Lack of counselling services

Lack of professional counselling Services & lifestyle health programs is sinking in Papua New Guinea.

Many organisations, both public and private sectors are yet to realise the need to employ well-trained Counsellors in their organisations. Many Workers are mentally affected and they are not realising the full potentials of their professions.

There are no professionally trained graduated Clinical Psychologists attached in all major public and private health facilities. The major health settings only provide physical treatment but forget about the very heart of life…The Mind…As a result, there is no complete treatment provided to those who visit them.

 In addition, there is a lack of lifestyle health programs conducted in the country. Every year, death notices are published in the print media that high profile people are dying from a heart attack, heart stroke or diabetics etc.

Every year lawyers, judges and top elites are dying from a heart attack or heat stroke, or diabetics. I am hearing that we are losing so many National Court Judges to heart attacks and stroke.  Many are having high blood pressure.

The top government officials lack knowledge of the kind of services requires to improve work performance to increase productivity.

In some sections of the community, there are Social Welfare Officers but no lifestyle health programs.

Generally, the worker in Papua New Guinea is unhealthy. Their physical appearance is simply not encouraging, they are overweight, have big bellies hanging down, cannot walk properly which will affect their health.

Many of these officers do not attend yearly or even quarterly health check-ups or do not seek professional psychological counselling services so that many of their issues can be sorted out professionally, thus take full control of their life.

Papua New Guinea, as a country, needs counselling services and lifestyle health programs in every section of the society if the country wants to produce a healthy and fit society.

Lifestyle Diseases in workplace

Any successive government fail to effectively address one of the fastest emerging public health issues in Papua New Guinea. The health system by now realigns its health services towards prevention programs.

The lifestyle disease is silently but at the fastest rate killing highly skilled workers png-losing-elites-through-lifestyle-diseases. Due to a lack of awareness on the lifestyle disease programs, the highly skilled workforce are becoming victims of lifestyle diseases thus affecting family income. The Papua New Guinea government's ability to raise tax income will also be affected thus shift in national budget allocations to other development priority areas. The story below is an example of a lifestyle disease (diabetic) that has destroyed one of the skilled Industrial Worker.

John (not his name), father of two beautiful children, age 38, a highly-skilled Industrial Worker. He works for many companies. He lives with his family in one of the towns in Papua New Guinea.

His lifestyle.
He drinks 12-24 bottles of beer every weekend. When an opportunity (friends offering him a beer) pops up during weekdays, he drinks beer between 6-12 bottles. Coke is "half of his life" that’s how he puts it. He takes 2-4 bottles of coke per day. In a week, 14-28 bottles. He takes 4 sweet cups of coffee with 2-5 teaspoons of sugar per day. On daily meal: family eat white rice, white bread/scone, tinned fish, veggies and fried foods. He’s a heavy smoker and betel nut chewer.

Like everyone, he did not care about his life until he felt sick. One day he went to the hospital and did his full blood count.

 Laboratory clinical results.
Glucose (sugar) level was high and elevated blood pressure.

Treatment.

1. The doctor prescript diabetic’s medication. 
2. He also consults lifestyle health advisers where they develop a lifestyle modification plan. 
3. Continue follow-up messages were sent as reinforcement messages to reduce the level of sugar. 

However, he fails to adhere to all the health plans as well as treatment intake.

On the first health consult, his glucose reading was 8.5 as indicates on the graph. After the first consult, he was faithful to medicine and follow all the healthy choices. On the second consult, the glucose dropped to the controllable level of 6.0mmol/L.

However, he was not consistent with the healthy choices and medication. From the 3rd to the 8th health consults, his glucose readings were very high, which slightly dropped at the controllable level on the 9th consult.

Nevertheless, he did not put his health as the number one life business, thus leading to uncaring lifestyle choices.

The condition becomes worse which saw him losing his life. The uncured sore appears on his right toe. The doctor chopped the toes off. However, the condition got worse that leads him to lose his right leg to diabetics. As a result, he’s now a crippled man.

Due to uncaring lifestyle choices, more burden is now on his wife to look after him as well as the two children. This will setback the children's education, and their upbringing.

Finally, the man died from diabetes and left behind two children with his wife.

Organically growing local food in Papua New Guinea.
Papua New Guinea produces some of the world’s best organically farmed garden foods and fruits. These are some of the locally grown organic fresh veggies and fruits.

All over Papua New Guinea, local markets sell many of these fresh veggies and fruits at affordable prices. They are good for health than those manufactured goods sold in the stores.

The lifestyle disease in Papua New Guinea is avoidable as we have organically grown foods and fruits available at local markets. The choice people make will determine their health.

Why are people running too high on carbohydrate drinks like coke than a local produce fresh coconut juice? The cost of coconut juice is cheap than the high sugar-based drinks like coke. Figure #4 is coconut juice from Markham valley. It cost just K1.00 and Coke cost K2.00 to K3.50.

The important message to ALL Papua New Guineans is: Once you hit the sickbed, the chair you are sitting on will depart from you. All the happiness and dreams will go under the bridge.

Run after good health than the material wealth. The glory of this world is only added unto people with good health, so follow healthy lifestyle choices.

NO Money for TB Program

Lead up 24th World TB Day, the Health Professionals and Public health Specialists are out in the communities conducting TB awareness programs. This is one of the national public health calendar programs across the nation. It has 

Mrs Maggie Patrick, HIV/STI nurse pictured at Gusap Health Center in Madang Province said we are out in the communities for one week conducting TB awareness. The nurses are showing their willingness to implement the important public health program. 

We're not confined to TB but also talking about other public issues such as HIV/AIDS.

