Global Health: Policy
Learning Objectives
- Students will consider some of the differences in how infectious diseases are handled compared to noncommunicable diseases.
- Students will analyze the key factors that contribute to challenges in addressing noncommunicable diseases.
Materials
Homework
- Have students complete Part 1 of the guided reading handout.
Class
- (15 minutes) Gallery Walk - Primary Sources on the AIDS Epidemic
- To highlight a key difference between infectious and noncommunicable diseases, students will engage in a gallery walk that highlights the fight and progress made in combating AIDS. Students will look at a variety of documents (attached). Have students observe the images by writing thoughts either on poster paper near images or in their own notebooks. Using the following questions to guide reflection: What kind of activism have people with AIDS engaged in? What kinds of struggles have people with AIDS faced? How did activists change opinions, influence gov’t policy, and improve the lives of people with AIDS?
- Have students get out the guided reading handout.
- (15 Minutes) Finish the guided reading handout.
- Read: Noncommunicable Diseases and How They Are Measured (1,050 words/ 3 ½ pages)
- Have students complete Part 3 Guided Reading Handout
- Watch: The Rising Tide of Diabetes in Mexico (3:23)
- Students Complete Part 4 of the Guided Reading Handout
- Ask: What is a noncommunicable disease? Why are noncommunicable diseases different? Why are noncommunicable diseases a bigger problem now than they have been in the past?
- Read: Noncommunicable Diseases and How They Are Measured (1,050 words/ 3 ½ pages)
- (15 minutes) Discuss: Ask students to consider how much progress has been made in fighting infectious diseases. Point out that polio, smallpox, and even chicken pox have essentially been eradicated by vaccination. Reference how COVID-19 went from a global pandemic to a situation more akin to the flu because of vaccinations in just two years. Ask students to consider the following:
- What factors affect how prevalent noncommunicable diseases are in a country? How is tackling noncommunicable diseases different from addressing infectious diseases?
Homework Assigned: NCD Advocacy Letter to Congress OR Letter to the Editor supporting funding/ research
- Have students brainstorm how noncommunicable diseases could be better addressed, either by their local or national government, or by those that fund health initiatives (principally “the two Washingtons”: the U.S. government and the Gates Foundation).
- Have students choose a proposal they would like to advocate for.
- Have them compose either
- a letter to a member of Congress
- or
- a letter to the editor of a newspaper
- a letter to a member of Congress
Vocabulary
- acquired immune deficiency syndrome
syndrome caused by HIV. It is marked when a person’s immune system is so weak that it can no longer fight off infection that a healthy immune system easily could.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
U.S. federal agency that researches and responds to outbreaks of infectious diseases and researches some noninfectious diseases.
- chronic disease
disease that lasts more than a year and requires regular medical attention, such as arthritis and diabetes.
- epidemic
an increase, often sudden, in the number of cases of a disease above what is typical for a certain population in an area.
- Food and Drug Administration
U.S. regulatory agency that decides whether or not certain drugs and foods are safe to sell to the American public.
- infectious disease
also called communicable, a disease that spreads via people, animals, insects, or contaminated food and water—such as the flu, chickenpox, or Ebola.
- inflation
what happens when prices continue to rise, meaning a country’s currency is worth less than it was before because it can’t buy as much (also known as a decline in purchasing power).
- human immunodeficiency virus
virus that causes AIDS. It is transmitted through bodily fluids such as blood, semen, and breast milk, but not saliva. HIV attacks the body’s immune system until it can no longer defend itself against disease and infection.
- National Institutes of Health
U.S. federal agency tasked with researching issues of public health and making grants to private researchers doing the same.
- noncommunicable disease
disease that cannot be transmitted via people or animals. Examples include cancer and diabetes.
- socio-demographic index
type of grade assigned to a country by health researchers that takes into account the country’s income, education, and fertility. It does not take into account a country’s overall health so that researchers can isolate the variable.