The Morning SCOPHian August 2012

www.ifmsa.org

Morning SCOPHian - Issue 6 , August 2012

www.ifmsa.org

Standing Committee on Public Health

IFMSA was founded in May 1951 and is run by medical students, for medical students, on a non-profit basis. IFMSA is officially recognised as a non-governmental organisation within the United Nations’ system and has official relations with the World Health Organisation. It is the international forum for medical students, and one of the largest studentorganisations in the world.

Imprint

Editors in ChiefEsra H. Alzaid, SA

Content Editors & proofreadingHesham Ali, EgyptZahra Zeinali, IranLaura Alves de Figueiredo, BrazilPunya Hari Dahal, NepalLuz del Pilar Revolledo Calizaya, Perú

Design/LayoutIbrahim Kandeel, Egypt

PublisherInternational Federation ofMedical Students’ AssociationsGeneral Secretariat:IFMSA c/o WMAB.P. 6301212 Ferney-Voltaire, FrancePhone: +33 450 404 759Fax: +33 450 405 937Email: [email protected]

Homepage: www.ifmsa.org

Contacts

[email protected]

The

mis

sion

of I

FMSA is to offer future physicians a

comprehensive introduction to global health issues. Through our programs and opportunities, we develop culturally sensitive students of medicine, intent on influencing the transnational inequalities that shape the healthof our planet.

Con

tent

ifmsa

.org

Introduction.............................................3

Antibiotic Resistance.................................4

Eating Disorders......................................5

Donate blood .........................................6

The joy of Christmas................................8

Does selenium prevent cancer?................9

HOW SCOPH rocked ARM....................10

A single careless deed which ruined

my life forever.......................................12

Antibiotics – a lost war?.........................14

Road safety...........................................15

A hospice for children suffering from

leukemia..............................................16

Contamination, climate change and

health:Public enemies...........................18

World No Tobacco Day 2012...............20

Morning SCOPHian team ....................22

www.ifmsa.org


4

Intro Morning SCOPHians

Dearest SCOPH-family!

It is August already- and with our second General Assembly 2012 coming up, I am happyto also be presenting the August edition of the “Morning SCOPHian”.

In the last ten months that I have been working for SCOPH as the Director of this amaz- ing standing committee, I had the pleasure to be involved in a lot of the projects happening around the world. I got to experience first-hand the motivation of SCOPH members andwhat they can achieve. I learned how SCOPH-members are going into local schools to raise awareness on the issue of substance abuse, I saw how members from five different countries worked together to set up an international project for the “World No Tobacco Day” and I heard of the success of acampaign on blood donation conducted in several NMOs. Working with people passionate to change the world for a better and being a part of theorange SCOPH-family, was a truly inspiring experience.

This edition of “Morning SCOPHian” gives you an insight into the SCOPH-world and will hopefully inspire you as much. You can read about the projects other SCOPH-membersare conducting and about public health issues medical students around the world are oc-cupied with. In the end, that is the essence of our work: broadening our horizon to think about the globalaspects that lead to the diseases we learn about in our medical schools and having the cour-age to start project tackling these issues.

I want to leave you with a citation that expresses the spirit of SCOPH:

„ Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world.Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.“ (Margaret Mead)

Enjoy reading this edition of the “Morning SCOPHian”!

Orange hugs,

Anna KlicperaSCOPH Director

www.ifmsa.org


5

Antibiotic Resistance- Time to Act!

About seventy years ago one of the world’s greatest in- ventions was introduced to the global society. The man who discovered it was named Alexander Fleming andthe item that was discovered was antibiotics.

Antibiotics revolutionized the world of medicine when they were first introduced in the 1940s transforming once deadly diseases into manageable infections. Due to overuse and irresponsible use, we are now seeing this valuable resource lose its effects on bacteria. This hasbecome known as ’Antibiotic Resistance (AR)’ . WHO Director-General, Dr Margaret Chan, stated in her speech on last year’s World Health Day “The emergence and spread of drug-resistant pathogens has accelerated. More and more essential medicines are failing. The therapeutic arsenal is shrinking. The speed with which these drugs are being lost far outpaces the development of replacement drugs. In fact, the R&D pipeline for new antimicrobials has practically run dry”. In short, the timeto act is now.

It’s hard to deny the importance of antibiotics to infec- tious diseases. However antibiotics have proven to alsoplay a great role in other fields of medicine such as sur-gical procedures, transplantations and when treating im-mune deficient patients such as cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, preterm babies and people infectedwith HIV (1, 2). Research on the effects of non-function- al antibiotics is pointing towards an increased risk for secondary complication, increased mortality rates and increased economical costs causing great strain on health care systems worldwide (3, 4, 5). It should therefore be a top priority for everybody affected (patients, generalpopulation, health care professional and students, politi- cians and governments etc.) that the problem of AR is addressed.

Medical students all over the world will enter the globalhealth work force and become one of the most influential

stakeholders in the medical field in a few years .We will inherit the possibilities of modern medi-cine, but also the problems connected to it, including AR. To manage this task medical students have to be educated and receive good training on how todeal with AR. It is crucial that medical school curricula addresses the problem related to AR poses a great risk for a continuation of the same mistakeswe see today in health care all over the world (antibiotics being used in an improper way and as aresult contributing to new resistance strains developing leaving us without any proper treatment forinfections).

