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Imperial Researchers Model US Health Impacts of FDA Sodium Targets

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Imperial Researchers Model US Health Impacts of FDA Sodium Targets

Cardiovascular disease is one of the biggest public health challenges facing America today by any measure. It is the leading cause of mortality and morbidity in the U.S., resulting in 800,000 deaths and 6 million hospital admissions per year. Cardiovascular disease costs the economy $318 billion annually in healthcare costs and an additional $237 billion in lost productivity.  

Sodium consumption is the leading modifiable risk factor for both cardiovascular disease and high blood pressure, so it’s no surprise that in 2016 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) proposed adopting voluntary 2-year and 10-year sodium targets for commercially processed and prepared foods. These targets are in line with policies that have been proven to reduce sodium intake in the U.K. and other European countries. However, the U.S. Congress has moved to block the FDA from issuing such standards, in part due to questions about their effectiveness.

A recent study led by Imperial College of London’s Dr. Jonathan Pearson-Stuttard in collaboration with U.S. and other international researcher institutions sheds some light on these important questions. Aspiring public health professionals anywhere in the world can work on impactful projects like these with the 100% online Global Masters in Public Health from Imperial College London.

Researchers used the previously-validated US IMPACT Food Policy Model to project the standards’ impact on cardiovascular disease (CVD) cases and deaths, quality-adjusted life years (QALYs), and cost-effectiveness over a 20-year time period. Because the standards are voluntary, the researchers also modeled several different compliance scenarios to estimate of the range of potential outcomes.

  • 100% compliance with 10-year targets: The optimal scenario would prevent 450,000 CVD cases, gain 2.1 million QALYs, and produce cost savings of $41 billion.
  • 50% compliance with 10-year targets: The moderate scenario would prevent 220,000 CVD cases, gain 1.1 million QALYs, and save $19 billion in costs.
  • 100% compliance with 2-year targets, 0% compliance with 10-year targets: The pessimistic scenario would prevent 120,000 CVD cases, gain 700,000 QALYs, and save $12 billion in costs.

A Monte Carlo sensitivity analysis indicated that all three scenarios yielded a greater than 80% probability that the standards would be cost-effective by 2021 and cost-saving by 2031, making a clear case that these policies make sense from a health as well as an economic perspective. These cost-saving estimates included both industry costs from reformulating products to meet the targets, as well as government costs for administering the policy itself. 

It’s also worth noting that the absolute health benefits of the policy would be roughly 50% higher for men than women, owing to their higher sodium intake. The policy would also benefit older Americans and black Americans. The impacts on black Americans is important considering the disproportionate CVD burdens faced by this population. This factor makes the policy effective from an equity perspective (as well as in absolute terms).  

As noted above, the FDA’s proposed standards for the U.S. were based on those implemented in the U.K. and other European countries. Similarly, the research team for this project spanned both continents. Co-authors of the report include Dr. Pearson-Stuttard of Imperial College London as well as researchers from the University of Liverpool, Tufts University, the Medical University of Gdansk, Poland, and the American Heart Association. 

The collaboration with U.S. researchers at Tufts and the American Heart Association are part of an extensive track record of collaboration between Imperial College and American institutions. In fact, U.S. researchers were the co-authors for nearly 8,000 papers published by Imperial researchers from 2015 to 2017, more than any other country.

The study was conducted as part of the Food-PRICE (Food Policy Review and Intervention Cost-Effectiveness) project at Tufts, a collaboration of US and European researchers seeking to identify population-level nutrition strategies to improve public health outcomes for Americans. Areas of focus for the project include heart disease, stroke, diabetes, obesity, and cancer in the US.

If you’re interested in making an impact on public health and public policy in the US — or anywhere else in the world — the Global Master of Public Health degree from Imperial College gives you the chance to collaborate with peers and study on your schedule from wherever you are. 

 

Imperial College London Tackles a Big Question for Hepatitis C in China, India, and Pakistan

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Imperial College London Tackles a Big Question for Hepatitis C in China, India, and Pakistan

The hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a global public health scourge, infecting more than 70 million people worldwide and ultimately causing liver complications including cirrhosis and cancer in 10-20% of cases. HCV was responsible for more than 475,000 deaths worldwide in 2015, and future cases are projected to expand most in China, India, and Pakistan. 

