For this segment of the University of Nevada School of Medicine Health Watch, we discuss fighting chronic disease with our guest Dr. John Packham. He's the director of health policy research for UNSOM as well as the Nevada co-chair of the Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease. He spoke with RichelleO’Driscoll, director of public affairs for the Division of Health Sciences and School of Medicine.
The partnership is calling on presidential candidates to address the cost and burden of chronic disease in their healthcare policies during the next year of campaigning.
"To date, we've heard a lot about email servers and whether or nor Joe Biden is going to be in the race--he's apparently not going to be in the race," Packham said. "By comparison, we've heard next to nothing about the burden of chronic disease and we're trying to change that."
Chronic diseases refer to enduring conditions that are not acute, including arthritis, asthma, several forms of cancer, diabetes, and depression, among others. Packham says some are preventable, like those caused by tobacco use.
"Every time I see a teenage smoking outside of a high school or a mall, I'm haunted by the fact that I lost a younger sister to lung cancer," Packham said. "She died at the age of 49. I [also] lost a father to emphysema."
Packham describes his personal losses as gruesome, costly deaths. That's why he's urging presidential candidates to shine a spotlight on possible healthcare policy reforms aimed at lowering rates of chronic disease.