SCOPH is now setting up a permanent small working group (SWG) aiming to raise the issue about antibiotic resistance. The groups’ main goal will be to set up campaigns, collect and distribute materialand to find partner organizations in this field to co-operate with. In order to make this project success- ful we ask all countries and regions to take part. If you’re interested or if you are already working withantibiotic resistance please contact me at:

[email protected]

Project coordinators: Cecilia Kållberg, IFMSA-SwedenJannie Dressler, IMCC-Denmark

www.ifmsa.org


Do you know which mental illness has the highest mortality rate? If your answer is “eating disorders” then you are right – 5-10% of the affected die within 10 years and 18-20% within 20 years. They are alsonumber one killer of girls and young women in 15- 25 age group – without any help from others, they die due to complications or suicides.The problem is common and you probably know someone with eating disorders, whether you are aware of it or not. 1 of 20 young females suffer from eating disorders – what does it mean? Nothing other, than that in average class in high school there’s at least one girlwith eating disorders – and believe me, the experience shows that it is definitely true. Also, thanks tomedia, television and fashion industry it’s only getting worse with eating disorders hurting as young girls as 9 years old.

Unfortunately, the majority isn’t aware of the problem... Is there anything we can do about it? Yesthere is – and MMSA, IFMSA-Mexico and IFM-SA-Poland decided to take action! “Eating Disor- ders Awareness” Transnational Project (established on GA AM 2009) is an umbrella project aiming through various initiatives to raise awareness of the problem, as well as to provide medical students with knowledge and skills to help their patients.And what is these initiative?

“Peer Education on Eating Disorders” aims the high school students, late elementary schools pupils – a high risk group for developing eating disorders – and also their parents. As we are not able to help suffering just by lessons, we draw attention to the problem to the surroundings – we teach what the eating disorders are, what the worrying signals are and what eating disorders are leading to. Also, wegive telephone number of the local help line for suf-fering from eating disorders!

As future doctors, we ought to possess at least basicknowledge about eating disorders – with work

Eating Disorders Awareness

shops for students, we prepare them to help people with eating disorders to understand the complexity of the problem. Thanks to our trainings, The future doctors arebetter prepared to deal with and treat anorexia and bu-limia.

Public happenings are always very efficient in raisingawareness – so is “Campaign on Eating Disorders”. Eve-ry year in Malta the public awareness on eating disorders is reached by spreading information on the disease and recommended exercises routines for healthy losing weight. And how to get someone attention? Of course with freebees! Cereal bars are being given away with a self-esteem-boosting message wrapped around it – nowthat’s creativity!

Last but not least – the ‘Fashion Show Against Anorexia and Bulimia’ is an awesome idea that was introduced in Mexico and then was shipped across the sea to Poland in 2009 – and getting more and more attention from other NMOs. Basically, the project is all about organizing a casting and a public fashion show – in the mall or in the open – it’s your choice!. The idea of the project is to fight the medial image of beauty – and show that the real beauty of the human body is in the healthy human body! The show is followed up with conferences and talks ofinvited guests and psychologists, so every interested per-son can get needed information!

It sounds pretty great, doesn’t it? By now, there are 3 involved NMOs – and we would be really glad if morewould join in our struggle! If you’re interested and looking for more information – I’d be more than happy toshare with you all of our materials and help you in setting up the project in you NMO :) The only thing left is to write me at [email protected] – I can’t wait to hear from you!

6

www.ifmsa.org


Ever wondered how you can become ahero? Donate blood and you can save someone’slife! Many serious health problems involve transfusion of blood donated by people like me and you, in order to save lives. He may be a child, a parent or a close friend whoneeds this unconditional chance to survive.

The project aims to improve the blood sup-plies in hospitals: An extensive Collection of Blood;

Organizing a strong INFORMATION andsocial responsibility campaign in this mat-ter.

By organizing the bi-annual project ‹›Do- nate blood! Be the hero!››, the coordinators have always aimed to improve one of thebiggest problems that hospital units in Ro- mania face: the lack of blood.

Every time, the campaign takes place over a period of five days, when in addition to the donation process itself, we try to raiseawareness about the importance of donating blood through informative materials (leaflets, posters, media & press articles)and pass the advice of the medical person-nel that manages the location of harvest. All campaigns were full of success. Thenumber of donors increased from one edition to another, as well as the given supportfrom sponsors and media. Last year, sum- ming up the campaigns, in just two weeks, we had gathered about 5500 donors in Romania, which translates into 2200 L ofblood that can be used in nearly 1700 medi-cal interventions.

Authors: Vlad Deaconescu National Project Coordinator Ioana Miron – Local ProjectCoordinator SSMB

As a campaign of great tradition, seriousness and impact on the society, we enjoy with each edition the extended support of the press and the media which, together with our own efforts of advertising, help us take our humanitarian appeal to thousands ofRomanians, out of which over 2600 answer the call.

The campaign has been turned into an opportunity to unify the student body towards a common goal,to create a pretext among hundreds of medical students, to find a spirit of cohesion through this battleand uplifting gesture against a problem that con-cerns everyone.

Facing death every day, we as medical students,know how much can a small gesture mean to someone in need. This is the aim that turned a group intoa force! The need is constant, Gratitude is instant! D

on

ate

blo

od

! B

e a

hero

!

7

www.ifmsa.org


Motto: “If every one of us would donate the small- est thing for Christmas think how many childrenwould give us a smile as gift in return?”

As we all know, Christmas Day is celebrated as amajor festival and public holiday in many countries around the world, being a commemoration of the birth of Jesus Christ. There are many customsaround the world, most of which include deco-rating a Christmas tree, giving presents to people close to your heart, decorating the house and baking delicious desserts, cookies and pastries. Every year, Romanian SCOPHians try to bring the Christmas spirit into the hearts of children living in orphanages, those spending this holiday periodin different hospitals around the country and un- derprivileged children living in remote locations,in villages or hamlets.