However, the discovery of direct-acting antiviral (DAA) drugs in 2014 gave new hope to the fight against HCV, offering greater effectiveness and less side effects than previous treatments. This breakthrough inspired the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare a new goal of eliminating HCV as a public health threat, with targets of reducing incidence by 80% and mortality by 65% by 2030. 

While these developments are hopeful, are they realistic? Research from Imperial College London’s School of Public Health examines the feasibility of achieving the WHO goals, demonstrating the kind of globally-important research that students of Imperial’s online Global Master of Public Health can work on.

As reflected by the WHO targets, an effective response to HCV has two components: the reduction of incidence, and the reduction of mortality. hile the discovery of DAAs offers a promising means of treating HCV cases, it does not directly reduce the transmission of the virus, which is typically associated with blood transfusions, healthcare-related injections, and injection drug use. 

Thus, Imperial researchers sought to model not only improved access to DAA treatment but a combined package of strategies that include enhanced prevention and diagnosis programs as well. These interventions were modeled as a sequence added to the status quo, with each intervention building on the next. 

  1. Blood safety and infection control assumed to reduce infection among non-intravenous drug users by 80% by 2020
  2. Harm reduction for intravenous drug users, including opioid substitution therapy and needle and syringe programs, reducing infection risks by 75%
  3. Offering DAAs immediately at diagnosis regardless of disease stage
  4. Outreach screening enabling 90% of HCV cases to be diagnosed by 2030

As expected, the application of all four of these strategies achieved the best modeled outcome. Coming very close to the WHO goals, the comprehensive package of interventions is projected to reduce HCV incidence by 81% and mortality by 61% by 2030. 

  • Prevention (Interventions 1 & 2): 14.1 million new infections averted
  • Treatment (+ Intervention 3): 640,000 avoided deaths from cirrhosis and liver cancer
  • Screening (+ Intervention 4): Total of 15.1 million new infections avoided and 1.5 million avoided cirrhosis and liver cancer deaths

The model shows that the mortality elimination target of 65% would be reached by 2032 under this scenario, although it is achievable by 2030 if diagnosis coverage through outreach screening covers 95% of HCV cases instead of 90%. 

On the other hand, if the comprehensive package is not fully implemented in China, India, or Pakistan – the countries of highest projected future cases – the global incidence would be increased only 69% by 2030, pushing back the achievement of these goals to 2047. Thus, the study underscores the importance of action in these specific countries to achieve the WHO goals on HCV elimination. 

This work was funded by the Wellcome Trust and conducted by researchers from the MRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis at Imperial College London, including lead author Dr. Alastair Heffernan. With 175 researchers, the MRC Centre is one of the world’s largest research centers for infectious disease modeling, producing impactful interdisciplinary research on diseases such as Ebola, Zika, HIV, malaria, and tuberculosis. 

Research like this paper, published in The Lancet and providing direct input to WHO work, is emblematic of the globally-relevant, high-impact public health research that Imperial College London is renowned for. Now, thanks to the flexible, 100% online Global Master of Public Health degree, it’s possible for students anywhere in the world to work on challenges like HCV alongside Imperial’s world-class faculty.

 

Measuring the Rising Risks of Obesity and Diabetes in Africa

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Measuring the Rising Risks of Obesity and Diabetes in Africa

While Africa’s high infectious disease burden has drawn the most attention from the international public health community, the continent is also facing rising impacts from non-communicable diseases (NCDs), including diabetes. Similarly, crises of food insecurity in the region have obscured the risks of obesity accompanying Africa’s increasing economic growth and urbanization. 

This is changing, however, with international organizations as well as national governments coming together in recent years to bring a new focus to these related issues. Public health researchers at Imperial College London have provided critical support for these efforts with the first detailed analysis of obesity and diabetes in Africa.

The findings could help inform health interventions throughout the continent. Public health students and professionals looking to make this kind of international impact in Africa or anywhere in the world can learn alongside Imperial’s world-class faculty through the online Global Master of Public Health degree. 

In 2016, the World Diabetes Foundation (WDF), the East African Diabetes Study Group (EADSG), and the Tanzanian Ministry of Health convened an international NCD Symposium in Dar Es Salaam. The event brought together government Ministries of Health from 17 countries, the World Health Organization (WHO), the African Union, and the Global NCD Alliance to share experiences and lessons learned about this rising public health threat.

The culmination of the event was the signing of the 2016 Dar Es Salaam Call to Action on Diabetes and Other Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs), which committed countries across the continent to a number of steps including the development national NCD strategies and action plans based on available data. 

