Uche Fidelia Nnoruka
Vaping is a major public health issue and research shows that public health issues often extremely affect vulnerable populations. While the evidence of harm attributable to vaping is yet to be fully developed, some scientists and clinicians agree that the emerging pattern is deeply concerning, especially, as it majorly affects youths and adolescents. Currently, Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported about 94 possible cases, across 14 states of severe pulmonary illness linked to vaping and nearly one-third of them were in Wisconsin. Patients in this investigation reported of respiratory symptoms such as cough, shortness of breath or chest pain, gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, and non-specific constitutional symptoms such as fever, chills and weight loss.
However, none of these symptoms appeared to be as a result of lung infection, hence, more reason to attribute these to an identified substance of concern in E-cigarette or Vaping Use-Associated Lung Injury (EVALI). National and state data from patient reports and product sample testing suggest tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)-containing e-cigarette, or vaping, products, particularly from informal sources like friends, family, or in-person or online dealers, are linked to most EVALI cases and play a major role in the outbreak.
HOW is this topic related to an EQUITY issue in healthcare?
There are some well-established theoretical and evidence-based reasons to associate vaping with cardiovascular diseases and even death; hence, making it a health equity issue that can be addressed. Vaping has since been an issue; however, waiting to obtain an incontrovertible evidence before addressing it results in more harm and that is a health equity issue surrounding vaping. To better promote health equity, establishing policy interventions is a way to reduce the harm that results from vaping.1 Equity in healthcare could be understood as the absence of avoidable difference among groups of people which involves more than lack of equal access to resources needed to improve health.
HOW is this topic related to a COMMUNICATION issue in healthcare?
Lack of communication create problems in healthcare and in case of vaping crisis, most youths and adolescents who indulge in vaping are not very knowledgeable or aware of possible health issues that results from such behavior. To ensure that communicative measures are followed to better the health of these specific population, it is important that all communications focus on clarity and accuracy of vaping and its impacts on health. Adolescents and young adults should be educated on ways to stop vaping, if they are into that habit already and its long-term health effects through many mediums such as schools, community programs and even from their healthcare professionals.
Specifically, healthcare professionals should ask patients about vaping use while providing medical care for certain conditions such as cough, seizures, chest pain, and other related health conditions that may result from vaping. Additionally healthcare providers and consumers should report adverse health events to the use of these products once without waiting to obtain substantial evidence. It is imperative that no matter what new communications protocols healthcare professionals choose to adopt, the fact remains that improved communications are essential to properly maintain a healthy lifestyle and to provide awareness for health effects of vaping.