Geri
Spear

The Debate Over the Use of Antibiotics in Animal Agriculture

July 26th, 2010

antibiotic-resistance-image

Last week I traveled to Capitol Hill to hear testimony before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce regarding the use of antibiotics in animal agriculture. After making my way through a crowd of PETA advocates and security, I entered the Rayburn Building and was shocked to find that there was already a line down the hall-I knew then I was in for an interesting afternoon.

So what was all the fuss about? The House Subcommittee on Health hearing on July 14th was focused on issues surrounding the industrial farming practice of routinely incorporating low dose concentrations of antibiotics in the feed and water of healthy food animals for growth promotion, feed efficiency, and other uses where the animal has not been exposed to disease. This is a topic my colleagues have discussed on the FSB in the past.

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Posted in Congress, Food Policy and Nutrition, Public Health
By GeriSpear | No Comments »

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Jon
Mandel

OB/GYN 2.0

July 26th, 2010

I recently read a USA Today entitled "Some doctors join Facebook, Twitter; others wary," which has sparked another debate about health care going digital. Dr. Jeff Livingston, a certified obstetrician and gynecologist, is using social media to promote his practice, MacArthur OB/GYN, and create a public platform for a subject matter that quite often is stigmatized as too confidential and personal to discuss. As he notes in the article, he isn't publishing personal health information online, but instead shares helpful articles and advice that he believes would benefit his followers and fans. macarthur-ob-gyn-facebook

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Posted in Health 2.0, Social Media, Tweets, Women's Health
By Jon Mandel | No Comments »

 
Tonique
Heaven

Games That Changes Lives, Part II

July 22nd, 2010

Last month, in Part I of this post, I discussed the "Games for Change & Health Workshop: Brainstorming and Game Design Jam for HIV/AIDS" that Spectrum hosted during Digital Capital Week. In part one, I covered the discussion on HIV/AIDS that took place and how a video game could be created to educate others on the disease. In this post, I'll explore turning an idea for a game into reality.

After an in-depth discussion on the HIV/AIDS epidemic and a brief introduction of video game basics and strategy, Limor Schmafman, president of Keystone Tech and chief instigator of Games Gateway, led the group's brainstorming session. I was excited to turn our newfound knowledge into a game that could actually make a difference in the growing HIV epidemic. The group had a healthy debate on the focus of the game: Should the game focus on HIV in DC or on a more global level? Is the target audience those who are already infected or is it people who might be unaware of HIV's prevalence in the United States? Should the game be explicit or more abstract? Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Disease Awareness, Infectious Disease
By ToniqueHeaven | No Comments »

 
ErinTurner
Erin
Turner

Preliminary Dietary Guidelines for Americans Announced

July 1st, 2010

Growing up, I remember sitting in health class learning about the food pyramid with its chunky base of pasta and breads - a pyramid that is hardly reflective of the war on carbs that seems to be popular as of late. With very few adults having access to a health class of any sort on the latest nutrition information and hundreds of individuals sharing conflicting information on "the way," where does one turn when trying to determine what's the healthiest way to eat? The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has an answer: the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

Last week, USDA and HHS released the preliminary version of the latest guidelines, which are updated every five years to help Americans determine the right foods they need to fuel an active, healthy lifestyle and reduce their risk of chronic disease. The new guidelines, which have been in development since the panel of 13 expert medical and scientific researchers first met in late 2008, recommend a significant decrease in salt, fat and sugar intake and place a greater emphasis on a plant-based diet than did the 2005 guidelines. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Food Policy and Nutrition
By ErinTurner | No Comments »

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Tonique
Heaven

Gaming That Changes Lives, Part I

June 30th, 2010

I was very intrigued when I first heard about the "Games for Change" effort that is taking shape in the United States. Games that don't just entertain but educate and foster understanding and social change - I thought it was a fascinating idea. But when I sat in on the "Games for Change & Health Workshop: Brainstorming and Game Design Jam for HIV/AIDS" for Digital Capital Week, I was floored. The workshop, hosted by Spectrum, aimed to educate attendees on HIV/AIDS and "edu-gaming." And, in doing so, supply them with the knowledge to conceptualize video games that could help a variety of audiences better understand HIV/AIDS in Washington, D.C. and around the world. You can watch the live stream of the event in our DC Week video archives.

Two of our panel speakers - David Phillips, an information governance contractor at The National Institutes of Health, and Justin Goforth, RN, Director of Medical Adherence Unit and STD Services, Whitman Walker Clinic - were extremely educated on the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Before delving into the gaming aspect, they introduced the hard hitting facts of the virus. After all, we need to know the subject matter before we could brainstorm about the game. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Disease Awareness, Health 2.0, Infectious Disease, Technology
By ToniqueHeaven | 1 Comment »

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jseng
John
Seng

Getting Hip To Stopping Diabetes

June 29th, 2010
Photo by Michael Murphy

Photo by Michael Murphy

I spent this past Father's Day morning riding 20 miles with my son Bobby on our bikes in the National Capital Tour de Cure in Reston, Virginia. No breakfast in bed for me!

Over the past eight years, Spectrum has sponsored our "Spokes Persons" team in the American Diabetes Association's annual ride to stop diabetes. Tour de Cure rides take place throughout the U.S. each year.

Diabetes is not a "sexy" or trendy disease. It's not as socially "hip" as breast cancer, in the sense that hundreds of thousands of people walk or run or ride to raise hundreds of millions of dollars that flow to diabetes research and survivor organizations, as happens with breast cancer. What's breast cancer got that diabetes doesn't?

For starters, breast cancer deeply scares people, affects mostly women, tugs at our emotions, and generally gets our attention in a big way when we hear about a friend or family member with a diagnosis. And breast cancer reigns supreme among awareness, advocacy and funding.

Too far down the respect scale, too many of the people afflicted with or at risk of diabetes don't understand the severity of the illness. There's a lack of fear due to a lack of education, real appreciation for the devastation diabetes can cause. We are nationally unobsessed with diabetes, unfortunately. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Chronic Disease, Disease Awareness, Fundraising
By John Seng | 3 Comments »

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