A case of really bad science

I don't use the term " bad science," lightly, as it implies that "good science" is always pure and politics-free, which I don't think it the case. All science is political, whether it is "good" or "bad." But in the case I discuss below, the scientific evidence was clearly overlooked because of politics.

What is the case I'm talking about? The FDA decision to not make the morning-after pill available over-the-counter. It turns out FDA administrators made their decision to ban it before they had read all of the scientific evidence about the efficacy and safety about the drug.

Here's a CNN story about the case. http://www.cnn.com/2005/HEALTH/11/14/morningafter.pill.ap/index.html

Given the current administration's track record when it comes to matters of women's health, I can't say I am surprised by this report.

Go Frist!

I never thought I'd hear myself utter those words, but stranger things have happened.

Conservative Senator Bill Frist (R-TN) has broken away from Bush to come out in support for embryonic stem cell research. Click here to read all about it.

I'll be back soon

I just wanted to let you all know that I will be blogging again soon. I have had a writing deadline to meet for work so I haven't had much time to blog. The article will be sent off on Friday, so stay tuned.

The Real CSI

Paul and I finished watching the first four seasons of CSI on DVD last week. Out of the 92 episodes that we saw, only one episode dealt with a case that the CSIs couldn't solve.

Here's a story about two real life crime scence investigations--one case is solved and the other is not. In real life, there's probably a lot more unsolved cases like the latter one than what CSI depicts. However, the type of work that the criminalists do on CSI is very much like the work described in this article.

Good news for chocolate lovers, sort of

Another study has come out demonstrating that the flavanoids in cocoa may are good for your heart. When it comes to chocolate products, the dark variety has the highest concentration of these flavanoids (In fact, the aforementioned study actually used dark chocolate to measure the positive benefits of flavanoids). Milk chocolate has fewer flavanoids, and white chocolate has virtually none.

So what does this mean for chocoholics like myself? Researchers aren't sure, since even dark chocolate is high in fat and sugar, both of which are certainly not good for your heart. So while researchers try to figure this one out and determine what healthy amounts of dark chocolate would actually be, let's hope that the news media doesn't do their usual oversimplified and hyped up reporting, as this would inevitably makes chocolate consumption seem like the next magic bullet when it comes to heart health. Because then we may have to worry about the "dark chocolate diet" becoming the next low carb or low fat fad. Can you imagine?

Are scientists really that uncool?

It appears that Americans don't think that scientists are very cool. Go figure. My guess is that the people who were surveyed just haven't watched much CSI, a forensics drama show that features a number of very beautiful science geeks (both men and women). In addition, through the use of these beautiful people, artful lighting, and edgy ambient music, the show is able to make DNA sampling, footprint measuring, and even dust collecting look like sexy and intriguing work.

Racism in biomedicine...

Yes, it does exist.

Another reason to avoid HRT

Two years ago, a landmark study called the Women's Health Initiative found that hormone replacement therapy (HRT) was not the wonder drug that the pharmaceutical industry and many doctors made it out to be. The drug was found to increase the risk of not only breast cancer but also heart disease (The latter finding was particularly troubling because HRT makers had been touting for years how the drug protected women from this condition). When these health risks began to emerge during the multi-year study, researchers told the study participants who were taking HRT to stop their treatment. And that ended the HRT portion of the study.

But not quite. Researchers then realized that by telling women to stop taking HRT, they would be able to ask a new research question: when women went off HRT, would their menopause symptoms return or not? It turns out that they did return. Rather than eliminating menopausal symptoms in these women, HRT just delayed them. As Dr. Judith Ockene, lead investigator of the study stated, "You can't necessarily expect to just skip that stage."

These findings reinforce the notion that menopause is not so much a disease--as makers of HRT often want women to believe--but rather a normal process of aging that all women go through and perhaps need to go through. After all, menopausal symptoms are signs that the body is trying to adjust to its lower hormone levels.

To see the full study, which was published in this week's issue of the JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association), click here.

Milwaukee's proposed smoking ban

Milwaukee's city officials are currently considering whether to ban smoking in all public places, including restaurants, bars, and office buildings. If it passes, the ordinance will be the most stringent one in the nation.

Not surprisingly, the bill faces some opposition, particularly from restaurant and bar owners who fear that such an ordinance would hurt business.

If proponents of the bill need further ammo to bolster their case, however, here's a new study that shows the dangers of secondhand smoke.

U.S. HIV/AIDS policy and sex work

Here is a follow-up article to my earlier post about Brazil's decision to reject AIDS prevention funding from the U.S. because the country's officials refused to comply with the Bush Administration's stipulation that for foreign countries to receive this money, Brazilian officials must condemn sex work. Brazilian officials took this position because sex workers play key roles in the country's AIDS prevention and education programs. This follow-up article explores in some depth the Bush Administration's rationale for this funding stipulation, as well as reactions to the policy from international public health officials.