Imperial College researchers led a team to provide the robust datasets needed to inform these policies working as part of the NCD Risk Factor Collaboration – Africa Working Group,. They pooled data from population studies from 1980 to 2014 to estimate trends in mean body mass index (BMI) and diabetes prevalence in 53 countries across all five regions (central, eastern, northern, southern, and western) of Africa. 

The result of this analysis confirmed the urgency of addressing the linked challenges of obesity and diabetes:

  • From 1980 to 2014, mean BMI increased from 21 to 23 kg/m2 in men, and from 21.9 to 24.9 kg/m2 in women, increasing over time across all regions 
  • Diabetes prevalence more than doubled, rising from 3.4% to 8.5% in men, and from 4.1% to 8.9% in women 
  • These increases in obesity and diabetes were associated with increases in gross domestic product, indicating these trends could worsen with continuing economic growth

In their conclusions, the study’s authors emphasized the importance of developing better monitoring data as African countries ramp up their efforts to address diabetes. According to co-author Dr. James Bentham of Imperial College, “Our findings are based on the largest dataset ever collected describing these conditions in Africa. As the continent experiences higher burdens of obesity and diabetes, we also need to use better data to track the performance of countries in preventing these conditions.”

The study’s co-lead authors were Dr. Bentham and Dr. Majid Ezzati of Imperial College London, in collaboration with academics from the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC). They worked with the wider NCD Risk Factor Collaboration, a global network of public health scientists studying risk factors for non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, cancer, and cardiovascular disease. 

The work was funded by the UK’s Wellcome Trust as well as SAMRC, proving further that achieving global impacts often requires global collaboration. Public health students and professionals looking to work on this type of difference-making research about issues everywhere in the world, from anywhere in the world, can do so with Imperial College’s 100% online Global Master of Public Health degree. 

 

Expanding Healthcare Access Shrinks Inequality in Brazil, Imperial Research Shows

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Expanding Healthcare Access Shrinks Inequality in Brazil, Imperial Research Shows

The United Nations has declared reducing inequality as one of its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) both within and among countries. This includes a target for countries to adopt social protection policies that “progressively achieve greater equality.” Healthcare is a core concern of those social protection policies, and a recent study shows that expanding access to primary healthcare has gone hand-in-hand with reducing racial inequality in Brazil.

The research, led by Dr. Thomas Hone of Imperial College of London’s School of Public Health, provides important support for continued efforts to expand primary care access in the face of economic and political turmoil in Brazil. Public health students and professionals looking to produce this type of impactful work can pursue an online Global Master of Public Health from Imperial College from anywhere in the world. 

Brazil is a compelling case study for policies that address both healthcare access and inequality. It is a large developing economy with one of the highest levels of income inequality in the world, as well as severe disparity in health outcomes across income as well as educational, racial, and socio-economic lines. In particular, black and pardo (mixed race) populations suffer from lower average incomes, higher incidence of infectious diseases, higher mortality rates, and shorter life expectancy.

The Estratégia Saúde da Família (ESF) has been one of the most prominent policies seeking to reach these populations and achieve universal healthcare in Brazil. Under the ESF, family health teams deliver a broad range of free primary healthcare services at the community level. Since its start in the 1990s, the ESF has grown to provide services for more than 120 million Brazilians, with the greatest focus in municipalities with smaller populations, higher levels of poverty, and higher percentage of black and pardo people. 

Previous research showed that the ESF has been broadly effective in lowering infant mortality, avoidable hospitalizations, and deaths from cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. This new Imperial College study sought to specifically evaluate how the program has impacted different racial populations. Researchers examined municipal-level mortality and demographic data for nearly 600,000 Brazilians and compared it with municipal ESF coverage.

The conclusions are stark: expanding ESF coverage resulted in a decline in the rate of avoidable deaths among black and pardo populations of 15.4% between 2000 and 2013, more than double the 6.8% decline in white populations. This decline was specifically driven by fewer deaths from infectious diseases, nutritional deficiencies and anaemia, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.

While these results point to significant progress made in reducing inequality due to the ESF, the study also revealed this sobering finding: the rates of avoidable deaths in the black and pardo populations were still 17-23% higher than in the white population over the same time period. Thus, the Imperial research found that it is critical to continue prioritizing the expansion of this program, especially in Brazil’s current economic and political climate. 

