998) a child cannot be vaccinated unless they are willing. Vandermeulen et al 2007 notes that adolescents are particularly hard age group to reach as many have a poor perception of risk leading to a greater fear of the initial pain of immunisation than the associated disease. Deferral of appointments for seemingly inadequate reasons such as social commitments also hinders this age bracket. Although in Australia national immunisation coverage levels may surpass 90 percent (Childhood Immunisation Coverage 2007), there is a considerably lower level of protection among certain subgroups of the population. These pockets of under vaccinated individuals make the population susceptible to major outbreaks. As further suggested by Childhood Immunisation Coverage, monitoring the coverage at smaller geographic levels helps ensure that these impending pockets of children are recognised by target interventions and decrease the threat of potential disease outbreaks. Additional efforts to boost immunisation rates in the community should thus focus on increasing service accessibility. As recommended by Forrest et al (1998) and Li and Taylor (1993) this could be achieved via facilitating immunisation session times that parents find easy to attend, the use of mobile vans or other home vaccination methods and the provision of opportunistic immunisations when children appear at hospitals, general practices or health clinics for different reasons. Moreover Li and Taylor also note that attempts should be made to enhance the services provided by health care clinics by the extension of crà ¨che facilities for siblings and the continual education of health providers. This education should focus upon details concerning new vaccinations and current circulatory immunization myths, including there rebuttal. As advised by Harrington et al 2000, health practitioners should also be further encouraged to listen and treat parents concerns seriously . In addition to the education of health practitioners, efforts to increase immunisation uptake should include community education. Enhanced community immunisation education could be achieved, as suggested by Harrington et al, by the increased provision of information packages that are culturally appropriate in a variety of languages to expectant mothers.Furthermore television campaigns depicting children with various diseases could co unteract various immunisation myths by forcing parents to understand to painful reality of potential outbreaks as a result of vaccination opposition. In addition to the above, Turner et al (2003) notes that postnatal strategies aimed at increasing mother psychosocial health should better their immunisation patterns for their infants. As a public health measure, immunisation has had a significant role in decreasing the burden of disease. It is of public health concern to increase immunisation uptake rates, as this decreases the possibility of disease transmission, and hence complications arising from infectious disease outbreaks. It is therefore vital that equity is aspired to via efforts to increase vaccination rates among target subgroups that are affected by the sociological factors discussed above. Bibliography (1-11) 1.A Markuzzi US, R Weitkunat and G Meyer Measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccination rates in Munich school-beginners. Sozial-und Praventivmedizin. 1997;42(3):1. 2.A Rogers DP, I Guest, D Stone and P Menzel. The Pros and Cons of Immunisation. Health Care Analysis. 1995;3:100-4. 3.B Hull PMaGS. Factors associated with low uptake of measles and pertussis vaccines- an ecologic study based on the Australian Childhood Immunisation Register Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health. 2001;25(5):405-10. 4.C Mims HD, R Goering, I Roitt, D Wakelin and M Zuckerman. Medical Microbiology. Mosby, editor.: Mosby-Year Book Europe; 2004. 5.C Turner FBaPOR. Mothers health post-partum and their patterns of seeking vaccination for their infants. International Journal of Nursing Practice. 2003;9(2):120. 6.C Vandermeulen MR, H Theeten, P Van Damme and K Hoppenbrouwers. Vaccination coverage and sociodemographic determinants of measles-mumps-rubella vaccination in three different age groups. European Journal of Pediatrics. 2007:103-8. 7.Hall R. Myths and Realities: Responding to arguments against immunisation. In: Care CDHA, editor. third ed; 2001. p. 1-3. 8.Hull B. Childhood Immunisation Coverage. 2007 [updated 2007; cited]; Available from: http://www.ncirs.usyd.edu.au/research/r-acir-3rdquart.html. 9.J Forrest MBaPM. Factors influencing vaccination uptake. Current Australian research on the behavioural, social and demographic factors influencing immunisation; 1998; Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children. 1998. p. 1-2. 10.Nicoll NBaA. Myths in Medicine: Immunisation. Journal [serial on the Internet]. Date. 11.P Harrington CWaFS. Low immunisation uptake: Is the process the problem? J Epidemial Community Health. 2000(54):394 400.