She said the Provincial Health Authorities lack funding and the National Department of Health too has not funded the program.

Indeed it’s a sad state when the government has not funded to support the important public health program, she said.

She said public health program is dying in the province. The government must budget for public health programs because many patients seeking healthcare are with preventable diseases through awareness.

She also said HIV infection is on the rise and the government must not go in deep sleep when it comes to public issues. She further said every month there is a new HIV infection reported in her clinic.

TB Nurse Miriam Toakio pictured above said they have submitted a project proposal to the office of Using/Bundi Member but have yet to get a response.

However, without any funding, we have done what we could do to spread the public health messages to the public, especially in the rural communities where 80% of the population are living.

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She further said we do not need big funding but at least some money for refreshment's and when we are out in the communities.

What we have done is we use our own money to buy food and water. There are no Information, Communication, Education materials for distribution, she said.

Disability awareness changed my Life

Overview

Self-reflection of this paper is about the unawareness world of disability to the awareness that has significantly changed my life, my opinions, actions taken and further road-map.  

Unaware…

I’ve seen them around yet did not saw them in the wisdom of my sight. I did not listen to hear their voices and understand to reach out to inspire their dreams and aspirations.

My whole world was blanketed with no idea of disabilities thus did not capture them in the picture of my dreams and aspirations.  When my unknown world become widen, I had no room to hear their silent voices calling out in the wilderness for help.

It was an honest view of myself because I was not educated about the importance of disabilities, their vulnerabilities, and their potentials to contribute to their families and the community.

According to the Australian Human right Commissioner, disability discrimination is defined as when a person with a disability is treated less favourably than a person without the disability in the same or similar circumstances (definition).

So, what happened to me….

After so much exposure to disabilities through many field visits, lectures, videos, literature review and learning about the level of Queensland State Government structured disable support programs, indeed I was crushed into dust. Those experiences have changed my truly unknown worldview of disability, and now I am not the same person I used to be.

What’s my opinion….

Absent of countrywide government structured social welfare support services; non-accessibility and availability of disabling person-oriented living conditions in rural villages; lack of understanding disabled people as an important member of a community and their potentials to contribute to the community where they were born to live freely and grow;  lack of educational awareness disseminate into the hearts and minds of millions of Papua New Guineans;  I think Papua New Guinea as a country for a long time did not hear the silent voices of disabled people.

This is how disabled people speak up in Singaut Bilong Pikinini video:

It’s very difficult for disabled people living in Papua New Guinea: “Also challenging to reach the unreached and touch the untouched disable person in rural communities” said Ishmael Leave.

Emma a disabled primary school girl from Goroka in Eastern Highlands Province said:

“School kids describe me as having doubt fingers, twisted leg and trouble heart”.

“Despite those discrimination words, I go to school to fly my dreams of becoming an air hostess one day and help my family and community” (Experience of Disable person). 

What action taken….

From my first block break, I travel back to Papua New Guinea. I jump on a waiting 15- seater Public Motor Vehicle.  The passengers share their stories as we cruise through the Markham valley. Everyone was filled with many stories shared and interviewed me to share the Australian experience.

The story was on educational awareness about disability in our community. I engage the passengers asking this question; have you seen a disabled person in your villages? Many passengers said they’ve seen disabled people in other places but not in their villages.

I talked about the importance of disabled people; their vulnerability and special needs; not to look at their disability but see them as people with a lot of potentials; abilities, dreams and aspirations and can contribute meaningfully in our communities.

The Public Motor Vehicle driver did not talk but listen with great interest as he carefully negotiates many potholes along the road. I fill him enough to break his silence and this is how he puts it:

“Your stories have changed my world of how I see the disabled person”.

“In my village, I have a disabled person, I haven’t driven him around in my car, not even one single day taken him to shops and never treated him with care”.

“From now onward; I will drive him to shops with my kids for ice, buy foods and look after him, then he said, thanks to you”.

What’re my future actions…

So, to conclude as long I live, I will conduct educational awareness about disabilities in whatever capacity in my country. I will not fear or pull back, but I will support and disseminate disability information where I can reach.

Types of ABI/Stroke

ABI stands for Acquired brain injury.  ABI occurs due to external forces such as a car accident, physical by another person, fall from a high building etc. A stroke occurs as a result of damages or injuries to blood vessels click for further reading on ABI/stroke.

Stroke is medical know as a cerebrovascular disease that occurs due to a lack of oxygen and nutrients reaching the brain. The blood vessels that transport oxygen and nutrients may be blocked or bleed due to various socioeconomic or medical conditions.  One example of socioeconomic condition should be stress or cholesterol build up in the blood vessel due to food lifestyle choices click for more images. 

 TBI: TBI stands for Traumatic Brain Injury. Traumatic Brain Injury occurs due to external force such as car accident, physical by another person, fall from high building etc. What happens is impact the normal structure of the brain and result in a significant shift of movement which may tear, bruises, movement, dislocation, or become swollen which affect the supply of oxygen and nutrient to the brain click to see images.

Hypoxia/Anoxia

Hypoxic is a lack of supply of enough oxygen to the brain. Both conditions may occur despite the supply of blood. The brain injury occurs quickly because there is no oxygen reaching the brain and it’s a life-threatening condition. Anoxic brain injury occurs due to a lack of oxygen to the brain click to images.

Alcohol-Related Brain Injury

Heavy drinking can affect brain functions & the nervous system that includes; -difficulty walking, poor vision, not reacting to a situation as a normal person would do and memory loss 0

 

Degenerative neurological diseases click for more images

As we get older, our brain gets wore-out as indicated in the pictures.