This year has been no different, SCOPHians around Romania joining forces to help FatherChristmas reach everyone. Starting early this se- mester, each local organization began a charitableseries of events, in order to raise money for dec- orations and gifts. All of the local organizations received donations from students and professors;some even received sponsorships from different companies. Individual actions consisted of a charity Christmas Carol Concert, student parties, a Winter Prom and even movie projection nights with a donation-based entrance, a charity sale of Christmas Cards and some students even held adessert cooking contest, having all the food do-nated to our actions.

Without our volunteers, our organization wouldn’twork, and this year for Christmas, our volunteers

Authors:Cristian Mihon – LPO SSMT (Medical Stu-dents Association Timisoara)Raluca Storoj – LPO ASSM (Medical Stu-dents Association Brasov)NMO: FASMR (Romania)

worked hard along our side. After all the shopping for gifts, done in Father Christmas’ name, and after packing all the gifts in festive wrappings, it was the time to visit the children. Most of the volunteers were welcomed with joy and happiness, children sang Christmas carols for us, but we showed them that under our white coats, we’renothing else but older children. We sang Christmas carols with the children, we played with the hospitalizedchildren and healed their teddy bears, we held small parties with cookies and soda and some organizations even managed to bring Santa Claus with them to the children. Some local organizations held a hand crafting event, where volunteers along with the children hand-crafted figurines, globes for Christmas trees and many otheritems made out of colored paper.

This year, through the actions of all Romanian SCO- PHians we managed to bring the Christmas spirit in thehearts of almost 600 orphan children and 400 hospital- ized children. One of our local organizations even visited the local nursing home, giving presents to the residentsand decorating their rooms.

8

www.ifmsa.org


The controversy remains: Doesselenium prevent cancer?

Janique Lawson is a first year medical studentat the Iberoamerican Univer-sity in the Dominican Republic

First discovered as an element in 1817 by Jons Berzelius, selenium was officially recognized as an essential trace mineral, beneficial to human health in small quantities. Although plants serve as the major dietary source of selenium, some meats, seafood and nuts also serve as mineral sources. In plants, free selenium is combined with the amino acids methionine and cysteine toproduce chelated forms of selenium: selenom-ethione and selenocysteine. Selenocysteine ac- counts for the biological activity of selenium, whereas selenomethione is a substitute substrate for methionine in metabolic reactions1. Once in the body, chelated selenium binds to proteinsproducing selenoproteins, namely selenium- dependent glutathione peroxidases, thioredoxin reductases and iodothyronine deiodinases1. As selenium-dependent glutathione peroxidases act as antioxidants, iodothyronine deiodinases aid in regulation of thyroid hormone metabolism andthioredoxin reductases play a vital role in the re- generation of ascorbic acid from its metabolites1. The association between selenium and cancer prevention first arose in the 1960s, shortly after selenium was declared to be an essential nutrientin the 1950s1. With selenium’s antioxidant prop- erty, researchers began to regard the trace mineral as possessing potential anti-cancer properties. Inthe following decades, several studies were established with the goal of determining if selenium could, in fact, prevent cancer. In 1983, the first long-term controlled study of selenium’s role incancer prevention was launched and entailed ad-ministration of selenium supplements to individu- als who previously had skin cancer2. The resultsshowed that the selenium supplements had no effect on the patients› skin cancer. Nevertheless, investigators observed that patients who received a daily selenium supplement of 200 micrograms later developed significantly fewer cancers of the lung, colon, rectum and prostate as well as fewer deaths from lung cancer, than those in the controlgroup who did not take selenium supplements3. Initiating in 2001, the SELECT study, has been the most prominent study completed to evaluate the effects of selenium on cancer risk. Focusing on prostate cancer prevention, the study includedover 35,000 men as participants, who were given

either selenium, vitamin E, or a combination of selenium and vitamin E to determine the risk of prostate cancer4. In late 2008, the trial was halted after researchers concluded thatselenium and vitamin E taken together or alone do not pre-vent prostate cancer in otherwise seemingly healthy men4.Nevertheless, the study continued as researchers do an-nual follow-ups on over 17,000 of the original par-ticipants in order to determine any secondary effects of the administered supplements during the trial. At the same time, other studies have investigated selenium and possible risk reduction in breast and lung cancers, but have had inconclusive results. A Polish study investigated the association between lung cancer risk in smokers and selenium status in combination with the polymorphism of selenoprotein (Sep15), and found substantially increased risk of lung cancer in participants with very high and very low plasma concentrations of selenium. In addition, the Nurses’ Health Study, launched in 1976, with over 120,000 female participants, examined the relationship betweenmeasured selenium levels in toenail clippings from par-ticipants and cancer risk, and concluded that toenail sele-nium levels were associated with cancer risk in women.Although the majority of current evidence has concluded that selenium supplements have failed to demonstrate beneficial effects toward cancer prevention or generally showed inconclusive results, some researchers still remain positive that future research studies will conclude the use of selenium supplements for cancer prevention. Future studies with larger sample size, multiple research sites and stronger epidemiologic study designs may assist in ascertaining a link between selenium supplementation and cancer prevention. As future physicians, this information would be essential as we educate our patients on disease prevention and health promotion. However, regarding thecontroversy on the selenium debate, only time will tell.