Compare and Contrast Essay Essay

In the stories, â€Å"The Lie,† by Kurt Vonnegut and â€Å"Barn Burning,† by William Faulkner, the main characters mature from childhood into adulthood. This maturity either develops from support of one’s family and upbringing or it grows internally from one’s conscience. We see from both stories that the main characters use this maturity to courageously speak up. In the story, â€Å"The Lie,† Eli matures into adulthood. Due to his parents’ lack of understanding of his individuality in the beginning of the story, Eli has to deny his own feelings. When Eli receives the letter that he was rejected from the esteemed high school, Whitehill, he secretly tears it up since he is nervous of his parents’ disappointment. Eli’s mother, Sylvia, helps him transition into maturity as she begins to recognize her son’s individuality. At the beginning of the story, Sylvia thinks of her son as just another Ramenzal that will be attending W hitehill and even gives him â€Å"number thirty one† (Vonnegut, 2) in the honored list of the Ramenzals who have attended the institution. Sylvia fails to realize that Eli has unique qualities that are different from the rest of the Remenzels until the end of the story. When the Remenzels discover from the headmaster that Eli has not been accepted to the school and realize that Eli has ran away because of the tough situation he got himself into, Sylvia finally recognizes that Whitehill is not the best place for him. This allows Eli to open up and express his feelings comfortably. We see this when Eli expresses his feelings of anger at his father for trying to get him into Whitehill, for he realizes he will not succeed there. He says, â€Å"You shouldn’t have done that† (Vonnegut, 12). At the point that he is recognized as an individual, he is ultimately able to mature through his new ability to express himself without being intimidated. Sarty from the story â€Å"Barn Burning,† also develops and matures into adulthood. Throughout the story he has an internal conflict between loyalty to his family an d doing what is right. Sarty’s father, Abner, makes this struggle very difficult by pressuring his son to be loyal to a family that is living a life of vengeance, anger and retribution. He  accuses his son of almost telling the justice that his father did in fact burn down the barn. He hits his son and then tells him, â€Å"You got to learn. You got to learn to stick to your own blood or you ain’t going to have any blood to stick to you† (Faulkner, 3). He is faced with a conflict which he describes as â€Å"being pulled two ways like between two teams of horses† (Faulkner, 7). Finally at the end of the story he builds up the courage to run away from his family and tell the landlords that his father is planning on burning their barn. He realizes that he made the right decision of following his conscience and doesn’t regret being disloyal to his blood, as the story ends, â€Å"He did not look back† (Faulkner, 11). We see in these two stories the main characters’ initiation into adulthood. They both are able to openly express what they really thought was the right thing. Eli matures and is able to express his feelings when he is recognized as an individual and not as another Remenzel. Sarty also develops into an adult as he follows his conscience, and speaks out against his family. Sometimes a person, like Eli, needs support in order to mature, yet sometimes a person, like Sarty, matures, regardless of support, by following his conscience. Works Cited Faulkner, William. Barn Burning. Logan, IA: Perfection Form, 1979. Print. Kurt Vonnegut. The Lie. Woodstock, IL: Dramatic Pub., 1992. Print

