Influence of Words as Determinants of U.S. International and Domestic Health Policy: Part I, The

Journal of Allied Health, Fall 2005 by Elwood, Thomas W

As a result of continuing education and curriculum development initiatives stemming from RL. 107-88, the Public Health security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002, allied health professionals have undergone specialized training. During the first two years of curriculum development projects at the 13 sites that obtained funding, approximately 35% of the 19,528 trainees were from allied health, the largest single professional category.

The next challenge to be confronted is more widespread recognition in public policy circles that workforce shortages exist among the aforementioned professions. Compounding the problem is that studies conducted by the Association of Schools of Allied Health Professions show that the supply line also is inadequate. Since 2000, colleges and universities belonging to the Association of Schools of Allied Health Professions have reported that not all available classroom seats are being filled. Legislation in the form of an Allied Health Reinvestment Act (H.R. 215 and S. 473) is pending in the first session of the 109th Congress at the beginning of 2005 to remedy these deficiencies. Otherwise, the ability to respond adequately to health problems will be severely compromised. The situation also illustrates the importance of viewing health policy in a much wider context.

Conclusions

Pablo Picasso was born in Spain in late October 1881. In February 1882, James Joyce was born in Ireland. Although their Catholic countries of origin were located far from the centers of culture in modern Europe, they helped to revolutionize their respective arts. Joyce's medium of expression was words.

Certainly one of the most difficult books to understand in the entire Western literary canon is his Finnegans Wake. Seemingly incomprehensible because of a plethora of words that appear to make little or no sense, the Wake has a wholeness to it, covering the entire spectrum of human existence between living and dying. As he expressed it, "Yet is no body present here which was not there before. Only is order othered."10

Disasters have appeared in one form or another since before the dawn of recorded history. Some catastrophes have been caused deliberately by humans of evil intent, while other events such as plagues occurred more as a whimsical act of nature. The 21st century is not immune to such threats. The existence of nation states and powerful communication tools help to distinguish the inhabitants of today's globe from our ancestors. Policies on a much larger scale can be developed and implemented to deal with various problems.

As noted in the Proceedings of the 6th Trilateral Conference,11

Addressing health needs is essential when considering foreign policy matters; a nation's foreign policy and health problems cannot be solved in isolation from each other. Issues of conflict and security cannot be overcome without addressing health needs. Without careful post-conflict planning, the negative health consequences of war can further destabilize a weakened nation. Moreover, the threat of bioterrorism has led virtually all developed nations to regard health as a security matter. Nations must have a system in place for preventing bioterrorist attacks, for treating casualties of such an attack, and for training health care professionals on this system.