9

www.ifmsa.org


HOW SCOPH rocked ARM

2011

The African regional Meeting which was conducted from 14th to 23rd “ of December is now over. It ended formally but on the other side ithas just opened a new chapter to the establish- ment of a strong and responsible society of the future public health physicians in the mothercontinent of Africa.With such a good number of participating medi-cal students from across the continent (partici-pants from Kenya, South Africa,Tanzania,Burundi,Botswana,Namibia,Rwanda,Ghana,Nigeria, Sudan,Ethiopia,Zambia and Uganda) and even others from abroad, this year’s meeting has won its peculiar spectacular features of being themost vibrant ARM despite a few challenges en-countered. Guess what? It was inaugurated by the current IFMSA president, Christopher Pleyer along with his co-worker Charles Nwobu, who is theIFMSA Regional Coordinator for Africa. Looking at the contents, it’s no doubt the whole agenda and programs for this meeting were well prepared and exercised. From the pre-ARM Think Global workshop, Project trainings, and Training of New Trainers (TNT) to the standingcommittee sessions (SCOPH , SCORE, SCO- RA, SCOPE , SCORP and SCOME) to the final plenary session, all were full of excitement and fun. You would clearly pick a broad smile from any delegate you would come across along the way. There was one strange but interesting thing I came to notice .In all these meetings, therecame a wind that pushed people to desire and

want to learn a lot of things at the same time. Mind-ing you that we had concurrent sessions throughout, hence the chance for the delegates to shiftfrom one committee to another was somewhat re-stricted but still people pushed harder to blow it off.

Here come the SCOPHians .The wise people say, “Never judge a tree by its leaves rather by the fruits itproduces”. I have always thought that SCOPH in Af- rica is dormant, inactive and fruitless. I was far wrong my friend. With these naked eyes of mine, I have cometo testify that in Africa we have such a smart team of SCOPHians to rely on and trust. This gives me the reason to be happy and feel proud to lead thiscommittee as the future public health personnel. The 18 participants experienced vibrant, challenging and skillful sessions. The topics, layout, discussions, energizers and breaks have given to the live hood of this committee throughout our stay in Nairobi. Tell you more?

I guess yes, at least an overview of what we did…On the very first day we had an introduction to SCOPH and the SCOPH Dream Team, discussed the major public health issues affecting Africa and ended with a sessionon Capacity building on mental health which was de- livered by Phillip Chao .The following day we learnt about the Institute of Healthcare Improvement(IHI) andits initiative on patient safety, a WHO program on im- proving the quality of health services and prevent our clients from contracting hospital acquired infections, also had project and leadership sessions from Phillipand Chris respectively. The third day was also excit-ing as we concentrated much on the organization of the

10

www.ifmsa.org


world public health days. Important days such as Malaria Day, Tuberculosis day, Cancer Day and No Tobacco day were deeply discussed by the participants. Finally on the last day, we wrapped up by having a session on the association between Environment and health which was facilitated by Charlotte Holm and ultimately ended by discussing the challenges affecting the progress and development of SCOPH in Africa . To this very important last point, it was discussed openly by SCOPHians that the reasons why SCOPH in Africa isn’t doingbetter than other regions is because of the poor :

Communication between SCOPH D and LPOs Sustainable projectsSafe and appropriate handing overFundingInformation about SCOPH for the newly established NMOsParticipation and contribution on the online international meetingsWorld days organizations

Possible solutions

Increasing and promoting communication between the dream team and other SCOPHiansDeveloping and maintaining new projectsGood handing over modalities and culturesSearching for more sources of funds and externalsEngaging and promoting new NMOsActive participation and contribution on SCOPH server and SWGsCampaigning and promoting world days

So far we are organized as a team and looking forward to having a better SCOPH in Africa Finally, I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to all those who made the SCOPH sessions for the ARM 2011 possible. A lot of appreciations go to Anna Klicpera, the SCOPH-D for her assistance in the course of preparing and setting up this year’s SCOPH sessions for the ARM 2011.Also these special thanks should go the Regional Coordinator for supporting and assisting SCOPH to get some externals. A lot of appreciation should also be meant to recognize Christopher Pleyer, Phillip Chao, and Charlotte Holm for facilitating andhelping in the SCOPH session. And finally to the vibrant SCOPHians who attended this meeting. In fact with-

Orange HugsPeter AsiliaIFMSA-SCOPH RA for Africa 2011/2012Outgoing VPE,[email protected]+255713362873 or + 25586688362873

11

www.ifmsa.org


A single careless deed whichruined my life forever

I hear the keys clattering with one another as they open the heavy lock which keeps the inmates behind the bars. Rough hands lift me up from the dirty floor and I am dragged into my cell. I can feel my consciousnessescaping. “What bliss,” I thought. The last thing I remember is the stench in the cell and the sound of heavyboots walking away. It felt like just a few minutes. Or were they hours? I hear distinct voices in my head; “Darn, I need my“dose”, otherwise the voices are going to drive me cra-zy,” I thought desperately.

But the voices are not the ones I heard in my past. Theyare right here beside me.I open my eyes in a flash.And then I remember.I have been caught.But I don’t feel any fear. I finally have peace.“Hey mate, get up. You hear me? Get up!” I slowly get up from my prone position and sit down on the dusty floor. My eyes take a moment to adjust to the dark as I focus on the person trying to wake me up. Slowly, I can make out a bearded face and long,disheveled hair squinting in my direction.“What did you do, mate? How did you get caught?”I smiled back as I answered, “I killed a man.”“Oh!” was all he answered. After a minute or so, he added, “You seem pretty happyabout it.” Happy? I was ecstatic, beyond imagination. “The guyhad murdered someone I loved,” I replied.“Oh! Mind if I hear the story, mate?” I was too happy to deny anything. And so I began mystory. “11 years ago, I had a girlfriend. I was 22 at that time. We used to study in the same university. We were soon approaching our final year of our medical education and were planning to get married soon after. We used to walk back every afternoon to our homes togethersince she lived just a few blocks away from my home. It was on one of those days, after I had dropped her offat her home that my world turned upside down. I re- turned home and I had just turned on my laptop, when

my cell phone began to ring. It was my girlfriend. I picked up and what I heard made my hair stand on end. I could hear her screaming and she seemed to be struggling with someone.

