The goal of the Current Events assignment is to review news articles from two or three credible news sites, with differing or similar viewpoints on the topic and then type a summary of the information that you read and write a personal response based on the articles. The news articles should be related to public health and/or a social issue (i.e., housing, structural racism, gender roles/socialization, social exclusion, social isolation, food insecurity, cultural competency, pandemic response). To received full mark • Information from credible online web source is clearly summarized. Includes strong supporting details address the who, what, where, when, why, or how questions. • The writer makes little or no errors in grammar or spelling that distract the reader from the content. Every paragraph contains sentences that are well-constructed. There are varied beginnings and rich and appropriate vocabulary. • Insightfully gives their personal response with extremely strong thoughts and ideas. The writer uses prompts to push thinking and transitions. • The article is from a relevant website or news source (ie magazine or paper). All the required information is cited clearly in the document.
 

Social Isolation

            The news article “Covid: Loneliness a ‘bigger health risk than smoking or obesity’

” highlights loneliness as a potential cause of mental health issues. The author notes that the Mind Cymru pilot project aims at looking at these effects for the next five years. The COVID-19 pandemic has led to increased loneliness, unlike earlier when it affected the older generations. Due to the impacts of isolation rules aimed at fighting the pandemic, the younger generation deal with loneliness compared to older people (Evans, 2021). The author says that many people underestimate the effect of loneliness on the human brain and health, noting that lonely individuals are more likely to have mental issues and are considered a greater health risk than smoking or obesity. According to the article, an intervention to loneliness on physical and psychological health would be social prescribing (Evans, 2021). Referring the affected people to non-clinical service providers creates a formal way of providing primary care services.

            The article “‘It is a parallel pandemic’: What loneliness does to our mental health” describes the impacts of loneliness on Rebecca Adam’s health. She notes that mental health issues began almost immediately the pandemic first hit London, UK. She was diagnosed with anxiety and depression, which forced her to go out at least once a day to enhance her mental health. The article highlights that the COVID-19 pandemic has a negative impact on people’s mental health. The pandemic has changed the way people interact, which may continue to be a significant problem post-pandemic (Wong, 2021).

            Additionally, it notes that people may not directly experience the effects of loneliness but realize depletion of their physical health and immune system due to sleeplessness caused by stress. The most vulnerable groups are people living alone or seniors who do not have children living with them. The author says that the world should find ways to cope with loneliness in the face of COVID-19 and devise ways to deal with it post-pandemic (Wong, 2021).

            There is a significant increase in mental health issues relating to the current pandemic and the interventions strategies used to control the spread of the infection. Individuals living alone are at high risk of worsening psychosocial health. Due to COVID-19 guidelines presented by WHO, many people do not get access to primary care due to missed appointments. People with chronic conditions are associated with faster worsening of their conditions. Conditions such as asthma require stable mental health to relieve the symptoms and enable the patient to manage the problem better.

            Social support should be enhanced among the vulnerable groups. Non-clinical interventions need to be devised to reduce loneliness. People should engage in online group activities such as fun-based meetings and collaboration to reduce boredom. Additionally, people with chronic conditions should access health care through collaboration with healthcare professionals to monitor their conditions, thus reducing their health outcomes. However, the suggested interventions would only work for individuals who have access to the internet and other devices used for collaboration. Also, loneliness was a public health issue before COVID-19, but the conditions have worsened during isolation.

Outline

Current event

Social Isolation

Evans, C. (2021, June 28). Covid: Loneliness a 'bigger health risk than smoking or obesity'. The news article “Covid: Loneliness a ‘bigger health risk than smoking or obesity’ highlights loneliness as a potential cause of mental health issues. The author notes that the Mind Cymru pilot project aims at looking at these effects for the next five years. The COVID-19 pandemic has led to increased loneliness, unlike earlier when it affected the older generations.

• Due to the impacts of isolation rules aimed at fighting the pandemic, the younger generation deal with loneliness compared to older people (Evans, 2021).

Wong, M. (2021, February 27). ‘It is a parallel pandemic’: What loneliness does to our mental health - National | Globalnews.ca. Retrieved from

• The article “‘It is a parallel pandemic’: What loneliness does to our mental health” describes the impacts of loneliness on Rebecca Adam’s health. She notes that mental health issues began almost immediately the pandemic first hit London, UK.
• Additionally, it notes that people may not directly experience the effects of loneliness but realize depletion of their physical health and immune system due to sleeplessness caused by stress.
• There is a significant increase in mental health issues relating to the current pandemic and the interventions strategies used to control the spread of the infection. Individuals living alone are at high risk of worsening psychosocial health.
• Social support should be enhanced among the vulnerable groups. Non-clinical interventions need to be devised to reduce loneliness.
• Also, loneliness was a public health issue before COVID-19, but the conditions have worsened during isolation.