Reality Sex

Should sex education be provided in the school system - emphatically yes. There is no doubt in my mind that it should be. And what type should it be - reality sex. I believe that sex education should be taught without any regard to cultural, religious, or any other background out there. It should be matter of fact, focusing on the physical consequences rather than any of the other issues out there. Leave the cultural and religious belief systems for students to be taught at home by their parents. If those aspects of sex education are so important for the parents then they will want to handle that at home. As for school, I think that sex education should start earlier than it does now, and I think that it should focus more on what students fear rather than what are the worst consequences. We all know that AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases can be the worst results of promiscuity but most teens have the "it won't happen to me" syndrome and it is hard to fake/role play the results of contracting a disease. For many teens the idea of pregnancy is the consequence, although many still don't believe that it will happen to them. Students who participate in role playing education such as wearing pregnant bellies or having life like dolls that they are required to take care of have a much healthier "fear" of the consequences and are more likely to protect themselves or abstain. I also think that if we required more as a society of parents when it comes to teen pregnancy we would have less instance of it. This is slightly off subject but I happen to believe that if we required that parents be responsible for all actions of their children financially until they were 18 then many would be more proactive in the sex education of their children. If welfare was not available until the age of 18 and the grandparents had to support their child along with the grandchild, they might be more willing to have "the talk" and be more involved with their child and their activities.

Self Assessment

I chose to complete the self assessment for preventive practices. According to the assessment I am fair in my practices, and I agree with that. I could be much healthier than I am, but I try. I take supplements and drink a wonderful fruit supplement that gives me 13 servings per day. Some of the questions in the assessment might not apply to everyone either. The question about condom is not relevant to me. Yes, I know that just because I am married does not mean that my husband won't cheat on me, but I trust him and am confident that STI's are not a risk for me at this time in my life. I was surprised that there was no question regarding weight on the assessment. The best thing that I could do for my health would be to lose weight. I am considered to be morbidly obese with a high BMI. I understand that the health risks of being over-weight are many including heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, joint problems, and the list goes on. Understanding that you are unhealthy is easy, changing habits and lifestyles to become healthier is not. I am also a former smoker, and stopping was not easy. I was not able to stop without the use of medications, even though I really wanted to for the health of my child. I also try to avoid the over use of medications, especially antibiotics. Working in the health care field I have found that if one just practices universal precautions, good hand washing techniques along with common sense while working with people who are sick, you can stay pretty healthy. In the 12 years that I have been working in nursing homes I cannot remember a time that I got sick with something that my patients had. I believe that we should be careful and try to stay as healthy as possible as we can, but at the same time I know that healthy living is not easy and does not come naturally for most people.

Health Concerns

What are health concerns of women.

I guess the range of health concerns that anyone may have is all dependent on the environment and family of the person being asked. My concerns tend to be geared toward those that my patients face, including alzeheimers and diabetes. Alzeheimers is becoming rampant in the US but there is little that the average person does for those with the disease and their families. It is difficult to understand the depth of pain that dimentia diseases can cause unless you have been apart of a family that has gone through it. As for the women that I talked with, they voiced similar concerns but also included others that are directly related to them. Infertility, heart health and general wellbeing were among the top discussed. For all of the women that I spoke with and for me the major health concern right now is not that of the diseases but for the care that we and all others will be receiving, no matter what the problem is. More discussion was placed on the current state of healthcare reform than any other. I agree that whatever comes along medically, the ability to afford and receive healthcare is a high priority in many minds.