I burst out of my house and ran until I reached just outside her house. There, I saw a man running out of her house. A man whose face I could not forget, ever in my life. I rushed inside the house and went to her living room to see my beloved girlfriend lying dead in a pool of blood and a carved knife caked in bloodlying nearby. I got hold of the knife and ran outside her house, with the intention of murder of the rapist on my mind. But I couldn’t find him anywhere. Suddenly, I realized that I had the murder weapon in my hand and I could be linked to a crime I hadn’t committed. I hastily dropped the knife and began running somewhere I didn’t know. I reached a filthy street where I slumpeddown and cried and cried until I went to sleep. Many days passed and I loitered around the streets in misery, contemplating on what to do with my life. Half of me wanted to commit suicide but the other half of me wanted revenge. And yet I was drowning in misery. One day, I saw a half a dozen ragged man sitting in a corner of a street and injecting themselveswith heroin. Instantly, I knew how to drown my misery. I went over to them, offered them my watch in exchange for some heroin and a syringe, and sat along with them. I injected some heroin into my veins andfelt myself giving in to the drug.A single careless deed which ruined my life forever. Years passed by and then my life gravitated around heroin. It dulled my pain of the past and it was so easy to just give in to its anesthetic effect. The only

Hamza Zahidullah Mohammadzai

Khyber Medical Col-lege, 2nd Year

12

www.ifmsa.org


thing which I could never forget was the face of that rapist and the last screams of my girlfriend. I started begging for money which could finance my addiction. A few pickpocket incidents went unnoticed as well. With time, my health deteriorated. I had a constant flu and my chest hurt. not be able to avenge my girlfriend.Until tonight! I was sitting on the pavement and just as I was about to inject myself with my dose of heroin, I saw a woman being stalked and harassed by a man. As they passed me, I recognized the man. It was the man who had been haunting me for the past 11 years. He did not recognize me and kept on his stalking. This was a chance I could not miss. I dropped the syringe, picked myself up, sneaked a knife from a nearby butcher’s shop and stabbed him in the back and neck. It was like I was reincarnated.- “The rest, my friend, is pretty usual. The cops showed up, beat me like hell and dragged me here,” I ended.- “Wow, mate. You must be really happy,” he said.- “Yeah, at least I can die in peace. I only have one regret mate,” I sighed.- “What’s that?” - “I should have just injected myself with that syringe; I dropped, before coming here.”

13

www.ifmsa.org


Antibiotics – a lost war? Authors:- Oxana Grosu – NPO Romania- Mihaela Dragomir- Lucia ArdeleanNMO: FASMR (Romania)

1928…Alexander Fleming…discover ofpenicillin…2011…us…where to?

The first time when I heard about antibiotic resistance, I thought that everything is under the sign ofsome sort of exaggeration. It seemed to me impos- sible that, after what course had the medicine after Fleming discovered penicillin, we in our modernmedicine, have to think very serious about the pos-sibility of a return to the days before Fleming.

We grew and started to learn more and more things and the most important that we became aware of the real situation in hospitals. The more we learn, the more we figure out that antibiotic resistance maybe more critical than it›s seen nowadays. The scenario of a “weaponless” world in front of bacteria is prettysomber, even for the best researchers.

The first cause of this situation is represented by the irrational use of antibiotics. In Romania, we can buythis type of drugs without any recipe and unfortunately, the population exploits this without any regrets or limits. People take decisions regardless knowing thedisease’s cause, the proper treatment or the consequences of a wrong treatment. For example, many patients take antibiotics for a simple cold, a diseasein which the etiology is viral in 70% of cases. On European Antibiotic Day and on World HealthDay, Public Health in Romania organized a lot of actions in order to teach people the differences between a virus and a bacterium and also between a viral and

a bacterial disease. We wish to teach everybody not to treat every flu-like syndrome with antibiotics.

First of all, we thought that it is essential to educate us, the medical students of today, the doctors of tomorrow. We organized conferences in every University in thecountry and we had a real success amongst our col-leagues. We invited specialists in epidemiology, mi- crobiology and pharmacology. Also, some Department Chiefs (of Intensive Care, General Surgery and Plastics & Burns) gave us the updates of the real situation in the hospitals. We focused on educating every possible patient. Volunteers shared flyers to everyone they met in the streets. Also students talked to everyone trying to makethem understand the negative effects of auto-medica- tion. In Craiova, in order to gain the attention of the passers-by, we placed stands where we measured the blood pressure, glucose and calculated the body mass index.. In Iasi, we distributed about 6000 flyers with the help of Dona Pharmacy: when someone came to buy something, the pharmacist put one flyer of ours in the bag with the medicines.

The population needs to be educated more; they make mistakes by simply not knowing some medical facts. It is our moral duty to educate them, to tell them what is good and what is wrong, to teach them that it is betterto follow a doctor’s advice than to take drugs by wing-ing it. So…1928…Alexander Fleming…discover of penicillin…2011…us…educate yourpeople!!!

14

www.ifmsa.org


Road safety

Motto: «Road safety is no accident!»Road safety is a national project of FASMR that was implemented on local level by Hippocrates Medical Stu- dents Society from Sibiu in 2007 and at national level in April 2011. Given by the big number of accidents in the last period, the medical students thought that this project will set some alarm bells ringing for all drivers.To prevent is always the simplest way!

