The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
AS INDIVIDUALS RIGHTFULLY STAYED HOME IN ISOLATION, THINGS LIKE CANCER SCREENINGS AND NORMAL MEDICAL CHECKUPS HAVE DECLINED.
The public health ravages of COVID-19 have drawn attention away from effective management of the chronic diseases that impose significant costs on people and the health care system.
As the CEO of the National Association of Chronic Disease Directors, I feel it is important to share the disturbing statistics of our national health deficit as a response to lingering pandemic conditions in our country.
Chronic disease prevention and health equity are at the very heart of our organization, a division of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Improving life spans and health care is the work of our organization, bringing together chronic disease directors from each of the 50 states and nine territories that play an important role in our organization, which is some 7,000 members strong. We also include in our conferences, newsletters and efforts representatives from hospitals, clinics, insurance companies and public health agencies.
Though headquartered here in Atlanta, few know about our amazing efforts and the focus we maintain on bringing together the best minds for innovation and sharing of new approaches to prevention and treatment of chronic disease.
What has been alarming in recent months? The statistics that, quite simply, are moving in the wrong direction, which means our activities are more important than ever. Probably as no surprise, we are continuing to fund these programs through grants for maladies such as heart disease, cancer and diabetes, which all are leading causes of death and disability in the U.S.
In 2018, 7 out of the 10 leading causes of death were chronic diseases. And more than 90% of the nation’s health care cost relates to chronic diseases, when many of those are preventable.
And what has the pandemic done to us?
Cases of diabetes are up. Suicides from overdosing of opioids laced with fentanyl are up. Mental health problems, particularly with our young student population, are up.
As individuals rightfully stayed home in isolation, things like cancer screenings and normal medical checkups have declined. And while they are picking up again, more lives have been lost over this period.
What can we do about it? Our organization has many programs that can expand beyond the day-to-day requirements of our public health system. We formed a free-standing division, “Provention Health Foundation,” for the sole purpose of promoting prevention. Our efforts can be utilized by employers providing the very elementary education about benefits of a healthy lifestyle for their employees. Isn’t it amazing that even today, poor diet, lack of exercise and smoking still account for 80% of the lifestyle factors that promote chronic disease?
We want to do more. We want people in our community to know we exist and to seek our solutions, reports and promotions around prevention online through our active programs of outreach.
We exist to help create a resilient population in the face of future health threats, such as those we have experienced with every new phase of COVID-19.
While we have made tangible strides improving health outcomes over the past 30 years, the time has come for us to accelerate our public face and to provide reminders.
Things like prevention steps that can help curb obesity, Alzheimer’s, strokes, heart disease, multiple types of cancer and even arthritis. We are also concerned with racial health disparities, which are associated with substantial annual economic losses in our country. Become a part of our movement, intended to reduce an estimated $35 billion in excess health care expenditures.
The need to address chronic disease is urgent, and that is our job. Learn more online at chronicdisease.org.