NETWORK PRESENTATION
Transcript: April 2019 INFECTIOUS DISEASE PREVENTION Karen Yurek MEDICAL CENTERS AND FACILITIES ATRIUM HEALTH -Services: Medicine and specialty care for adults (18+). Includes; Exams, physicals, women and men’s health, preventive medicine, treatment for illness, minor surgical procedures, lab work, allergy specialists, dermatology, dietician expertise. PASSPORT HEALTH PASSPORT HEALTH A vaccination center that specializes in “travel” vaccines AKA medications needed prior to travel to a foreign country - Also vaccinates for the flu EXPRESS CLINIC EXPRESS CLINIC - Offers free vaccines for children in the Charlotte area - Accepts insurance and attempts to provide the fastest service possible - Clinics are placed in lower income areas of Charlotte IMMUNIZATION ACTION COALITION - An organization working to increase immunization rates in order to decrease disease prevalence - Create and distribute educational materials for the public and medical professionals in attempt to facilitate the transmission of the safety, efficacy, and benefits of vaccines to all parties involved. LOCAL EXPERTS Important Note: IAC is a national organization that travels to Charlotte, but is not directly localized in the city. VOLUNTEER ASSOCIATIONS - Although outside the Charlotte community, UNICEF distributes free vaccinations to children in underdeveloped countries. This network works closely with the government associations listed next, which in turn work with the Charlotte community itself. - I find this organization interesting simply because there are currently family’s in the United States refusing to vaccinate their children against deadly infectious disease, when there are community’s around the globe desperate for this kind of opportunity. GATES BILL AND MELINDA GATES FOUNDATION - Sponsor the distribution and fund volunteers to travel to 3rd world countries and provide vaccines to children in need GOVERNMENT INVOLVEMENT State of North Caroline Immunization Program Promotes the health of the public - Identifies and attempts to eliminate “preventable” disease such as measles, chicken pox, hepatitis B, rubella, and mumps (to name a view) - Produces public service announcements typically referring to flu vaccinations in the form of commercial advertisements - Work with the CDC to provide most accurate flu vaccination for the current season NCDHHS NORTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH - A government organization specific to North Carolina containing numerous branches oriented around the categories of public health 1. These include; aging and adult services, child development, mental health, Medicaid, services for the blind, deaf, or addicted – to name a few - This is the branch of the North Carolina government that decides vaccination laws and regulations for workers and students INFO CENTER NATIONAL VACCINE INFORMATION CENTER - An organization that contains all of the legal facts necessary for residents of North Carolina in terms of required vaccinations for work and living within the state. - As stated in the law, the only exemptions for vaccinations are religious reasons and medical purposes. This means that parents in North Carolina who exempt their children from getting vaccinated for philosophical reasons, are actually breaking the law. THE ISSUE 2001 - 0.3% 2005 - 0.9% 2011 - 1.3% rates of un-vaccinated children are continuing to rise each year Modern Preventable Disease Outbreaks: 2010 - 9,120 cases of whooping cough in California, resulted in 10 deaths of children too young to be vaccinated 2017 - Hepatitis A outbreak claimed 20 lives and infected 571 people 2018 - Measles was eliminated from the United States in 2000, has resurfaced due to decrease in herd immunity + increase in international travel Vaccines are provided free of charge to individuals and families without health insurance through the Affordable Care Act and Vaccines for Children (VFC) BACKGROUND During my interviews, this information was provided: An epidemic of misinformation has resulted in the belief that vaccines can cause or contribute to the development of autism, which is false. A single study was published that claimed these results: it was not peer reviewed, contained faulty research methods, and falsified results. It has since been removed from circulation, and is not considered to be worth anything to the scientific community itself decrease in herd immunity THE REAL ISSUE CONCLUSION Strong within each subcategory Connections between networks within the same smaller communities with the same short-term goals are strong Weak outside of subcategories Example: the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation doesn't communicate at all with the Immunization Action Coalition COLLABORATION Little to no collaboration in terms of vaccine education at all, not even within the same subcategories (Example Atrium and Passport Health) In order to better educate the community, these networks need to work in partnership towards a common goal, instead of just their individual conclusions