One action is an accident simulation, in a big crossroad, in order to attract a big number of traffic participants. The project lasts 20-30 minutes, but it has a great impact on people. It doesn›t need too many volunteers and the costs are very low. Benefits from an excellent advertisement! Given the fact that it evolves in a public place, the authorities› approval and support is very important. We collaborate with the City Hall, the police and with the Local Ambulance Service to make everything look real. Local coordinator tasks are to obtain the necessary approvals and to be in charge with the advertisement. National coordinator has to be in touch with the local coordinators for a better synchronization.

This project requires several trainings concerning basic life support for the volunteers. This is an objectivebecause another part of our actions is to teach others. Our volunteers hold lessons and workshops in kinder- gartens, schools, high-schools and universities! As our future plans and ideas, we will try to negotiate with the Ministry of Education, the introduction somelessons about traffic, safety in traffic and first aid in the educational curricula.

Another point is to improve the quality of first aid lessons in Drivers Schools. Also, we will encourage morecorrect and strict psychological and medical exams that are required in order to obtain the driver license. Last, but not least we will participate at the meetings with the Ministry and theauthorities that try to find out the measures we can adopt and apply for a Road safety!

Authors:George Rizea - National Project Coordinator Lorena Keil - LPO SSMHS (MedicalStudents Society “Hipocrates” Sibiu)NMO: FASMR (Romania)

15

www.ifmsa.org


In April 2011, a volunteer initiative was established within Kazan State Medical University (Kazan, Russia) to help children suffering from leukemia. Only in the Republic of Tatarstanapproximately20-30 children die annually from leukemia. Unfor-tunately, in the Republic of Tatarstan still no spe- cialized service exists, which would help the littlepatients and their relatives to cope with the disease.

Thus in order to help children suffering from leuke-mia, a charitable Foundation in the name of Ange- laVavilova was established on 6th of February 2003 by ValdimirVavilov in the memory of his daughter,who died of leukemia. All these years this charita-ble foundation has been fundraising to start building the first Pediatric Hospice in the Republic ofTatarstan.

The students of KazanMedicalUniversity haveshown great support of this project and have volun-teered their help in establishing the Hospice.

During the summer of 2011 the Medical Students con-ducted numerous fundraising activities in various com- mercial and entertainment centers of the city of Kazan,which were entitled - «From Heart to Heart». The activities were organized under the agreement between theMinistry of Healthcare of the Republic of Tatarstan, Ka- zanStateMedicalUniversity and the Public CharitableFoundation for children with leukemia named after An- gela Vavilova. For several hours the student-volunteerswere telling people about the leukemia in children, in- forming them about the charitable foundation and plan to establish a Hospice for the sick children, offered to make a donation and/or write little comforting notes to children, who are currently undergoing chemotherapy and are in desperate need of care and attention. All the people who responded to this initiative received a small gift – a balloon with the inscription «A gift, worth as much as a Human Life», which served as a token ofappreciation for the generosity of the donating people.

As a result of these activities the students were able to fundraise a significant amount of money and items ofpersonal hygiene (diapers, napkins, etc.) to help with

A hospice for children suffering from leukemia

a volunteer initiative in the Republic of Tatarstan

16

www.ifmsa.org


the official opening of the First Pediatric Hospice in the Republic of Tatarstan, which took place on 1st of July 2011. Most of the money that was fundraised bythe Medical Students was used to purchase nine hun-dred diapers, which were donated to the Hospice.

On the 1st of July 2011 the students of KazanMed-icalUniversity were invited to participate in the official Opening of the First Pediatric Hospice of the Republic of Tatarstan, which at the moment functionsas an ambulatory clinic and also runs a 24-hour home- visiting care service. The volunteer medical students work in the home-visiting care service and visit the sick children and even those, who are in the state of come, in order to provide them with the needed care, help the parents clean the endotracheal tubes, andprovide psychological support to the parents and relatives. If needed, the volunteers even accompany the child to a medical institution within the city of Kazanor even to other cities in Russia.

Recently, on 24th and 25th of December 2011 the Medical students conducted a fundraising activity again in several of the supermarkets of Kazan city,which was entitled «Become a Santa Claus for children with cancer». More than a hundred toys were purchased for children using the donated money. Then on 26th of December 2011 the students dressedup as Santa Clauses and visited all the children suffering from leukemia in their homes to congratulate the children and their parents with the upcoming NewYear, to wish them a Merry Christmas (Author’s re-mark – Russian Orthodox Christmas is celebrated after the New Year, on the 7th of January) and to givethese toys as special presents.

Everything that the Medical Students have been able toachieve – is just the beginning of a big project. On10th of February, the Hospice for the treatment and-care was open and now we can start working full- power and open its doors as an inpatient center, wherethe children will be able to receive high standard pal- liative treatment and where the medical students will be able to help the medical personnel take good careof the dying children. We have great plans for the future and we hope that we will be able to fulfill someof them in the coming year.

Authors :

The project coordinator’s email: [email protected]

SozinovaArina( The National Ex- change Officer ofTaMSA-Tatarstan)

Ekaterina Ratner(The National Pub- lic Health Officer ofTaMSA-Tatarstan)

17

www.ifmsa.org


Contamination, climate change and health:

Public enemies

Neferty Concepción Analeidy Rodríguez Ruth Sánchez

The authors are fifth-year medical students at the UniversidadCatolicaTecnologicadelCibao (UCATECI) in La Vega, Domini-can Republic.

Throughout the modernization of our global society, humans have continued to alter the ecosystem, which has caused a large scale of environmental dangers that universally affect and threaten human health. These dangers have included climate change, ozone layerdepletion, loss of biological diversity, reduced quantity and quality of fresh water, land degradation and deforestation. We must consider the following five scenarios andmodify our actions to maintain the ecosystem that directly affects the health of our global population.