The politics of prescription drugs, Part One

Here are two recent news stories about prescription drugs. The first story discusses a recent study finding that 15 million U.S. citizens--many of them teenagers--abuse prescription drugs. The second story reports on research that has found that many doctors and pharmacists have limited training when it comes to knowledge about and the prescription of these drugs.

Although each story is disturbing in its own right, they are especially disturbing when put together. We may have a situation where health care professionals are unable to deal effectively with this prescription drug abuse and/or a situation where health care professionals' lack of training regarding these drugs have helped to facilitate this abuse.

Given that the pharmaceutical industry is one of the most profitable business sectors globally, and given that it is very difficult for health care professionals to keep up with the large and ever-increasing array of prescription drugs on the market, it is no wonder that many of these professionals lack proper training.

There is also the issue of direct-to-consumer (DTC) ads. Although they currently dominate advertising space on TV and in magazines, DTC ads are actually a relatively new phenomenon. In their current incarnation, they were legalized by the FDA in 1997. Such ads, coupled with increased patient participation in health care decision-making, have led to a dramatic increase in patients asking their doctors to prescribe them drugs for all kinds of ailments. And according to a slew of recent studies, many MDs are granting the wishes of these patients, even in cases where the MDs would not necessarily have prescribed the drugs had the patients not asked for the prescription themselves. (For more information about DTC ads, FDA regulation of them, and the studies conducted to determine the impact of DTC advertising on consumer demands and doctors' prescription-writing practices, see this excellent 2002 GAO report)

So what does this all his mean for the problem of patient drug abuse? Assuming that doctors are not able to keep up with the ever-increasing number of prescriptions drugs on the market, they may not be fully equipped to deal with the growing number of patients asking them for prescriptions. This situation is only worsened by the fact that due to HMO and other institutional policies, many doctors only have 10-15 minutes to meet with their patients. In most cases, this is not enough time to do a comprehensive examination to determine whether such drugs are necessary and/or if there are alternative medical treatments. Thus, in light of these multiple factors, it may be easier for the MD to just prescribe the drug and move on.

To sum up: although patient abuse of prescription drugs is a problem in its own right, it may be also a symptom of a much bigger set of complex problems related to medical training, HMO policies, insurance companies, FDA policies, and the ever-increasing expansion and power of the pharmaceutical industry.

London

My heartfelt condolences go out to the people of London for the bombings they experienced this morning. Although I have not discussed this issue on my blog very much, I do believe that terrorism--not to mention the political and military efforts/strategies undertaken to eradicate it--is just as much a public health issue as it is a social, political, and economic one. Many people are dying, and many more are physically, psychologically, and emotionally injured as a result of terrorism and its counter-efforts.

Fortunately, there are advocacy organizations that do view terrorism, war, and geopolitics as public health issues. One organization that I particularly respect and admire is Physicians for Social Responsibility, a DC-based organization that has local chapters across the country. Physicians, public health advocates, and other health care professionals make up the bulk of the organization's membership and board. Many are also staff members at PSR's assorted offices. Of course, I may be biased towards this organization, as I coordinated the Safe Drinking Program at PSR's DC headquarters a couple of years back.

Another health organization that takes on issues of terrorism and war is the American Public Health Association, which is also based in DC. Members of this organization consist of public health educators, advocates, and researchers who work in non-profit, government, private, and academic sectors.

Abstinence-only education criticized

A leading group of pediatricians from the American Association of Pediatrics just released a report arguing that evidence from numerous studies demonstrates that abstinence-only sex education for teens is not the best way to prevent unintended pregnancies. The group recommends instead that in addition to encouraging teen to put off having sex, sex education programs should educate them about their birth control (including emergency contraception) and safe sex options. According to Dr. S. Paige Hertweck, one of the report's advisors, not educating teens about these latter options increases the likelihood that once they become sexually active, they will have unsafe sex and contract STDs.

Although popular and heavily promoted by the Bush administration and other conservative groups, abstinence-only sex education programs are highly problematic. You can read about these programs' other problems in my post about the Bush Administration's efforts to promote abstinence-only approaches to HIV/AIDS prevention in the U.S. and Africa.

Two new blogs

I've just added two new blogs to my blog roll. The first one, Blog.Bioethics.Net, is group blog about, well, bioethics, that is run by the editors of The American Journal of Bioethics. It's a very interesting and information blog. Thanks to Karama Neal for telling me about it.

