Posts Tagged ‘CDC’

CMorrison
Catherine
Morrison

Evidence Based Menus

Friday, October 9th, 2009

"Is there a healthy future? Obesity and with it diabetes are getting worse. The human and financial costs are enormous. There is emerging evidence based on how to address obesity both from a public health standpoint and from a policy standpoint. I do not think that we can wait for perfect evidence and in fact I think the existence of evidence will be facilitated by action with programs which are implemented and then rigorously evaluated. The question I think before us and what we have to weigh as a group as we consider the weight of the nation is whether we as a society are willing to take the actions necessary to reverse the epidemic of obesity."

That was Dr. Thomas Frieden, Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in July of this year at the first ever conference on obesity, The Weight of the Nation, in Washington, DC.  The statement struck me at the time, because the public health community - particularly the academic side - is very focused on the need for evidence.  However, sometimes, you just have to try something and see if it works. The current obesity epidemic couldn't provide better justification for trying new ideas.

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Posted in Public Affairs, Public Health
By CMorrison | No Comments »

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mcover
Michael
Cover

In a Pandemic, Early Intervention Can Save Lives

Thursday, September 3rd, 2009

As we learn more about the evolving situation with regard the H1N1 strain of influenza circulating around the world, it is useful to look to our past experiences with pandemic influenza to learn and apply any lessons that can help mitigate sickness and death.

Let's call this a tale of two cities...in the 1918 Spanish Influenza epidemic, a minimum of 50 million people around the world died from the flu or from secondary infection. But not all localities experienced the same death rate, largely due to the public health guidance that was followed in that specific area. In the US, St. Louis and Philadelphia had vastly different outcomes, despite the fact that the same strain of influenza infected their communities.

In 1918, there were no influenza vaccines or antivirals and limited international travel. The public health responses were limited to isolating the ill, quarantining houses, closing schools, canceling worship services, restricting the size of funerals and weddings, closing saloons and theaters, restricting door-to-door sales, discouraging the use of public transportation, staggering the hours of business and factory operations, imposing curfews and, in some places, recommending the use of face masks in public.

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Posted in Disease Awareness, Public Health
By Michael Cover | No Comments »

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Spectrum

Something’s Gotta Give, But What Will It Take?

Monday, August 24th, 2009

At the end of July, the Spectrum team attended the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Weight of the Nation conference, which featured public health experts, medical personnel, and policymakers, coming together to discuss obesity in America. The conference - the CDC's first on the topic - was a direct response to the fast growing epidemic of obesity in America. For example:

  • More than 60 percent of American adults and 30 percent of American children are overweight and obese, which can lead to many chronic health risks, including diabetes, heart disease, and hypertension, and
  • The United States ranks last among nations in reducing the number of preventable deaths resulting from obesity-related chronic illnesses (CDC).

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Posted in Congress, Disease Awareness, Health Policy, Public Affairs
By Spectrum | No Comments »

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Spectrum

Catching Swine Flu. Vector: Social Media

Wednesday, April 29th, 2009

Swine Flu, or H1N1 Virus, is spreading like wildfire - online, that is.

Beyond the tsunami of news coverage and buzz in the blogosphere, swine flu is demonstrating the power, efficiency and ramifications of digital media - well, at least in times of an impending pandemic. Although we are still in the midst of the crisis, it's interesting to see how organizations are using social media and digital technology in response.

To put things into perspective, Neilson Online found that online conversations about swine flu are doubling daily and the topic had been discussed on nearly six percent of blogs, news sites and forums by Tuesday morning. In addition, since April 24th, over 13,400 tweets had been tagged with #SwineFlu (the hash tag @CDCemergency is using) on Twitter, and that doesn't include the other tags people are using! According to MSNBC, the topic accounted for nearly two percent of all tweets during the past few days. 140 characters or not, that's a lot of conversations.

In addition, HHS responded by creating a Swine widget, which provides a graphic with links to the most recent CDC Swine Flu Info, and Google has launched a useful interactive map charting the course of the flu. John Brownstein, a physician at Children's Hospital Boston, along with fellow CHB computer scientist Clark Friefeld, also created the HealthMap swine flu tracking service, which was recently modified to include Twitter updates. All this within the last week!

The speed at which organizations are utilizing social media to transmit their swine flu messages, as well as the rate people are consuming that information, is incredible. However, a conversation about the utility and benefits of digital technology and social media in times of crisis cannot ignore the potential of the tools to be used to rapidly propagate misinformation, as well as the need to monitor the conversations and engage if necessary.

As updates emerge hourly (the swine flu Wikipedia page was updated 60 times between 10 a.m. and 11 a.m.) response to the spread of the virus, the Centers For Disease control acted quickly, updating their homepage and creating a special section solely for updates and information on swine flu that includes key facts, related items and the ability to share/post the page to social bookmarking and social networking sites. Buzz activity about the CDC mirrors closely the buzz surrounding both health scares. - Neilson Online

During times of crisis, digital technology and social media can provide valuable platforms to transmit messages efficiently. However, it's important to remember that these tools don't discriminate on the source, validity and value of information being shared. This is why organizations with vested interests involved during a crisis should not only transmit, but also monitor, engage and participate in the online space to ensure the truth trumps speculation and hearsay.

Chris Rottler, Digital Strategist & Account Executive

Posted in Disease Awareness, New Media, Technology, Tweets
By Spectrum | No Comments »

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