This study is an important contribution to the literature because the limited research to-date on linkages between expanding primary healthcare and reducing inequality has occurred solely in high-income country contexts. Thus, the study’s authors filled a significant gap by providing a relevant case study for other developing countries.

To do this work, Imperial College’s Dr. Thomas Hone led a team of researchers from several institutions across Brazil, including the Centre for Data and Knowledge Integration to Health (CIDACS) and the Instituto de Saúde Coletiva in Salvador, the Center for Epidemiological Studies in Health and Nutrition at the University of São Paulo, and the Institute of Social Medicine at  Rio de Janeiro State University.

If working on globally-relevant problems with leading international research institutions sounds like the next step for your career, Imperial College’s 100% online Global Master of Public Health degree might be the next step in your education.

 

Imperial Research Warns of the Cost of Austerity for Public Health in Brazil

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Imperial Research Warns of the Cost of Austerity for Public Health in Brazil

Reductions to government social support programs have costs, and they can be particularly severe for vulnerable populations. Budget cutbacks have been implemented as a solution to the recession that has gripped Brazil since 2015, but a study led by Dr. Thomas Hone of Imperial College of London indicates that these austerity measures could result in significant collateral damage to public health.

Imperial College of London’s School of Public Health has built an international reputation for exactly this kind of highly-relevant, impactful research. Students across the world can be a part of this important work by enrolling in Imperial’s 100% online Global Masters of Public Health program.  

Since 2015, Brazil has been mired in a severe economic crisis, with GDP falling more than 8%. This recession has led to increasing unemployment, particularly among low-income populations, and an increase in the rate of people living below poverty.

Consequentially, the austerity measures implemented by the government will result in significant cuts to two critical programs for poverty alleviation and health care: the Bolsa Familia Programme (BFP) and the Estrategia Saude da Familia (ESF). 

  • The BFP covers about 25% of Brazil’s population, and provides cash transfers for families in need if they meet conditions of school attendance, vaccinations, and health checkups for children, and prenatal and postnatal doctor’s visits for new mothers. 
  • The ESF provides community-based primarily healthcare to local populations in need, with family health teams providing services including basic curative care, health promotion and education, and targeted programs for HIV/AIDS, cardiovascular health, and other issues. 

For this study, researchers from Imperial College and their collaborators modeled the potential impacts to child mortality in Brazil from cuts to these two programs. They employed a microsimulation approach that models individual-specific characteristics and probabilities in order to provide greater accuracy of policy effects compared to traditional methodologies, which use only the average values in a population. Using municipal-level data, researchers simulated changes in poverty rates and other socioeconomic variables through 2030 and then used these results to project mortality and hospitalization rates for children younger than 5 years old. 

This simulation was carried out across three different economic scenarios, corresponding with durations of economic crisis ranging from 3 to 7 years old, as well as different rates of poverty increase. Health outcomes were then compared across two policy scenarios: one in which fiscal austerity measures are maintained through 2030, and one in which BFP and ESF coverage is preserved and allowed to keep up with changes in the poverty rate.

The results of this modeling study are sobering, indicating a substantial increase in childhood mortality even under a mild crisis scenario if austerity measures remain in place:

  • Mild Crisis (3 years): 7% increase in child mortality rate, with nearly 14,000 avoidable childhood deaths
  • Medium Crisis (5 years): 8.6% increase in child mortality rate, with nearly 20,000 avoidable childhood deaths
  • Prolonged Crisis (7 years): 9.5% increase in child mortality rate, with more than 23,000 avoidable childhood deaths

Across all scenarios, cuts to these programs have disproportionate impacts on at-need municipalities, reversing a trend in declining inequality in health outcomes in Brazil and compromising efforts to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 

These research findings have the potential to influence not only Brazil’s policies but those of countries around the world. While there have been several studies examining the impacts of economic crises on health outcomes in high-income countries, research on impacts in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) has been lacking. This study helps to fill that gap, providing support for maintaining social support and healthcare programs even in the midst of economic challenges in these contexts. 

Imperial College of London’s Dr. Hone worked with a team of researchers from Brazil as well as the US to conduct this study. Co-authors represented the Universidade Federal da Bahia, the René Rachou Institute in Minas Gerais, the Institute for Applied Economic Research in Rio de Janeiro, and the University of São Paulo in Brazil, and Stanford and Harvard Universities in the U.S.