The second blog, So What Can I Do?, is run by the aforementioned Karama (who, by the way, is a fellow Swarthmore College alum). This fabulous blog is chockful of resources and information about how to get involved in social and political activism of many kinds.

Another health benefit of same sex marriage

Following up on my earlier post about the topic, here's another benefit of same sex marriage--it appears to lower syphilis rates. Thomas Dee, a Swarthmore College Professor, examined rates of syphilis, HIV, and gonorrhea in European countries that have introduced national recognition of same sex partnership laws. He found that syphilis rates were 24 percent lower in these countries than in European countries that did have such legislation. (Rates for HIV and gonorrhea were not significantly lower, however). Here's what Dee has to say about the meaning of the study's results:

The evidence shows these laws could dramatically reduce risky sexual behavior and the social costs of some sexually transmitted infections," says Thomas Dee, an associate professor of economics. "However, the results may be even more important because of what they suggest are the likely effects of gay marriage on the degree of personal commitment in same-sex relationships."

In other words, legalizing same sex marriage (or at least passing laws that recognize the legitimacy of same sex partnerships) leads to greater personal commitment to one's relationship, which leads to increased monogamy and safer sex, which leads to decreased rates of at least one STD.

It seems like a reasonable theory to me, and just reinforces my belief that sex sex marriage is not only a political and ethical issue but also a public health issue. The physical, psychological, and emotional health of gays and lesbians will benefit from providing them with the choice to marry and/or legally recognizing their relationships.

Yoga and meditation practice update

I had a good first week of returning to my yoga and meditation. My body and mind feel a bit creaky and stiff, but nothing that a few more weeks of practice won't fix. I don't think I'm going to practice them each day, though, becauser I also want to start doing more cardio exercise. In order not to take on too many extracurricular activities and feel time crunched, I'm going to do each type of activity on alternate days. So Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays I'll do my yoga and meditation, and on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays I'll do my cardio work.

I also checked out a meditation center, The Milwaukee Mindfulness Center, near my house this past Sunday. I liked the space, the people, and the center's philosophy a lot. Here is its mission statement:

The Mindfulness Community of Milwaukee is a spiritual community dedicated to the creation of a mindful culture fostering lovingkindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity. We study and practice teachings from Buddhism and other traditions in order to nurture individuals, families, society, and a healthy planet.

I look forward to going back.

Great alternative medicine site

I just came across a great site about alternative health and medicine, WholeHealthMD. It is run by MDs who combine conventional and alternative medicine in their clinical practice. It has tons of useful information about herbs, vitamins and other supplements, alternative/natural approaches to diseases and disorders, healing foods, and alternative forms of disease treatment/prevention such as accupunture, homeopathy, yoga, meditation, etc. I found the site when conducting on-line research about the use of evening primrose oil for the treatment of eczema. I'll definitely be returning to this site often. I also added the site to my list of on-line health resources (see side bar).

Check Your Boobies

Check Your Boobies is a fun, hip, and informative site about breast cancer detection and prevention. Check it (and them) out. Thanks to BlondeButBright who blogged about this site first.

Yoga 101

New to yoga? Yoga Journal's on-line website has a great page called Yoga 101 for people new to or interested in learning more about the practice. It has information about yoga philosophy, the different styles of yoga practice, poses for beginners, ways to do yoga at the office, and tips for finding a teacher, among other things.

TB and smoking

Not that you need one, but here's another reason why you shouldn't smoke--it increases the risk of tuberculosis infection.

The health benefits of Spam

And no, I'm not talking about the food product, silly. I'm referring to the email kind.

Same sex marriage in Spain

Go Spain, for being the most recent country to legalize same sex marriage. Two other European countries--The Netherlands and Belgium--have already legalized it, and it appears that Canada will join this list later this summer. (Click here to read more about same sex marriage laws in these countries)


As you can probably tell, I fully support same sex marriage. I hold this position because I not only believe that all people, regardless of sexual orientation, should have the right to marry and obtain the legal benefits that such unions provide, but also because discrimination based on sexual orientation can be psychologically, emotionally and physically damaging to gays and bisexuals. The American Psychological Association also holds this position, and has written a press release explaining its stance. Here's a snippet of it:

This seven-member team of psychologists with a combination of both scientific expertise in family and couple relations and professional expertise with lesbian, gay, and bisexual populations summarized the research that discrimination and prejudice based on sexual orientation detrimentally affects the psychological, physical, social and economic well-being of lesbian, gay and bisexual individuals, that same-sex couples are remarkably similar to heterosexual couples, and that parenting effectiveness and the adjustment, development and psychological well-being of children is unrelated to parental sexual orientation.