Fossil fuel consumption.The large metropolitan areas of the world have contributed to the large consumption of fossil fuels, liberating large quantities of carbon dioxide and other gases. Since these gases cause heat retention in the inferior atmospheric layers, scientists have noted that over the past 100 years, the world has warmed 0.75 degrees Celsius. Since this rate has increased slowly, health statistics have noted the increasedincidence of skin cancer, cataracts and solar burns, especially within the Caucasian race. In developing coun-tries, statistics have also demonstrated that the level of contaminants in the atmosphere has produced numer-ous diseases within the population.

Extreme temperatures. Extreme air temperatures increase pollen and allergen levels and contribute directly to cardiovascular and respiratory disability and death. Global citizens may also be susceptible to asthma, acondition that affects approximately 300,000 persons. It is estimated that the continual increase in air tem-peratures will impact the incidence of these described conditions.

Rising sea levels. Meteorological phenomenons are becoming more aggressive and frequent, whereglaciersmelt, sea levels increase and rainfall levels change. These environmental changes have impacted the utilization of medical services for survival as well as potential home destruction that forces citizens to relocate. This transition may accentuate the risk of health effects, from mental disorders to communicable diseases, evenresulting in epidemics.

18

www.ifmsa.org


Ruth Sánchez

Flooding. Since the 1960s, the number of natural disasters in the world has tripled, just as the frequency and intensity of flooding have increased. These disasters contaminate the sources of fresh drinking water, which may promote the risk of water- or vector-borne diseases, including leptospirosis, dengue, malaria or other tropical diseases. In addition, other injuries within the house or the community, including drowning andphysical lesions, may require greater utilization of health services.

Deforestation. Reducing the quantity of trees within the forests may greatly impact the ecosystem, by pro- ducing drought, reducing the quantity and quality of the fresh water supply, reducing the population of fishspecies, reducing the hydroelectricity production and eliminating agriculture-rich soil. These destructive actions can impact hygiene with communities, increasing risk of diarrheal diseases that are estimated to cause2.2 million deaths per year.

As medical students, we must reflect on these five scenarios and consider our actions to improve population health. How can we raise attention to this critical health topic in our community activities and discussions? What are the responsibilities of our political and global health leaders and the respective implementation ofpublic policy? We need action, not words!

Climate change continues to represent an enormous challenge for political and global health leaders, as our society visualizes theseenvironmental effects on health. There is urgent need to take action and reduce the effect of dangerous gases and health consequences of the global population. These actions will demand moreeconomic and technological resources, improve public health infrastructure, create conscience within the general population and establish health policy that will permit our political and global health leadership to makeeffective and long-lasting decisions.

References

WorldHealthOrganization. Cambio climático y salud humana – Riesgos y respuestas: Re-sumen. 2003. Available from: http://www.who.int/globalchange/publications/en/Spanish-summary.pdf.

WorldHealthOrganization. Diez datos sobre el cambio climático y la salud. 2009. Availablefrom: http://www.who.int/features/factfiles/climate_change/es/index.html.

19

www.ifmsa.org

Standing Committee on Public Health“

Worl

d N

o T

ob

acc

o D

ay

2012 c

ele

-b

rate

d in

th

e D

om

inic

an

Rep

ub

lic

”

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), tobacco is the leading cause of disabil-ity and premature death, and the second-leading cause of death, after hypertension; responsible for one of every ten adult deaths worldwide. Considered an epidemic, health promotion methods are critical in clinical practice as well as community outreach clinics that motivatecitizens to maintain health and quality of life through cessation of utilized tobacco products.

In the Dominican Republic, medical students united efforts to promote healthy lifestyles by celebrating “World No Tobacco Day 2012,” on May 31, 2012. Promoting ideas from theWHO Framework Convention of the World Health Tobacco Control (FCTC), which demonstrated a global political will to strengthen the control of tobacco and save lives, medical students focused on the need to improve community health and social justice for this national celebration in the Dominican Republic.With academic advising by Dr. José Wazar and Dr. Goldny Mills, our ODEM-SCOPH team conducted various activities across the nation to raise public awareness about the harmful effects of smoking. Our promotion techniques included advertisements about tobacco awareness, distribution of brochures, banner postings, posterexhibitions, student interviews with the local media, community seminars and conferences.

20

www.ifmsa.org


The emphasis of promotion methods that targeted the local media, social networking and advertisements pro- vided opportunities to discover hidden talents in acting, screenwriting and scene design, video production andpublic relations in positive and enthusiastic environments. Not only do these media sources serve as power- ful methods to bring important health information to community citizens, but also eachmedical student gains knowledge and insight about researching the health, social and economic impact of this global health concern. Among other strategies, community seminars are important tools to reach citizens on an individual level. In one example, we noticed Juan, a young man who was lighting his cigarette. As we spoke with Juan about the harmful effects of tobacco, we learned that he initiated his smoking habits as a child, after watching his mother smoke. This situation exemplifies the impact of our education at home, where parents or guardians serve as role models for establishing moral values and lifestyle habits.Tobacco will continue to be a growing public health challenge across the globe. For this reason, medical students must demonstrate leadership and design creative health messages to promote positive lifestyle habits inglobal communities. Through teamwork, dynamism, social networking, new technology and creative strategies, our future role as health care providers and educators will inform and motivate citizens to participateactively in healthy decision making and lifestyles against tobacco use and other high-risk behaviors.