Essay about Beowulf Movie vs Poem

After reading the Old English heroic epic poem â€Å"Beowulf†, which considered to be one of the most significant masterpieces of Anglo-Saxon literature, and watching the 2007 American screen version of the same name directed by Robert Zemeckis I have identified the similarities and differences of interpretation. The film director has chosen this particular literature work as it holds important information regarding relationships and controversies of the society and kingship in Old England. In addition, the poem is extremely exciting and contains numerous astonishing descriptions and vivid characters.    Altogether the movie accurately resembles the heroic poem; there are several dissimilarities that the film director did not take into consideration. First of all, in the poem the main hero Beowulf returns to Geatland in order to become the king of his uncle’s kingdom. Whereas, in the motion picture he remains in the land of the Danes and turns to be the king of the Hrothgar’s kingdom. Secondly, in the poem Beowulf takes the life of Grendel’s mother, while in the film they have sexual intercourse and soon Grendel’s mother gives birth to a dragon-like child. According to the poem Beowulf has never had any sexual relations with Grendel’s mother, and therefore for the culmination of movie the dragon Beowulf withstands is not his son, but a random flying beast that he fights when returning home to Geatland to attend the coronation and become a fair ruler.   Moreover, the author  Neil Gaiman  and screenwriter  Roger Avary presented their vision an d motivation standing behind Grendel’s behavior. They disagree with the concept that Beowulf appears to be an unreliable narrator, especially in the part where he reveals the details of his battle with Grendel’s mother. These changes made it easier to link the third and the second acts of the screenplay that are divided in the poem by a fifty years. In addition, according to the researches conducted by the scholars there were some other changes made in the movie. Firstly, the film depicts Beowulf as a man of flaws and imperfection. Secondly, the portrayal of Hrothdar and Unferth does not correspond with their representation in the poem. In the movie Hrothgar is depicted as a debauch alcohol addict, whereas Unferth carries feature of a pietistic Christian. In the movie the portrayal of Grendel’s mother is rather inaccurate as she is presented as a beautiful seductive woman, mother of Grendel’s (Hrothgar’s offspring) and the dragon (Beowulf’s child). For this reason I believe that the film director should not have given the role to Angelina Jolie, who is recognized by numerous publications as â€Å"the most beautiful† woman in the world. Finally, Beowulf becomes the king of the land of Danes instead of becoming the ruler of his native Geatland. In the movie the characters Hrothgar and then Beowulf are both depicted as men who have love affairs on the side, whereas the literature work gives the readers the concept that in the Medieval times kings were moral, respectable, honest, ingenuous and loyal men who put safety and security of their kingdoms first of all. Meanwhile, in the movie Grendel is portrayed as an immature human-like beast undergoing severe pain every time he hears loud sound from Herot, whereas the book presents him as a horrifying and furious monster. At the same time the movie arouses feelings of sympathy and sadness towards Grendel’s, who is hurting in contrast to the impression that the reader gets from the poem where his character is a devil’s progeny who is not worthy of compassion and empathy. His mother also possessed different traits of character – in the film she personifies beauty, wisdom and ambition. Although the poem does not contain any precise description of Grendel’ s mother, the reader pictures her as a hideous and furious creature capable of avenging her son and taking life of anybody in her way. Many scholars expressed their opinions regarding the semantic changes conducted to the adaptation of the epic poem. Bonnie Wheeler, the Director of the Medieval Studies at the Southern Methodist University, is convinced that â€Å"†¦ it’s a great cop-out on a great poem. It seems to me you could do so much better now. And the story of  Beowulf  is so much more powerful. Another philosophy professor Stephen T. Asma disagrees that â€Å"Zemeckiss more tender-minded film version suggests that the people who cast out Grendel are the real monsters. The monster, according to this charity paradigm, is just misunderstood rather than evil (similar to the version presented in  John Gardners  novel  Grendel). The blame for Grendels violence is shifted to the humans, who sinned against him earlier and brought the vengeance upon themselves. [†¦] In the film, Grendel is even visually altered after his injury to look like an innocent, albeit scaly, little child. In the original  Beowulf, the monsters are outcasts because theyre bad (just as  Cain, their progenitor, was outcast because he killed his brother), but in the film  Beowulf  the monsters are bad because theyre outcasts [] Contrary to the original  Beowulf, the new film wants us to understand and humanize our  monsters.

Autism Spectrum Disorder ( Asd ) - 2528 Words

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is considered one of the most challenging symptoms to deal with. The National Institute of Neurological Disorder and Stroke(2014) indicates that one of every eighty-eight child has ASD while boys are four times higher than girls at the same age group.. ASD is highly researched in North America, Europe, and Asia (Elsabbagh el at., 2012). Yet in the Middle East not much research on ASD has been conducted.. Being from the Middles East, this is surprising given the challenges that parents, caregivers, and teachers have to face when dealing with students who are diagnosed with ASD in the Middle East. The term Autism has been used for over one century. In the early 1900’s, the term Autism was used to refer to†¦show more content†¦This paper explores the research on the benefits of Special Interests (SI) of children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and how a teacher may use these special interests to help a child learn. Studies reviewed show the utilization of SI to enhance children’s: social, communications, emotional, and executive function skills. Review of literature Because of the ASD prevalence, more and more teachers have been faced with the question of how to teach children with autism particularly with the inclusion of special needs students in a regular classroom . Teaching children with autism can be very difficult because many of the behaviors associated with this disability greatly interfere with the child’s overall ability to learn (Tews, 2007). Over fifty years ago, Asperger (1991/1944) already knew that special interests are the key to fulfillment and maximized potential in children and youth with Asperger’s syndrome (AS). [1] In this section, the importance of engaging the special interests of an individual diagnosed with ASD will be highlighted throughout case study research papers that are discussed with outcomes of those case studies Special Interest Special Interest (SI) can be defined as one or more special interests that person or child can have in narrow scale. It is widely believed that one can benefit from one’s special interest by making the SI a career (Schaber, 2014).. Winter-Messiers (2007)