Concerns with the Test with High Specificity and Low Sensitivity
Specificity and sensitivity are inversely proportional; as the specificity increases, the sensitivity decreases. Baltzer et al. (2010) assert that specificity is the test’s ability to reflect absence of disease in the people without disease while sensitivity is the test’s ability to indicate disease when it is actually present. A test that is highly specific would give results with few false positives, while one with little sensitivity would easily miss detecting diseased subjects.
The Considerations in the Selection of the Test with High Sensitivity and Low Specificity
A test with high sensitivity would give results with few false negatives, meaning the test misses out very few actual cases. Tests that are highly sensitive have the greatest potential value to screen for a disease because often, they rarely miss out diseased subjects. On the other hand, the primary disadvantage of the lowly specific tests is that many disease-free subjects will test positive leading to a potential receivership of unnecessary therapeutic or diagnostic procedures that may be risky, possibly invasive or expensive (Baltzer et al., 2010).
Environmental Conditions that Affect People’s Health
The major environmental conditions affecting the health of the people in my community include ventilation, exposure to direct sunlight, sanitation, noise, diet, and psychological harm. While exposure to direct sunlight has a tangible and real effect on our bodies, poor sanitation is a direct source of infection. Moreover, for any recuperating sick individual, unnecessary noise is unhealthy. Further, should be avoided as well particularly in any hospital setting.
Safety of Well Water, Public Water, and Bottled Water
The safety of well water depends on the location of the well, how it is built, its maintenance, human activities around where it is located, and the quality of its aquifer supply. The well water should regularly be tested so that any arising problem is tended to. On the other hand, bottled water is safer as just like food; it is regulated by the FDA. Regarding public water, contamination can arise due to breakages into the water lines and thus, it is only safer to drink it when boiled. However, as much as boiled water is germ-free, things like pesticides, nitrates, and lead remain unaffected and often, their concentration even increases.
References
Baltzer, P. A., Benndorf, M., Dietzel, M., Gajda, M., Runnebaum, I. B., & Kaiser, W. A. (2010). False-positive findings at contrast- enhanced breast MRI: A BI-RADS descriptor study. American Journal of Roentgenology, 194(6), 1658-1663. doi:10.2214/AJR.09.3486.