If you want to work on this kind of internationally-conducted, internationally-impactful research in your career, the online Global Masters of Public Health degree at Imperial College gives students anywhere in the world the opportunity to learn on their own schedule. 

 

Summer Reading Contest Winner, Week 1: On ‘The Hummingbird as Warrior: Evolution of a Fierce and Furious Beak’

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Summer Reading Contest Winner, Week 1: On ‘The Hummingbird as Warrior: Evolution of a Fierce and Furious Beak’

Thank you to the 424 teenagers who participated in the very first week of our 10-week Summer Reading Contest, and congratulations to Ella Jenkins, our winner, as well as to our many runners-up and honorable mentions.

Scroll down to take a look at the variety of topics — from the ongoing college admissions scandal to the Women’s World Cup, Sudan and K-pop — that caught the eyes of our participants this week.

And please remember to always check the top of our contest announcement to find the right place to participate, any week from now until Aug. 23.

Ella Jenkins of Leesport, Penn., chose a ScienceTake article headlined “The Hummingbird as Warrior: Evolution of a Fierce and Furious Beak” and wrote:

This article interested me because it completely surprised me and made me rethink everything I knew about hummingbirds.

Every year, the arrival of the hummingbirds seems to signify the start of summer. My family is always on the lookout for the familiar, startling buzz of these magnificent creatures. As a child, I was always enchanted by the rapid flutter of wings and long slender beaks that seemed to appear out of thin air. Even now, these birds still manage to capture my attention. Whenever I see a hummingbird quickly fly past the patio window or briefly rest its wings while getting a drink from the feeder, I find it nearly impossible to stop watching until it inevitably flies away.

From my many years of observing hummingbirds, I always assumed that the sole purpose of their long, graceful beaks was to allow them to drink the nectar from flowers. After reading this article however, I now know that I was missing a piece of vital information: male hummingbirds use their beaks to fight each other and also have a very violent disposition. Apparently, hummingbirds use their beaks as weapons to pull feathers, stab, and push their competition.

Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined these seemingly sweet birds attacking their rivals over a mate. The birds I thought I knew so well have a violent side that I was shocked to know existed.

Swetha Berana on “Let’s Hear It for the Average Child”

Pranav Chopra on “How to End a Friendship”

Tristan Lim on “Stanford Coach Avoids Prison in Admissions Scandal. Have Colleges Avoided Blame?”

THE PERCEPTION OF TOURISM IN THE WITCHES MARKET – BOLIVIA

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THE PERCEPTION OF TOURISM IN THE WITCHES MARKET – BOLIVIA

The so-called “Market of the Witches”, Is a public space that consists of the following streets: Sagárnaga, Linares, Jiménez, Illampu, Santa Cruz and the church of San Francisco. These streets are part of a set of blocks that are identified in urban heritage cartography as the San Francisco Heritage Complex. Part of this set consists of the market of handicrafts, ritual objects, medicinal plants, coca, alcohol, amulets, talismans, illas, sullu, table or offerings and other magical elements from other cultures and other countries such as Brazil, Argentina, India, Mexico, etc.

The witches sector represents an icon of the city. Within a traditional circuit or basic city tour of the city, this place is prioritized. If a person arrives in La Paz and does not visit the Mercado de las Brujas, it is as if he had not been in the city. The places that comprise a traditional city tour are the Mercado de las Brujas, then there is the Killi-Killi viewpoint, Murillo square, Jaén street and Valle de la Luna. And in this last time the cable car is also incorporated. But the Witches’ Market has always been present, this place is almost visited by one hundred percent of the visitors.

The “Market of the Witches” for its characteristics and its components or cultural elements can be defined as a space of cultural tourism because the cosmovision of the Aymara Quechua cultures is expressed in the urban context as a tradition inherited from the practices of Andean spirituality. Also, in the area there are patrimonial architectural assets such as religious, real estate, handicrafts with identity and social actors such as Chifleras, Amautas, Yatiris, etc. It can also be considered as a tourist destination or a tourist product, that is, it is part of the La Paz and Bolivian tourist complex. Then, the “Market of the Witches”, is a tourist space or a tourist destination for its “exotic” attraction where the famous “witches or sorceresses” that offer amulets, talismans, candles, ritual “tables”, offerings and others products of foreign origin.

