In her most recent post, Dr. Anisaa Romano provided medical services to active duty Marines at the Naval Health Clinic located at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point. Dr. Anisaa Romano maintains a professional interest in global medicine, which focuses on research, practice, and crisis intervention on a worldwide scale. One medical school has identified six areas of concern for this field.
- Pandemics. Some examples of diseases spreading around the world include SARS, influenza, HIV, and Ebola. Global medicine emphasizes prevention by encouraging safe agricultural techniques and proper health education.
- Environment. Illnesses spread more easily when sanitation and water supplies are compromised by flooding, storms, droughts, and pollution. In addition to stopgap measures, global health includes reduction of man-made environmental damage.
- Limited access to health care. Many communities are too poor or isolated to benefit from education and treatment. Reducing income inequality, encouraging doctors to practice in remote regions, and increasing the visibility of poor communities could curtail sexually-transmitted diseases and high infant mortality.
- Political conflict. Wars destroy sanitation, water, and transportation systems, thus spreading disease to fleeing civilians. Agencies such as the World Health Organization seek to improve health care availability to refugee settlements.
- Noncommunicable diseases. Problems such as diabetes, heart disease, and stroke get worse in areas where incomes are low. Education about dietary deficiencies and alcohol and tobacco use is essential.
- Animal welfare. Animal-borne diseases often affect developing nations. Veterinary aid can address issues of disease transmission caused by improper irrigation, waste control, and pesticides.