To see the full text of APA's statement, click here.

Eczema resources

Because I have chronic eczema, I am always on the lookout for new information and resources about the disease. Here's a great eczema website that I came across a few days ago. The Eczema Voice website, which is based in the UK, has an array of information, discussion boards, medical resources, and other good stuff for people suffering from this disease.

Reproductive rights in Wisconsin, Part Two

Last week, I wrote a post about a bill passed by the Wisconsin State Assembly that would prohibit all University of Wisconsin campuses from advertising, dispensing, and prescribing emergency contraception to students (read: female students). Well, here's a terrific column written about the topic by Amanda Leisgang, a Journalism & Mass Communication major at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee ( I teach in this department). Also, congrats to Amanda for getting her column published in WisOpinion.com, an on-line site devoted to Wisconsin politics.

Overweight and obesity: Idaho and beyond

The most recent Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) survey found that almost 60 percent of adults in Idaho are either overweight or obese. Overweight is defined as having a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 25-29.9, and obesity is defined as having a BMI of 30 or above (To calculate your own BMI, click here). Evidently, rates of overweight and obesity in adult Idahoians (is that a word?) have skyrocketed since 1990, when 29.5 percent were overweight and 12 percent were obese.

These increasing rates of overweight and obesity among adults in Idaho are definitely a cause for concern. Yet sadly, these high rates not unusual when viewed in a national context. Currently, about 2/3 of all U.S. adults exceed the "healthy" weight range, with 30 percent of U.S. adults meeting the clinical definition of obesity. In addition, the dramatic increase in overweight and obesity rates among adults in Idaho over the past decade is on par with the dramatic increase in these rates nationwide (To see a CDC PowerPoint slideshow demonstrating increases of obesity each year since since 1985, click here. I recommend viewing this presentation because it's quite information and quite shocking).

When 2/3 of the country's population is afflicted with a particular health condition, and when nationwide incidence rates of the disorder increase so dramatically over a relatively short amount of time, clearly the problem is not simply an individual one but a public health one. Yes, overweight and obesity occurs when individuals eats more food than their bodies need. But when these health conditions are afflicting the majority of the American public, there's more to the problem than just individual dietary and food consumption choices. You can't solve the problem simply by telling individuals to eat less. You also have to understand and disentangle the multiple of social, cultural, economic and political factors that have enabled overweight and obesity to flourish to such a large extent.

So what are these assorted social, cultural, economic and political factors? Let's see, where do I even begin? There are many. Moreover, although some of these factors are affecting the nation's population more generally, other factors are more relevant to particular regional, ethnic, socioeconomic, and other types of demographic groups. In an earlier post, I discussed one factor that was at play for inner city residents--lack of access to grocery stores and the healthy foods that such businesses provide. Too often, inner city residents only have access to corner shops that sell junk food because larger grocery stores will not set up shop in inner city neighborhoods. Over the course of the following week or two, I will discuss some of the other factors. Stay tuned.

Restarting my yoga and meditation practice

I've practiced yoga and meditation on and off for the past eight years. I have found both practices very beneficial to my physical and emotional health. Both practices ease my stress and anxiety, keep me feeling centered and connected to myself, and help my body stay strong, flexible, and less susceptible to illness.

My main problem with both practices, however, is that I have never been able to sustain a regular practice over extended periods of time. What tends to happen is that I'll commit myself to these practices, do them daily for a few weeks or so, and then get caught up in my work and wind up pushing them aside for a long time. Then, after I start to feel run down and out of sorts, I realize that I need get back to my practice. So I start it up again, do it for awhile, and then got knocked off course from some life or work-related occurrence.

This summer, my goal is to get back into my daily practice and keep it up for the entire summer. I have a more relaxed work schedule this summer, so keeping up my routine is very possible. It's just a question of discipline and giving myself the time each day to practice.

I recommend yoga and meditation as practices that could benefit all people, and if you are interested in learning more about them, visit Yoga Journal's website. This website is chock full of great information/resources about yoga, meditation, health, spirituality, and other related topics for beginners, advanced practitioners, and teachers. Other yoga magazines that also have great websites include Yoga International and Ascent.


I restarted my practice on Sunday, and I'll keep you posted as to how I'm doing with it.

MIlwaukee's new feminist bookstore

I finally visited Broad Vocabulary the other day, and what a happy day that was. Broad Vocabulary, which is Milwaukee's first and only feminist bookstore, opened ago a month ago in the Bayview neighborhood. The bookstore is a great space in a great location. In addition, although it is a new business, it has already lined up a number of events, including on-going writing circles, reading groups, music performances, direct action workshops, and promos with Bitch and Lip magazines. Here is the full calendar of events. Check it out regularly and for those of you who live in the Milwaukee area, do what you can to help Broad Vocabulary flourish.