Bibliography:World Health Organization.(2010). World No Tobacco Day 2010. Available from: http://www.who.int/tobacco/wntd/2010/announcement/en/index.html.WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. (2003). Geneva: World Health Organiza-tion. Available from: http://whqlibdoc.who.int/publications/2003/9241591013.pdf.WHO report on the overall tobacco epidemic, 2008: The MPOWER package. (2008). Ge-neva: World Health Organization. Available from: http://www.who.int/tobacco/mpow-er/2008/en/index.html.Barrueco Ferrero M. Estrategias de prevención. Pan American Health Organization.Chap- ter 2.Pp 69-106.Available from: http://www.bvsde.paho.org/bvsacd/cd61/barrueco2.pdf.

Authors :

Angie AlvarezDanulka VargasLisaura Paulino

SCOPH Coordinators and Advisor, Dominican Medical StudentOrganization (ODEM)Angie Alvarez, LisauraPaulino and Danulka Vargas are third- year medical students at the Universidad Central Del Este(UCE) in San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic.

21

www.ifmsa.org


Morning SCOPHian team (SCOPH Publication Team)

Ibrahim Ahmed Kandeel Publications support division director

Menofia Students’ Scientific Association

IFMSA-EgyptEmail : [email protected]

Hesham Ali AmeenLocal public health Officer (LPO)Mansoura Students’ Scientific Association

IFMSA-EgyptEmail : [email protected]

Zahra ZeinaliNational public health Officer (NPO)IFMSA-Iran

Email : [email protected]

Esra H. AlzaidIFMSA-SCOPH RA for EMR 2011/2012

IFMSA-SAEmail : [email protected]

Editor in chief

Design \ Layout

Editors

22

www.ifmsa.org


Morning SCOPHian team (SCOPH Publication Team)

Proofreading

23

Laura Alves de Figueiredo Vice-president Local CommitteeIFMSA-Brazil


Luz del Pilar Revolledo Calizaya National Public Health Officer (NPO)IFMSA-Perú


Punya Hari Dahal Vice-presidentNepal Medical Student’s Society (NMSS)


www.ifmsa.org


Algeria (Le Souk)Argentina (IFMSA-Argentina)

Armenia (AMSP)Australia (AMSA)

Austria (AMSA)Azerbaijan (AzerMDS)

Bahrain (IFMSA-BH)Bangladesh (BMSS)

Bolivia (IFMSA Bolivia)Bosnia and Herzegovina (BoHeMSA)

Bosnia and Herzegovina - Rep. of Srpska (SaMSIC)Brazil (DENEM)

Brazil (IFMSA Brazil)Bulgaria (AMSB)

Burkina Faso (AEM)Burundi (ABEM)Canada (CFMS)

Canada-Quebec (IFMSA-Quebec)Catalonia - Spain (AECS)

Chile (IFMSA-Chile)China (IFMSA-China)

Colombia (ASCEMCOL)Costa Rica (ACEM)Croatia (CroMSIC)

Czech Republic (IFMSA CZ)Denmark (IMCC)

Ecuador (IFMSA-Ecuador)Egypt (EMSA)

Egypt (IFMSA-Egypt)El Salvador (IFMSA El Salvador)

Estonia (EstMSA)Ethiopia (EMSA)

Finland (FiMSIC)France (ANEMF)

Georgia (GYMU)Germany (BVMD)Ghana (FGMSA)

Greece (HelMSIC)Grenada (IFMSA-Grenada)

Hong Kong (AMSAHK)Hungary (HuMSIRC)

Iceland (IMSIC)Indonesia (CIMSA-ISMKI)

Iran (IFMSA-Iran)Israel (FIMS)Italy (SISM)

Jamaica (JAMSA)Japan (IFMSA-Japan)

Jordan (IFMSA-Jo)Kenya (MSAKE)

Korea (KMSA)Kurdistan - Iraq (IFMSA-Kurdistan/Iraq)

Kuwait (KuMSA)Kyrgyzstan (MSPA Kyrgyzstan)Latvia (LaMSA Latvia)Lebanon (LeMSIC)Libya (LMSA)Lithuania (LiMSA)Luxembourg (ALEM)Malaysia (SMAMMS)Malta (MMSA)Mexico (IFMSA-Mexico)Mongolia (MMLA)Montenegro (MoMSIC Montenegro)Mozambique (IFMSA-Mozambique)Nepal (NMSS)New Zealand (NZMSA)Nigeria (NiMSA)Norway (NMSA)Oman (SQU-MSG)Pakistan (IFMSA-Pakistan)Palestine (IFMSA-Palestine)Panama (IFMSA-Panama)Paraguay (IFMSA-Paraguay)Peru (APEMH)Peru (IFMSA Peru)Philippines (AMSA-Philippines)Poland (IFMSA-Poland)Portugal (PorMSIC)Romania (FASMR)Russian Federation (HCCM)Rwanda (MEDSAR)Saudi Arabia (IFMSA-Saudi Arabia)Serbia (IFMSA-Serbia)Slovakia (SloMSA)Slovenia (SloMSIC)South Africa (SAMSA)Spain (IFMSA-Spain)Sudan (MedSIN-Sudan)Sweden (IFMSA-Sweden)Switzerland (SwiMSA)Taiwan (IFMSA-Taiwan)Tatarstan-Russia (TaMSA-Tatarstan)Thailand (IFMSA-Thailand)The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (MMSA-Macedonia)The Netherlands (IFMSA-The Netherlands)Tunisia (ASSOCIA-MED)Turkey (TurkMSIC)Uganda (FUMSA)United Arab Emirates (EMSS)United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (Medsin-UK)United States of America (AMSA-USA)Venezuela (FEVESOCEM)

www.ifmsa.orgMedical Students Worldwide

The Morning SCOPHian August 2012

Documents

Transcript of The Morning SCOPHian August 2012