Viagra Cure for Erectile Dysfunction

Postpartum Weight Loss- Exercise While You’re Cooking

May 28, 2008 on 10:55 pm | In Uncategorized | Comments Off

So you want to exercise but you just don’t feel that you have the time?  I say, “Fit it in whenever, and wherever you can!”  While you’re cooking you can strengthen and tone your calfs by doing calf lifts.  Begin standing with your feet shoulder width apart.  As you lift up on to the balls of your feet tighten your buttocks.  Repeat for 10-20 reps.  On the second set bring your feet all the way together.  As you raise up onto the balls of your feet sqeeze your inner thigh muscles and your buttocks.  Repeat for 10-20 reps.  For set three stay on the balls of your feet and pluse with your feet shoulder width for ten and ten pulses feet together.  While you pulse continue to tighten your buttocks.

Prenatal Yoga- Your Baby and Your Breath

May 27, 2008 on 11:24 pm | In Uncategorized | Comments Off

Prenatal yoga is a wonderful way to connect with your baby.  Try this simple breathing exercise for deeper connection:  Sit comfortably and place one hand on your belly and the other on your heart center.  Focus on sending love and compassion from your heart to your baby.  Notice your babies movement.  Become aware of the love you feel for your baby.

Healthy People 2020: National agenda shifts to risks, roots of disease

May 27, 2008 on 1:39 am | In Uncategorized | Comments Off When Robert E. Harrington, director of the Casper-Natrona County Health Dept. in Wyoming, started working in 2000 to steer his community toward meeting Healthy People 2010 goals, he knew he would have to pick and choose key priorities if any progress were to be achieved. Otherwise, the document -- a version of which has been issued by the Dept. of Health and Human Services at the beginning of each decade since 1980 to set national health objectives -- was just too overwhelming.

"We tried to use Healthy People 2010, but it was just too big of an elephant to swallow," he said.

The first edition of Healthy People laid out 226 objectives. Healthy People 2000 had 312. By the time Healthy People 2010 was issued, it attempted to tackle 467 objectives, with some items having as many as 28 parts. Subjects ranged from diabetes and mental health to health care access, along with myriad others. But, in recognition that the marching orders have become unwieldy, Healthy People 2020 is expected to be trimmed down.

"As the nation was developing the obesity epidemic, so was Healthy People. ... We need to be more focused to allocate our resources better," said Carter R. Blakey, HHS senior adviser and leader of the community strategies team. She spoke at an April 30 regional meeting in Chicago -- one of six across the country. The events are designed to gain input for the now-under-construction Healthy People 2020 from various health organizations as well as the general public. Comments also are being taken online (www.healthypeople.gov/hp2020/comments).

Officials say the push to streamline the document likely will be achieved by shifting away from disease-specific goals to those that affect risks for several medical conditions. For example, goals in Healthy People 2010 included reducing the rates of diabetes, end-stage renal disease and cardiovascular death, although some specific strategies overlapped.

Nonetheless, experts recognize that, because of how public health works, it will not be possible to pay attention exclusively to risk.

"Focusing on risk is a great idea, but we're not organized like that," said Blakey. "We're organized categorically. We're going to move in that direction, but at the same time we still recognize the need to pay attention to specific conditions."

Those involved in the revamp want to go beyond eliminating health disparities to achieving health equity and addressing environmental factors that may be interfering with the realization of some goals. Healthy People 2020 also is expected to establish objectives that take into account how the definition of health and wellness changes over a person's lifespan.

"My experience is that people often pay attention to specific populations -- children or adolescents or the elderly. We need to think about health across the life stages," said Patrick Remington, MD, MPH, professor of population health sciences at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health in Madison.

Gathering input

Officials are seeking input from more diverse sources than in previous editions. An interagency work group includes representatives from federal agencies both in and out of HHS.

While past editions have taken public comment into account, for the first time outside experts, including Dr. Remington and several other physicians, have been selected to form the Secretary's Advisory Committee on National Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Objectives for 2020.

"We have to do a better job of breaking down our silos, and, if we want people to work with us after the objectives are released, we need to work with them now," said Blakey.

At the Chicago meeting, those weighing in on the process expressed concern about impediments to achieving the initiative's goals. For example, an AMA representative testified about barriers to having physicians more involved in prevention.

"We need to look at a lot of the obstacles and how we can overcome them," said Richard A. Yoast, PhD, director of the AMA's Office of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse.

For Healthy People 2010, the AMA had in place a memorandum of understanding with HHS to disseminate the document to physicians and to work toward implementation of interventions in the health care setting that would help achieve its goals.

Significant focus also surrounded the idea that a lack of access to care is hindering progress.

"Healthy People has set up some lofty goals, but they have no chance of being met unless we increase access," said Julia Olsta, a registered nurse and the health services community liaison for School District U-46 in suburban Chicago. In her 90-square-mile geographic area, for instance, no facilities were willing to provide eyeglasses to children who were unable to pay for them out of pocket or with private insurance. Also, only two dentists were willing to accept children on any form of public health insurance.

Minority health experts expressed an interest in developing goals specific to various races and ethnicities and not based on those set for Caucasians. They also wanted to better define the concept of health equity and to take into account genetic differences, such as the African-American predisposition for sickle cell anemia.