What would PETA think?

Have you heard about the "Zombie Dogs" that are the subject of study by medical researchers who are working on suspended animation techniques for humans? Well, now you have. Read on. Thanks to Public Brewery for bringing this story to my attention.

The C.S.I. (and E.R.) Effect

Here's a great post by Public Brewery about the so-called "C.S.I. Effect," which refers to the social impacts of the C.S.I. television series and other forensics shows. One impact of these shows seems to have been an increased interest in forensics as a college major and career. Another impact--albeit an unproven and controversial one--is the influence that these shows have had on juries. There is anecdotal evidence that these shows have led some jurors to have unrealistic expectations about the role that forensic evidence should play in court cases.

Similar types of social impacts--both positive and negative--have also been discussed in relation to medical shows such as E.R. On the one hand, medical professionals have praised the show for raising public awareness about the field of emergency medicine and for leading to an increased public interest in E.R. medicine as a profession. Many nurses have also praised the show for showing their profession in a positive light.

At the same time, some medical professionals have critiqued E.R. and other medical shows for presenting an unrealistic expectations of ER medicine. In fact, several studies have been conducted in both Britain and the U.S. showing that the success rates of Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) on medical shows such as E.R. are greater than the actual success of this procedure in real life. In light of these studies, some medical professionals (but not all) worry that the public will have unrealistic expectations regarding the extent to which doctors can save patients in such life-threatening situations.

Here's an interesting article about the bioethics of E.R.'s depiction of CPR and other procedures. It was written by medical student Anthony Mazzarelli.

I'm not sure what to think about the effects of shows such as C.S.I. or E.R. They definitely make interesting teaching topics. In my Health and Media class. the issue of E.R.'s impacts always leads to interesting discussions, and in Spring 2006, I'll be discussing the C.S.I. Effect with students in my Science, Politics, and Media class. Public Brewery and I are also considering writing a journal article about the C.S.I. Effect. This summer we have become C.S.I. junkies, so we talk about this issue a lot.

Pet needs? Or human needs? (Part Two)

Following up on my post from last month, here are two interesting articles about contemporary pet culture. The first one examines the latest trends in "pet couture" and interviews fashion designer Isaac Mizrahi and his latest fashion line for dogs. This line is clothes is available at Target.

The second article, "Pet Nation: How doggone far (and far out) do we go for our beloved pets?," examines the issue of how our culture is increasingly anthropomorphizing our pets, and whether this is a good or bad thing. The report discusses a recent study finding that 83 percent of pet owners refer to themselves as their pet's "mommy" or "daddy," and highlights another study finding that 73 percent of pet owners would go into debt when it comes to treating their pet's illnesses.

In the case of the first study, I admit that I sometimes refer to myself as my golden retriever's "mama," and I often call her my "baby girl." But in terms of the latter study, I'm not sure if I would go into debt for Molly's health or not. It would depend on the situation. If Molly had a condition that was treatable but happened to be very expensive, that would be one thing and I would definitely lean towards treatment. But if she had a condition that were life-threatening and any treatment I would get for her would only prolong her life rather than save it, then I would be more hesitant about going into debt for it. It's not that I don't care for my dog because I do. In fact, I am quite happy to admit say that I love her very much and I can't imagine life without her. It is just that going into debt to prolong her life in the case of a terminal illness seems problematic to me because in such a situation, I would probably be keeping her alive more for my own sake rather than hers.

This is an increasingly common situation, with more and more pet owners willing to do anything to keep their pets alive (including life support), even if their condition is terminal. On the one hand, this pet devotion and care clearly demonstrates some of the positive aspects of our contemporary pet culture, with people viewing their pets as living beings whose lives matter. On the other hand, the desire to keep pets alive at all costs reflects, in my opinion, a potential downside of this new pet culture. People get so attached to their pets that they often lose blur the line between themselves and the pet, between humans and animals, and ultimately lose sight of what may be in the pet's best interest rather then their own.

A final point: Just because I may critique the extreme measures that some pet owners take in order to keep their pets alive when their condition is terminal, it doesn't mean that I wouldn't be tempted myself to take such measures when it comes to my own dog. I hope that I would not prolong her suffering just because I wouldn't want her to die, but like many other pet owners, I have been shaped by our contemporary pet culture and find many aspects of it wonderful, both for people and for the pets.