Author : Jose Fernando Villagra Caero
Degree : Bachelors
Major : Marketing and Advertising
Country : Bolivia
Language : Spanish

Aspectos del terapeuta en la Terapia familiar

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Aspectos del terapeuta en la Terapia familiar

“La familia venidera debe reinventarse una vez más”  

                    (Roudinesco, Elisabeth)

La familia asiste en esta época del mundo, a una nueva forma de ser, de hacerse, de manifestarse, estudiada como un ser vivo, como los humanos que la conforman, por lo cual poseen ciclos, metamorfosis, estancamientos, movimientos, evolución, involución, nacimiento, desarrollo y muerte.
Es una aspiración del humano, pertenecer, identificarse con un sistema en el cual sentirse seguro. En cual poder desarrollar sus dones, descubrir su personalidad, sanar sus conductas, meta-comunicarse. Ese marco teórico vivencial lo ofrece la familia. De la cual, pueden suceder muchas opciones. Tantas como universos mentales posibles existen.
Existen por cierto, detalles, parámetros, patrones, estudios, investigaciones, tendencias, aún así la familia, siempre será una célula de la conformación del mundo terrestre a seguir siendo analizada, contenida, soportada, instruida, aconsejada y muchas veces separada, pues nadie puede anticipar un sentimiento futuro, y vivir de a dos no significa sufrir de a dos, tres, cuatro, etcétera.
El terapeuta, que asiste a una familia, ineludiblemente debe haber formado parte de una familia, se hace necesario, es un requisito ineludible sentir, percibir, haber  amado y haber sentido que era amado. Y debe estar lo más sano posible, instruido, capacitado con técnicas de percepción, con escuelas especializadas en familia. También debe estar familiarizado, con los otros sentimientos que circundan las relaciones familiares, sostenimiento, acompañamiento, culpa, victimismo, dolor, silencio, falta de creencias, autoestima, en fin todo vínculo se establece entre seres vivientes y, por lo tanto, es un continuo proceso de transformación y cimentación de nuevos equilibrios. Muchas veces desapegarse es un acto de amor en sí mismo.
Siempre se buscará el ideal de familia de unión, de retroalimentación, conversión, no creo exista un terapeuta que se sienta en una silla a planear estratégicamente cómo desvincular y desmantelar familias, aún así debe estar presente que siempre puede existir la posibilidad de que hay personas que no pueden, no supieron, o no quieren estar en familia. Entonces es necesario implementar los procesos articulados y resolutivos de fertilizante “separación” con miras a un crecimiento en otras direcciones y sentidos.
Toda familia es una experiencia de aprendizaje y de transformación, presente y futura. Sanando pasados, viviendo el presente, diseñando futuros. Evolucionamos.


El puente que unió la terapia familiar con el siglo XXI fue el constructivismo social, la idea de que nuestra experiencia está en
función de cómo expresamos los acontecimientos en palabras; esto es de las historias con las que describimos nuestra experiencia.
Este giro del comportamiento a la cognición abrió un mundo nuevo de posibilidades. (Minuchin, Nichois, Wai Yung Lee, 2011)
Las intervenciones son en tiempo presente, el pasado está ahí para ser sanado, es lo que te lleva a este momento de la estructura de la vida familiar,
pero a través de la toma de conciencia de la comunicación es en donde se puede superar el problema actual.
Para Bateson, antropólogo, los vinculos humanos necesitasn retroalimentación, y asevera que el sistema familiar perdura porque posee acciones correctivas,
a través del cambio de los errores producidos en la interacción de los integrantes del sistema.
Es muy interesante cómo la cibernética ha influenciado para la construcción del entendimiento del sistema familiar.

1. El pensamiento circular prevalece sobre el pensamiento lineal. Cuando observamos un sistema, todos sus elementos o circuitos están conectados. Ninguno elemento toma precedencia ni control sobre otro.

2. Abandonar la idea de causación. Difícilmente podemos hablar de la causa de un síntoma o trastorno.

3. Es más útil realizar interpretaciones positivas a las habituales negativas del comportamiento sintomático. En vez de suponer que el síntoma es una especie de indicador de familia disfuncional, debemos considerarlo como un factor que empuja a la familia hacia un estado nuevo y distinto.

4. Los procesos vitales siempre son irreversibles. Un cambio de un sistema nunca puede invertirse.

5. Los sistemas familiares son, como todos los sistemas abiertos, impredecibles. Los grandes cambios de sistemas nunca pueden preverse, aunque es útil evaluar las probabilidades.

