Childhood Trauma

My early years were fairly normal until the age of twelve.  My family frequently helped out people in need and many times people would move in with us until they could get back on their feet.  My family took in a young couple in their early thirties that had a 3 month old girl.  I do not know how long they lived with us but Bill and my father became close friends.  Bill molested me over a period of months.  Even after I finally told about what he was doing, he and his family were frequent visitors to my home.  My sister and my father were the only family members I spoke to about this.  I was told not to tell my mother due to her health issues.  My father blamed me and asked me what I did to provoke a 33 year old to molest me.  I began to act out and not wanting to spend much time at my home.  One day after I had run away again, my father tells me that he is thinking about putting me up for adoption.  He took me to a religious counselor where we were told I was too old to be adopted and so I was brought back home knowing that I wasn't wanted.  Anytime there was a family problem, it was my fault.  My sisters would tell me that I was an obscenity and didn't have the right to be alive.  My sisters are 7 and 9 years older than me.  While I lived in Connecticut, my friends were my support system.  Two of my friends were also victims of incest.  I would spend much of my summers visiting friends back in Connecticut but it wasn't the same.  After moving to Florida, it was difficult for me to make friends but eventually did so.  I kept my past to myself and one of my friend's family took me in on Thanksgivings.  My parents would go away for Thanksgiving.  While living in Connecticut, Thanksgiving was a family event with my aunt, my uncle and cousins.  I finally went to mental health counselor when I was 18 and only because a school counselor referred me.  I was  diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder.   When I was 24, my father told me that he had only been joking about putting me up for adoption when I was a teenager.  I have been in and out of counseling throughout most of my early adulthood and still have difficulty at times dealing with stress.  My family and I don't spend a lot of time together.  I love them but we still can be quite hurtful to each other.  They don't know the person I've become and when I do go visit them, I don't really know how to act around them.

Childhood sexual abuse occurs everywhere. Israel is responding to increases in sexual and physical abuse of children and teens by setting up comprehensive care centers.  The first such center opened at Sheba Hospital in 2009 (Eglash, 2009).  This center is similar to the 600 such centers in the United States (Eglash, 2009).  At the center, which treats children from 3 to 18 years old, medical, legal and social services will be provided Eglesh, 2009).  In 2008, there was a 12% increase in investigated child abuse cases (Eglash, 2009). Poverty is another stressor that children in Israel may face.  Israel is one of 35 countries that belong to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and 26.6% of children live in poverty.  This is the highest rate of children living in poverty of OECD members(Eglash, 2011).    Children in Israel can also suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder due to war.

Eglash, Ruth (2009, May 17). Israel's first center for child abuse victims to open this Tuesday. Jerusalem Post p 8
Retreived from http://proquest.umi.com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/pqdweb?index=22&did=1663706361&SrchMode=1&sid=1&Fmt=3&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1311353629&clientId=70192

Eglash, Ruth (2011, May 4). Child poverty here highest in OECD. Jerusalem Post, p 4.  Retrieved from http://proquest.umi.com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/pqdweb?index=50&did=2341570671&SrchMode=1&sid=1&Fmt=3&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1311492859&clientId=70192

Immunizations in Israel

I have wanted to visit Israel and possibly live there as well so I decided to research immunizations there. Since the early 1990's, a vaccine for hepatitis A and Haemophilus influenzae b have been required for children.  Haemophilus influenzae b  (Hib) is the underlying cause of invasive infections and bacteria meningitis in children (Dagan, Fraser, Roitman, etal, 1999).  Before 1993, there was an average of 170 cases per year of invasive infectious diseases caused by Hib (Dagan, Fraser, Roitman, etal, 1999).  After the vaccine was required for 2, 4 and 12 month olds in 1994, the incidence of Hib breakouts declined by 96% in under 5 years and there were no deaths from Hib (Dagan, Fraser, Roitman, etal, 1999).  This study was the first of its kind outside of the US and western Europe yet it does have implications for the world.    Israel is the first country to require a hepatitis A vaccine and it is administered in two doses given at 18 and 24 months (Chodick, Green, Heymann, et al, 2007). Hepatitis A was endemic and is under reported in Israel (Chodick, Green, Heymann, et al, 2007).  Hepatitis is endemic in most developing countries.  Since 1999 when the hepatitis A vaccine became required, there was significant decrease in cases across ages (Chodick, Green, Heymann, et al, 2007).  

Based on what I have learned, I will definitely encourage parents to vaccinate their children while being sensitive to their fears about possible side effects from them.  I definitely believe efforts need to continue and increase to make vaccinations available to children in developing nations.  

Dagan, Ron, Fraser, Drora, Roitman, Malvina, Slater, Paul, Anis, Emilia, et al, (1999, January).  Effectiveness of a nationwide infant immunization program against Haemophilus influenzae b. Vaccine 17 (2) 134-141  Retrieved from http://www.sciencedirect.com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/science/article/pii/S0264410X98001650

Chodick, Gabriel, Green, Manfred, Heymann, Anthony, Rosenmann, Lena, Shelev, Varda (2007, November). The shifting epidemiology of hepatitis A following routine childhood immunization program in Israel. Preventive medicine 45(5) 386-391.  Retrieved from http://www.sciencedirect.com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/science/article/pii/S0091743507002356