Post-partum depression in men

It turns out that men also suffer from postpartum depression, albeit not as frequently as women do. When it comes to women, researchers believe that the disorder arises from a combination of hormonal factors, emotional and psychological issues that can arise when having to care for a newborn, physical factors such as sleeplessness and exhaustion. When it comes to men, I'm guessing that the latter two issues might be at play more than hormonal changes (although just as some men get "sympathy" pregnancy symptoms, maybe some of them also get sympathy postpartum hormonal changes).

Any thoughts on what might be going on for men suffering from postpartum depression?

The racial politics of health

The U.S. FDA recently approved Bidil, a drug used to treat heart failure among African Americans. This is the first time a drug has been approved by the FDA for use in a specific racial/ethnic population.

Why just African Americans? Research conducted over the past decade or so has demonstrated that people of African descent might have a particular biological/genetic predisposition towards heart disease and cardiovascular problems. Drugs such as Bidil are aimed at addressing the problems arising from such a disposition.

I have mixed feelings about the production of drugs that target ethnic groups who have supposed genetic predispositions towards health problems such as CVD. On the one hand, if it is indeed the case that such ethnically-based genetic predispositions exist, then drugs to address them can be very good things. There are numerous examples of genetic-based disorders that are more common in some ethnic populations than in others, such as Sickle Cell Anemia (African Americans), inherited breast cancer (Ashkenazi Jewish women), and possibly diabetes (people of Hispanic and Mexican descent).

On the other hand, such genetic research and drug production for many of these supposed ethnic-based disorders are fraught with all kinds of scientific, social and political problems. First, the very idea that certain racial populations are at genetic risk for CVD and diabetes is controversial. Not all health care researchers agree with this position. In addition, even if a racially-based genetic predisposition exists for disease such as CVD and diabetes, having the gene itself does not guarantee that one will get the disease. After all, a predisposition is just that. To get the disease, other environmental factors have to be at play as well. In case of CVD and diabetes, these other factors include dietary habits, exercise patterns, weight, smoking and drinking habits, emotional and psychological stress, etc. And as epidemiological research has shown, African Americans and Hispanics are more likely to suffer from overweight and obesity, poor dietary habits, stress, etc. than their white counterparts.

When viewed from this environmental angle, then, the problem of CVD and diabetes among African Americans and Hispanics is not so much a genetic problem as much as it is a social, political, cultural, and economic problem. Individuals from these populations suffer disproportionately from poverty, job loss, racism, lack of access to healthy food, crime ridden neighborhoods, and other socioeconomic problems--problems that can facilitate poor eating habits, lack of exercise, smoking, obesity, high stress, inadequate medical care, etc. From a public health perspective, then, the way to address CVD and diabetes in these population is to take a structural approach and work to improve the lives of these disadvantaged communities.

When I hear about drugs being produced to treat complex and multifaceted, racially-based health problems such as CVD, I worry that this pharmaceutical approach will overshadow the public health approach by medicalizing health problems that are also--and perhaps even more so--social, political and economic problems. Emphasizing the genetic factors at will just enable our racist and classist society to flourish. And given that we live in an age where genetics and biotechnology are the new big sciences, and researchers are looking for genetics links to all kinds of disorders and personality traits, the possibility that genetic understandings of disease will overshadow social, political and economic causes of disease is very real and in my opinion, ethically problematic.

What kind of dog are you?

If you are interested in learning more about your inner self from the perspective of what type of dog you are most like, go to the following site and click on the "what dog are you? link:

http://www.gone2thedogs.com


This is another fun way to procrastinate (as I have been doing this afternoon) while simultaneously learning something new.

In case you are interested, I am a Shiba Inu.

Thanks to Public Brewery for bringing this site to my attention.

Geographical health?

Some people may argue that how well we know world geography has implications for societal health. If you embrace this sentiment, or if you just like playing games, check out the following link:
http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/Geography.htm

This is a very fun game. Goto the geography section/intermediate level for each world region. This is where you have to drag and drop each country into the appropriate location without the help of boundary lines. I played this version.

Here are my scores: Europe: 71% correct; Africa: 79%; Asia: 72%; Middle East: 92%; United States: 96% (I missed RI and MS by hairs); South and Central America: 85%; Canada: 92%; Mexico: 84%.

Note: The Caribbean, Oceania, and the World Continents games aren't as fun. You can't do the drop and drag thing with them.

Thanks to JoJo for introducing me to this game.

Women's reproductive rights: There is hope...

Wisconsin lawmakers should take some lessons from their counterparts in New York. NY state Senators just passed a bill that would make it legal to sell emergency contraception over the counter. The bill passed the senate 34-27. I do not know what else needs to happen for this bill to become an official law, but I will do some digging to see what I can find. More soon.

