Health & Science

Burrito-Ville is following a nationwide trend to ditch the plastic straw. The restaurant announced they’re switching to a compostable straw in an attempt to reduce their footprint on the environment.

500 million straws are tossed away every day in the U.S., and those plastics are breaking down into microplastics which contaminate the ocean, the air, and closer to home, the Mississippi River.

Imagine this: a sixty-year-old woman who just recently moved here from Saudi Arabia is diagnosed with breast cancer, and her medical team is made up of all males. She goes against everything she has been taught since birth when she has to undress in front of these men. Imagine the internal conflict she would feel having to choose between her health and her values.

Although this particular example is hypothetical, it is not a far cry from the experiences that many people have throughout the United States’ healthcare system due to a lack of cultural competence.

The American Public Health Association defines Community Health Workers as frontline public health workers who are  trusted members of, or have an unusually close understanding of, the community served. This trusting relationship enables the workers to serve as links between health services, social services and the community, which  facilitates access and improves the quality and cultural competence of service delivery.

Hello, I’m Brooke Hildebrand Clubbs, Director of Health Communication at Southeast Missouri State University...and now, also, a Certified Community Health Worker.