6. La idea del terapeuta como “experto” de la familia ya no es útil, en el sentido que sabe mejor que la propia familia lo que es adecuado para ella.

7. Abandonar la idea tradicional de resistencia. El sistema familiar no “resiste”, sólo se comporta de acuerdo con su propia coherencia.

8. La familia es un sistema que se autorregula, mediante reglas, como sistema activo, toda tensión requerirá adaptación, objetivando incidencias de factores perturbadores. Don Jackson describió a la familia como un sistema cibernético gobernado por reglas, que busca la estabilidad a través de circuitos de retroalimentación (feedback) reactivados por errores. El síntoma psicológico lo describió, dicho autor, sirviendo a la función homeostática para conservar el equilibrio familiar (Vargas, 2004).

Su modelo estructural comprende a la familia como un sistema que tiende a la defensa de su estabilidad ante los cambios de condiciones e influencias internas y externas lo que suele favorecer la disfuncionalidad mediante mecanismos de mantenimiento del sufrimiento en la familia o de alguno de sus miembros. El restablecimiento de jerarquías, la formulación de límites claros, la definición de roles y funciones y la disolución de alianzas o triángulos ayudaría regresar a una estructura familiar funcional.

Todos, podemos vivir, con el otro. Pero ¿Queremos vivir con el otro?

            La posibilidad de dejar de observar, el mundo fragmentado, nos permite, interactuar como un todo. Dado que el fragmento de una organización familiar, no tiene noción de la existencia de los demás fragmentos que componen el todo, es tarea del terapeuta familiar, convocar los dones del orden en materia de universos psicológicos, teorías, investigaciones, técnicas de terapia, los sistemas, la cibernética, la estrategia, el desorden, el orden, todo lo posible para asociar lo disociado, de-fragmentar lo fragmentado.

            La familia en orden, en un orden amoroso, nuevo, donde no siempre se permanece juntos en la misma casa, en donde muchas veces existen familias ensambladas, “no perfectas” sino reales, viviendo una experiencia espiritual pero con un hogar efectivo y afectivo, en Paz mental y con un crecimiento posible en aras de una evolución en todos los terrenos, es la tarea del terapeuta familiar actual.

            La familia ofrece el caldo de cultivo para todos los procesos. El individual, el vincular, las jerarquías, las colisiones, las alianzas, la flexibilidad para cambiar o auto-ajustarse, re-encontrarse con su propia individualidad a través de la armonía, también de lo negativo, no así en la maldad (allí queda claro y es inexorable no se crece). Es un desafío el estudio de la energía familiar, es todo un acto de Auténtica Sinceridad. En una familia no se puede mentir demasiado tiempo lo que sentís o lo que sienten los demás integrantes. Como dijera Norberto Levy: “Todo ser vivo que recibe lo que necesita, se transforma”, entonces la familia es el máximo sentido que podemos encontrar para el encuentro de cooperar para vivir siendo creadores  y participantes de la existencia misma, viviendo en familia, cual fuera su composición, es un acto único, irremplazable, irrepetible, presente, la oportunidad de sentir, percibir y experimentar el TODO.

            Vivir en familia es una convocación a una afinación, que muchas veces solamente con la ayuda de un terapeuta, se puede lograr. Es un arte colaborar con otros para que se encuentren en sus procesos de comprensión, conocer cómo sus conductas afectan a los demás, y así mismos. Aspirar a que sea una célula que funcione en orden de vida y no de muerte, cual cáncer destructor. Insisto, la familia es un acto de Sanación, Evolución y Sinceridad.

            Nuestra obligación es liberar a las personas de las situaciones de sufrimiento, entre ellas a las familias compuestas por personas que sufren. Nuestro deber no es establecer lo que es correcto y lo que no: nuestro deber es ayudar al paciente a salir de una situación de impasse patológica, utilizando del mejor modo posible, es decir, de un modo funcional, sus propios recursos. (Muriana, 2011).

            El fundamento de una real terapia familiar puede concluirse en que nos definen nuestros vínculos, y como ¡No hay enamoramiento sin ilusión; no hay amor sin un poco de desilusión! Por lo cual debemos trabajar para que la realidad sea vista en todo su esplendor, otorgando a la familia en su conjunto y a cada integrante la posibilidad de experimentar la Familia como un acontecimiento sublime, un estado en donde el Alma encuentra Paz y Placer. Estudiemos para sanar, sanemos para evolucionar, evolucionemos para que otros evolucionen.

