Posts Tagged ‘health’

Anthony
LaFauce

mHealth is the Future

Monday, August 16th, 2010

welldocWellDoc, a company focused on developing next generation medical tools, announced that the FDA has approved its DiabetesManager System. I can hear you now, “what’s the big deal? There are plenty of those on the market already.” The key to this new system is that it delivers real-time monitoring results to a person’s mobile phone.

Again, is it really that great of a tool? The DiabetesManager System also links directly to the patient’s caregiver via the patient’s phone and can provide automated health updates. HIPA you say? Well the company’s press release says nothing about privacy issues, but because this is an ‘opt in’ program that communicates directly with a patient’s caregiver, the information passed is no different than a patient calling his or her caregiver.

After a quick read-through of the WellDoc’s site, I was able to read that the information captured is held in a highly secure database that only allows for approved member access. I understand the need for HIPA, but on the other hand I understand the need to provide healthcare information on the go. (more...)

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Jessica
Gordon

Spectrum Celebrates Men's Health Week

Friday, June 18th, 2010

mhwAs a rising college senior studying Public Health with a concentration in Women's Health, I find myself researching a wide range of women's health issues:  sex education, HPV, cervical cancer, breast cancer, pregnancy, menopause, birth control and much more. In fact, I could probably discuss the HPV vaccine controversies in my sleep! I believe that educating women about their health is a form of women's empowerment.  So, when I set out to write my first blog post as an intern for Spectrum, I assumed it would be about one of the women's health issues described above; however, this post is in honor of the opposite sex - men.

This week is Men's Health Week. As a public health advocate, I appreciate that men take a vested interest in monitoring their health. National Men's Health Week was created to advocate and educate people about early detection and treatment of diseases that affect men and boys.  Those supporting Men's Health Week sport the color blue to spread the knowledge about this important  week to health care providers, policy makers, the media and individuals like myself.  Much like National Women's Health Week, it isn't just a "woman's" issue or "men's" issue - health issues of men and women affect everyone. 

If there's anything that a public health student knows, it's that "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."  So, as we approach Father's Day this weekend, I encourage you to wear blue and speak out about men's health issues not only this week, but during the remainder of the year. 

You can find more information about National Men's Health Week here.

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Maggie
Schmerin

Spectrum To Host Free DC Week Event: Games for Change & Health - Brainstorming and Game Design Jam for HIV/AIDS

Friday, June 11th, 2010

dcweek2010-320Spectrum is excited to help kick-off Digital Capital Week, by hosting "Games for Change & Health Workshop: Brainstorming and Game Design Jam for HIV/AIDS" on Monday from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. at our K Street office

Video games are said to be extremely effective when designed to address a specific problem or teach a certain skill, where clear objectives can be stated and when deployed selectively within a context relevant to the learning activity and goal.

This workshop will give attendees knowledge about HIV/AIDS and "edu-gaming" - creating video games for an educational purpose - and attendees will work together to conceptualize video games which could help a variety of audiences better understand HIV/AIDS in Washington, D.C. and around the world. 

To register to attend this free workshop, click here.

Let the gaming begin!

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Molly
Poarch

The Team Approach to Breast Cancer Care

Monday, May 17th, 2010

Upon learning that she has breast cancer a woman is immediately faced with a series of key decisions and a challenging road ahead. Often, her physician plays an important role in helping her navigate the many stages of treatment that may involve surgery (such as a lumpectomy or mastectomy), radiation and chemotherapy.

In the face of so many difficult emotional and physical decisions, many women do not immediately think about breast reconstruction surgery. And, unfortunately, neither do their physicians.

A 2007 study from the University of Michigan Medical Center shows that nearly 70 percent of women who are eligible for breast reconstruction are not fully informed of their options related to surgery. The study found that “most general surgeons do not discuss reconstruction with their breast cancer patients before surgical treatment. ” However, when this discussion does occur, it significantly impacts a woman’s treatment choice. In fact, she is more likely to choose mastectomy.chronic_disease

For many women, if they are informed about their choices, they can choose to have a mastectomy and reconstructive breast surgery at the same time. For the patient, this means less surgery, which cuts down on hospital time and recovery time—significant factors for anyone, but especially a cancer patient.

Recently, Spectrum helped the Society for Women’s Health Research partner with the American Society of Plastic Surgeons to host a roundtable discussion with members of the media, breast cancer survivors, patient advocacy organizations and medical professionals to discuss the importance of cancer care professionals working as a team and presenting a woman with all of her options at the outset of her diagnosis. They call this the “Team Approach” to breast cancer care.

(more...)

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Women's
Health

Women's Wednesday: Censoring the V-Word

Wednesday, March 31st, 2010

The recent launch of the U by Kotex campaign has sparked somewhat of a debate over the use of the v-word: vagina. The New York Times reports that the agency producing the new ads about tampons, pads and liners was informed by three broadcast networks that it could not use the word vagina, so it shot the ad with the actress saying "down there," which was also rejected by two of the three networks.

A recent MediaPost article cites a study conducted online in August 2009 by Harris Interactive on behalf of Kotex, finding that among more than 1,600 North American women ages 14-35, 7 in 10 women believe it's time for society to change how it talks about vaginal health, yet less than half (45%) feel empowered to make a difference.

It's interesting that in a time when there is so much emphasis placed on women's health - especially with recent campaigns to increase awareness about HPV and cervical cancer - vagina is a word that is still avoided. Every woman has one, and it obviously affects our lives on a monthly basis, to say the least, as the new ad points out in its parody on typical commercials about tampons. (more...)

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Women's
Health

Women’s Wednesday: Paging Dr. Patient

Wednesday, March 24th, 2010

As society today trends towards e-patients where self-diagnosis is a mouse click away and Twitter is the new Yellow Pages for doctors, will health Web sites be the new "standard of care"? It's safe to say that there is no shortage of dedicated health communities, particularly ones geared towards women, such as FitSugar and EmpowHER. Not to be left in the dust, iVillage, one of the largest Web sites for women, with almost 38 million page views per month, entered into the women's health space with the launch of iVillage Health last Thursday.

iVillage Health proves itself to be a useful resource for someone seeking health information-or for self-proclaimed hypochondriacs. The site offers a Tool Kit packed full with digital tools including the very thorough Symptom Checker, Drug Lookup and Calorie Tracker. In addition to tools, the health portal also features new content from the Cleveland Clinic and health news provider Healthwise. The cherry on top is "The Care Circle," which allows users to create customized health profiles in order to receive expert advice delivered directly to a personalized homepage.

In conjunction with the launch of the Web portal, iVillage released results of a Harris Interactive online survey which demonstrated how women rely on the Internet as a health resource.  Specifically, nearly half of women who responded (49%) said they'd go online first to research a health question, close to double the number that said they'd go to the doctor first (25%). In addition, the poll found that anonymous peer networking and sharing common experiences is what drives women online for health matters, with four out of five women saying there are reasons to feel uncomfortable when discussing health concerns or questions with friends or family members. (more...)

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