Review: Un-Natural Causes Video

Un-Natural Causes
…is inequality making us sick?

This video presentation was the first episode of a seven episode series. Episode one is called “In Sickness and in Wealth” (56 minutes). The production company of this film is the California News Reel, with Vital Pictures Inc., and in association with the National Minority Consortia. With this video the class was introduced to the notion that healthy people are “wealthy” people in the literal sense that the more money you have the healthier and longer life you are going to live. This is the synopses of the video presented on PBS (Public Broadcasting Systems).

EPISODE ONE: In Sickness and In Wealth (56 min.)
The hour-long opening episode paints the big picture. Set in Louisville, Kentucky, it is a story about health, but it's not about doctors or drugs. It's about why some of us get sicker more often and die sooner in the first place. What are the connections between healthy bodies and healthy bank accounts and skin color? How do social policies and the way we organize work and society affect health? Solutions, the show suggests, lie not in more pills but in more equality. "In Sickness and In Wealth" sets out the series' main themes: that health and longevity are correlated with socio-economic status, that people of color face an additional health burden, and that our health and well-being are tied to policies that promote economic and social justice.(newsreel.org)

A review of the episode from a Minnesotan critic
"Dramatic and powerful. It provides a new framework for viewing health [which] shifts from holding individuals solely responsible to recognizing that the policies that affect health are too large for individuals to tackle on their own. The series offers hope and shows that we can make different policy choices that lead to better health for all members of our communities." Joan Cleary, Minnesota Post

Notes that I wrote down while I was watching the movie that are “New concepts that challenged my thinking”

*The United States of America ranks 30th in the world in life expectancy, but yet we rank number one in annual costs spent on health care per year with 2 trillion dollars spent. That 2 trillion is nearly half of the world’s cost of healthcare.

*We have a horrible infant mortality rate, we rank 29th in the world. From the World Socialist Website that commented on the CDC’s 2008 report on US infant mortality rate being ranked 29th in the world, "Infant mortality is a critical indicator of social progress. As the CDC report explains, "Infant mortality is one of the most important indicators of the health of a nation, as it is associated with a variety of factors such as maternal health, quality and access to medical care, socioeconomic conditions, and public health practices." This decline in world rankings is another expression of US capitalism's decay. The gutting of social programs by successive Democrat and Republican administrations over the last four decades has led to an extraordinary social reversion. A tiny layer at the top has enriched itself through the dismantling of all impediments to the accumulation of private wealth and corporate profit, supported by tax cuts and the slashing of investment in critical social infrastructure. That infant mortality rates are now stagnating for the first time in five decades underscores the accelerating character of the social crisis." (O’Connor, 2008)

*Working Class (Idea of how it effects health- constantly under uncontrolled stress over extent of lifetime)
versus
Professional Class (Idea of how it effects health- less stress on the body, more vacation time and ability to care for one’s self)

Comments from the movie that caught my attention.

“Power is a public health issue” stated by the Louisville Director of Public Health Dr. Adewale Troutman
“Being a CEO is a high demand job, but Taylor usually has the power, resources and control to
manage that pressure. Tondra Young (a clinical lab supervisor) has a high demand job, but less power and control.”

What this means (Power is a public health issue) is that the people whom are constantly under a lot of stress are releasing cortisol into their bloodstream. This should only be a short term action of release, but if it is going on for too long (like for example the lab supervisor cannot take as many days off from work as the CEO due to power of position and control of work hours) it will cause damage to the body as it is a harmful hormone. What cortisal does is it heightens the senses and causes the body to become at a more hyper and tense state to try and get ready for stressful activity. If cortisal is released into the bloodstream for too long it causes damaging effects to the body.

The list of new terms:
Cortisol

Infant mortality rate

Life Expectancy

Working Class

Professional Class

To view the transcript of the movie click here


Reference
O’Connor, P. (2008) US infant mortality rate now worse than 28 other countries. World Socialist Web Site, Retrieved April 9 2009 from http://www.wsws.org/articles/2008/oct2008/mort-o18.shtml