New studies on fertility

Two studies have recently been published that may shed new light on the fertility process. The first study, conducted by British scientist Lynn Frasier, found that soy consumption by both men and women might make sperm less fertile. Whereas soy consumption by men directly seems to affects sperm production, soy consumption by women appear to cause changes in the vaginal environment that can harm sperm. The research on this topic is premliminary at this point, but researchers suggest that women and men who are tying to conceive might want to reduce their consumption of soy products during ovulation. In addition, this study, while interesting, further complicates our understanding of the role that soy plays in human health. There is still much debate about the role that soy plays in the prevention and promotion of breast cancer. And in the case of fertility, scientists have not found fertility problems among populations--mainly Asian ones--who consume high amounts of soy.

The second study, which was conducted by a team of Israeli researchers, have found evidence that genes might by the reason why some women are able to conceive naturally over the age of 45. The scientists hypothesize that these genes slow the aging of the ovaries. Because the study focused solely on Ashkenazi Jewish women, the investigators said that further research needs to be done to see if this gene also exists among women from other ethnic backgrounds.

Women's reproductive health politics, Part II

More attacks on women's reproductive health rights: Several days ago, the Wisconsin State Assembly narrowly passed a bill that would ban the University of Wisconsin system (which consists of 26 schools, including the one at which I teach) from prescribing and dispensing emergency contraception (a.k.a. the morning-after pill). To become a state law, the bill has to pass the state Senate and be approved by Governor Jim Doyle. Doyle has said that if the bill comes to his desk, he will veto it. If the bill does eventually does become a law, it will be the first of its kind in the nation.

The bill was introduced by Representative Dan Le Mahieu (R-Oostburg) after he learned about the UW-Madison Health Center's efforts encouraging students going away for spring break to bring this pill with them. The Health Center's goals were to prevent unwanted pregnancies that could arise from condom breakage, date rape, and other alcohol-induced sexual mishaps. In contrast, LeMahieu believed that the Health Center's efforts promoted promiscuity by providing students with a way to have lots of sex without having to face the consequences. This logic is similar to the logic used by religious conservatives opposed to the HPV vaccine: If students know they can take a pill to prevent unwanted pregnancies, then they will just make like bunnies the whole time they are away on break. And given that most of these students are unmarried, LeMahieu believes it is morally wrong for the UW system to promote immoral behavior such as premarital sex.

The second reason why LeMahieu and other Representatives support the bill is because they believe that emergency contraception does not simply prevent pregnancy but instead ends pregnancy. This misguided belief is based on the controversial claim that pregnancy begins at conception rather than at implantation, which is when most medical professionals view pregnancy to begin. Although the morning-after pill can in some instances cause an implanted embryo to become disimplanted, the pill was developed to prevent implantation--and even conception itself --from occurring in the first place. This is why a woman is supposed to take the pill up no later than 72 hours after unprotected sexual intercourse, because it takes about 24 hours after sex for conception to occur, and another a 5-7 days after that for implantation to occur.

In a recent edition of the sex column Savage Love, columnist Dan Savage argued that the religious right is attacking not simply gay rights anymore but also--and perhaps even more so--heterosexual rights. His evidence? The recent efforts by religious conservatives to block plans to make emergency contraception available without a prescription, to limit access to abortion, and to speak out against an HPV vaccine for women. Savage argued that these recent efforts demonstrate that the religious right is not simply against gay rights per se, but sexuality and sex more generally.

Although I do not disagree with Savage, I think the religious right's attacks on heterosexuals is not aimed at heterosexuals in general but instead at heterosexual women. For instance, you don't hear about the religious right trying to block insurance coverage of viagra for fear that promoting its use may encourage promiscuity and premarital sex among men. Nor do you hear about state representatives trying to block universities from dispensing condoms. As I stated yesterday in my post on the HPV vaccine for women, all these recent measures seem to be primarily geared at controlling and limiting women's sexuality and sexual autonomy. And this is not good.

Women's reproductive health politics, Part I

New threats to women's reproductive rights keep coming out of the woodwork: In April, researchers got one step closer to developing a vaccine that prevents Human Papillomavirus (HPV) in women. HPV is a common STD virus that is also one of the leading cause of cervical cancer in women. Cervical cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths among women worldwide, so preventing HPV could help to reduce the number of women who become afflicted with and/or die from this disease.

Preventing cancer deaths--seems like a good idea, right? Well, not to some religious conservatives. As noted by The Nation columnist Katha Pollitt, several groups, including the Family Research Council, are not on board with the vaccine--not because they have questions about the research itself or about possible long term effects of the vaccine (these would be good questions to ask) but because they fear that such a vaccine would encourage promiscuity among unmarried girls and women. The logic goes like this: if unmarried girls and women know that the vaccine will protect them from HPV and by consequence cervical cancer, then they will all be rushing to sleep with as many people as possible. (As if fear of these diseases is what currently stops unmarried women from engaging in sex in the first place).