In addition, gay health advocates lobbied for the addition of questions about sexual orientation in the various survey tools public health officials use to assess progress. Questions about age, gender, race and ethnicity already are standard, and Healthy People 2010 was accompanied by the "Companion Document for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Health." Those proposing this change say the information gleaned will increase the visibility of disparities associated with sexual orientation.

The framework and overarching goals for 2020 will be released by the beginning of next year. The full Healthy People 2020 will be published in 2010.

State health reform efforts may help resolve disparity issues

May 27, 2008 on 1:39 am | In Uncategorized | Comments Off Washington -- With about half of the states exploring health system reform, now also is the time to address health care disparities, said researchers at a May 12 Capitol Hill briefing.

The event was sponsored by the Alliance for Health Reform, a nonprofit, nonpartisan group in Washington, D.C., and the Commonwealth Fund, a private foundation in New York City.

Inequities in the quality of care provided to minority patients have long been recognized. These differences were documented in two Institute of Medicine reports, "Crossing the Quality Chasm: A New Health System for the 21st Century," published in 2001, and "Unequal Treatment: Confronting Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Care," in 2002.

Since then, the elimination of these disparities has been the goal of several medical groups, including the AMA, which heads the Commission to End Health Care Disparities with the National Medical Assn.

Ensuring full access to health care means promoting the concept of a medical home, streamlining enrollment for public health insurance programs, promoting diversity among health care professionals and cultural and linguistic competence in health systems, said Brian D. Smedley, PhD, research director and co-founder of the Opportunity Agenda, an organization that addresses barriers to care. He was also the study director for the "Unequal Treatment" report.

Anne Beal, MD, MPH, assistant vice president of the Commonwealth Fund's Program on Quality of Care for Underserved Populations, noted that there are many causes of disparities, including genetic predispositions to diseases and patients who fail to follow treatment instructions. However, the "biggest bang for the buck" toward reducing disparities would be achieved if access to care is improved, adequate insurance coverage provided and the quality of care bolstered.

The art of warning: Eye-catching images portray public health dangers

May 27, 2008 on 1:39 am | In Uncategorized | Comments Off Luscious and wonderful images that spread like a virus to inoculate people against disease -- these are words curator Michael Sappol, PhD, used to describe the pictures included in the upcoming National Academies' exhibit, "An Iconography of Contagion: 20th-Century Health Posters and the Visual Representation of Infectious Disease." Dr. Sappol is a historian at the National Library of Medicine of the National Institutes of Health.

"These are rich, cultural documents," he said, and they provide insights into the interplay between the public understanding of disease and society's values.

The show, which will be on display beginning this month in Washington, D.C., explores the use of these images since the early 1900s.

Over the years, public health posters have focused on a range of new and old diseases -- from tuberculosis and syphilis to HIV/AIDS. They communicated messages about infection control and prevention and aimed to alter behavior and public perceptions. But these historic images become even more striking when considered in the context of the eras during which they first appeared.

"The posters reflect the fears and concerns of the time and also the knowledge that was available," explained Mary Wilson, MD, an associate clinical professor at Harvard Medical School and of population and international health at the Harvard School of Public Health, Boston.

This dynamic is evident in the portrayals of disease vectors. Some World War II-era posters warning of malaria depicted mosquitoes with Japanese features, "giving the illness the face of an enemy," Dr. Sappol said. Another example he offered is a syphilis poster from the same period. It featured an image of an alluring woman who also is scary in a sexually aggressive way, while ignoring the fact that men were equally culpable in spreading the disease, he said.

But the HIV/AIDS posters of the 1980s were an "enormous breakthrough," he added. They sought to destigmatize the disease carriers instead of making them the focus of wariness and caution.

The emergence of an art form

Posters as a form of mass communication first emerged in Western and Central Europe in the mid-1800s. Soon after, this approach became a cutting-edge form of advertising. Vibrant, eye-catching announcements publicizing everything from theatrical events to politics papered public spaces -- in part because of advancements in photography, color and design techniques, as well as mass production.

It was "a moment in visual culture when images began proliferating," Dr. Sappol said. "People were barraged by pictures trying to get them to do things. Public health crusaders at this time were also trying to mobilize the public. The two forces came together."

Ultimately, the use of posters became a mainstay of such efforts.

Whether urging people to carry handkerchiefs, use condoms, refrain from drinking unsanitary water or get vaccinated, through the years the posters have employed a mix of rational arguments and emotional images. To the extent that they tap into people's fears and belief systems, they can educate and change behavior -- but first they must get public attention, Dr. Wilson said.

For now, the early 20th-century dream that the medium would be part of more coordinated and cumulative health campaigns seems far away. The crusaders at that time had hoped that visual representations would lead "the public to act to address the problems in their own bodies and their own communities, and to build political support for government action and medical intervention," Dr. Sappol said.

Still, Dr. Wilson noted that "images remain extremely powerful in shaping perceptions and actions, though now we receive more images through different media, including electronically. ... Cartoons, covers of magazines, brochures and certainly advertisements all shape our actions and beliefs in ways that we are often unaware of."

Though the posters included in the exhibit are entertaining to view, in their heyday they sought to complete serious educational missions that were matters of life and death.

"These [deal with] terrible diseases," Dr. Sappol said -- a fact he hopes people will keep in mind. Otherwise, he added, because of the interest and beauty of the posters, the exhibit could "just be too much fun."