Ingeniera Violeta Cuñado
Alumna de Licenciatura en Psicología.

Author : Violeta Cunado
Degree : Bachelors
Major : Psychology
Country : Argentina
Language : Spanish

Educator spotlight: Can mathematics be fun?

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Educator spotlight: Can mathematics be fun?

Yossi Elran from the Davidson Institute, the educational arm of the Weizmann Institute of Science, certainly thinks so! He first ran his popular Maths Puzzles: Cryptarithms, Symbologies and Secret Codes course in May 2016. The course is now in its 12th run and it has since had a couple of siblings, An Introduction to Recreational Math: Fun, Games and Puzzles and Flexagons and the Math Behind Twisted Paper. 

Dr Elran heads Davidson’s Center for Innovation in Science Education, he founded Israel’s premier science website, Davidson Online, and he has led the international recreational project Math and Science by Mail Club. But what keeps him motivated to encourage and inspire thousands of learners from all over the world through his FutureLearn courses? In his own words “I just want everyone in the world to experience that uplifting “Aha” moment of discovery. You see, learning is the art of creation and discovery, and everyone can do it – in any field, especially mathematics. Passionate educators make great courses.”

Category
Research insights

Live, Learn, Teach

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Live, Learn, Teach

When it comes to her career, Louise loves to pack in as much variety as she can. From science, to business marketing, and now to secondary teaching, Louise is making sure that every day holds an opportunity to learn something new, and pass it onto others.

In high school, Louise gravitated toward all
things science. It felt only natural to continue on with it at university,
where she enrolled in a Bachelor of Science, and studied a wide variety of
subjects to keep her options open upon graduation. From there, a desire to
branch out led Louise to study a Graduate Diploma in Business Marketing.

Louise smiling with laptop

Before she knew it, Louise was going down a career path that was anything but linear. Her qualifications took her from marketing at Adidas, to a drug company to utilise her science knowledge, and onto a range of other roles. Eventually, she ended up working as an expedition guide, where she led (and continues to lead) tourists to breathtaking destinations, such as the Arctic, Antarctic and the Kimberley. Louise takes great pleasure in learning about aspects of each region she visits, like climate, land, oceans, and native creatures, to name a few.

Louise looking through telescope

Leading expeditions brought Louise to realise that it was not only gaining knowledge that she loved – but sharing it too. She enrolled herself into Curtin University’s Master of Teaching (Secondary Education), online through Open Universities Australia. She was able to enrol on the basis of having a Bachelor’s degree in the area of science, which she intended to teach at secondary level. While at first Louise felt intimidated by the idea of online study, it was the best solution to studying while travelling the world for work, and it quickly became a familiar and comfortable part of her day.

What Louise values most about her course is the
placements, of which she’ll undertake 4 times during her course. It gives her
the chance to apply her learnings and adjust them based on the real world
environment. “Putting all that information that I’ve been learning through my
subjects into a practical environment, has just cemented it all for me” says
Louise.

Louise teaching science class

Louise estimates it will be 5 years all up to complete her degree, but she’s grateful to be able to learn at her own pace – still able to fit in her work and other passions. Louise’s future students will be in good hands, and will no doubt be infected by her love of learning and zest for life.

Longing to shake things up?

While taking a linear career path may seem like the ‘done thing’, there’s nobody standing in the way of an exciting and highly varied work life. How can you make this a reality? Further education is a great place to start.

Through
Open Universities Australia (OUA) you can:

  • Find the right course – Choose from over 290 degrees and 1500 single subjects from universities across Australia.
  • Earn the same degree as on-campus – Enrol through us, then study online with your chosen uni (and graduate with them too).
  • Study, regardless of your history – Start with single undergraduate subjects without any entry requirements.
  • Gain credit towards your degree – Apply for credit for past study or work experience, and finish faster.
  • Feel supported from start to finish – Get help from a friendly student advisor, right through to graduation.

To express your interest in this course, or any that we offer – fill out the form on this page, and we’ll put you in touch with a friendly student advisor.

If you’re keen to explore on your own, simply head over to our website to browse the extensive catalogue of courses from universities across Australia.

Related courses through OUA:

Bachelor of Education (Primary Education) – Curtin University

Bachelor of Education (Early Childhood Education) – Curtin University

Master of Education – Griffith University

Master of Teaching (Birth to Five Years) – Macquarie University

See more