Now, with all the religious conservatives' talk about promoting a culture of life and such, I really want to believe that their criticism of the vaccine has something to do with actually protecting life--for instance, perhaps being concerned that the vaccine would do more harm than good to women. But this appears not to be the case. Rather, the criticism seems more like good old fashioned sexism and paternalism because it is all about wanting to control women's so-called wanton sexuality. In fact, given that religious conservatives are more concerned with controlling women's sexual behaviors than with protecting women's health and preventing cancer deaths among women, it seems that they are doing all they can to discourage a culture of life--at least when it comes to women. Scary times, indeed.

Sad news

I found out yesterday that Allison Crews, the 22 year-old creator of Girl-Mom.com, died a few days ago at her home in Austin, TX. The cause of her death has not been released yet. Girl-Mom is a wonderful on-line site for and by younger mothers. The site provides them support from other teen and young adult mothers, information about medical care, financial issues, social services, social gatherings, parenting strategies, and political issues, and a creative outlet for telling their stories.

Here's the obituary that Girl-Mom and its sister website, HipMama, put on their websites.

It is with profound sadness and a wrenching sense of loss that the staff of Hip Mama have learned that our valued colleague Allison Crews has died. Allison was the producer of Girl-Mom for nearly five years. During that time she worked endlessly hard to build a strong, dynamic community. Through her work on the site, her accomplishment in creating the National Day to Support Teen Parents, her writing, and her life, Alli created social change. Alli was brilliant, forceful, and talented. She changed lives; she helped people. We will miss her.

The Girl-Mom moderators are collecting money to be used to help Alli's young family in this profoundly sad time. If you would like to contribute, please send a donation via paypal to: girlmom@gmail.com

I'm back

I'm back from my vacation, and will be posting later today. Stay tuned...

Stem cell debates and the culture of life

A few days ago, Public Brewery discussed the recent polls conducted to ascertain public views about stem cell research. Although how the polls were worded influenced how people responded, the majority of those polled support this research.

(Hello, are you listening Bush et al? If not, let me repeat these findings: The majority of the public supports stem cell research, including embryonic stem cell research. Thank you for your time.)

Not only that, but many Republican Congressional Members support embryonic stem cell research. In fact, within the Republican party, Congressional Members are debating each other over this issue, as evidenced by this recent exchange of words between Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA) and Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS).

What I find particularly interesting about these assorted debates is how people are backing up their positions by invoking support for a "culture of life." Yet how each person defines this "culture of life" differs, depending on their beliefs about stem cell research. The exchange between Specter and Brownback illustrates two different meanings given to the "culture of life" concept as it pertains to the stem cell issue.

The two Republicans differed sharply on their views of the status of frozen embryos.

Brownback questioned "what it does to the culture of life" when
government approves performing research on the embryos, which he considers "young human life."

Specter shot back, asking what it does "to the culture of life when you let people die because there are medical research tools which could keep them alive?"

Brownback's notion of the culture of life is in line with how the Bush administration defines the term in relation to the stem cell debate: embryos are persons and thus, destroying them for medical purposes is a form of murder. In contrast, Spector's definition of the culture of life emphasizes the potential lives (born and unborn) that embryonic stem cell research could save. He argues that taking advantage of these life-saving "medical tools" is what promotes a culture of life.

Another rethinking of the culture of life concept that various policymakers and others have invoked--and one that I find especially compelling--is similar to Spector's usage. If embryonic stem cells are not used for medical research, chances are they will at some point be destroyed because they are just sitting around in labs without a clear purpose. From this perspective, the most life-affirming act would be to use the cells for medical research--research that could help save future lives--instead of simply discarding them or letting them sit on shelves. Moreover, if Bush et al truly do believe that using these cells for medical research is akin to murder, I do not understand why they would find simply discarding these cells a more life-promoting option.

Stem cells aside, there is much to be written about the broader culture of life concept. It has been invoked in regards to the debates surrounding not only stem cell research, but also abortion, emergency contraception, the death penalty, among other issues. I personally find it an interesting concept, and am fascinated by the many different ways people have recently been invoking it in order to support their particular ethical, religious, sociocultural and political positions. I hope to write more about this issue later when I get back from the sunny Southwest.

The Well Being will return soon...

Due to the usual end-of-the-semester frenzy, I have not posted in about a week.

In addition, I probably won't be posting much over the next two weeks due to a conference and a much needed vacation to the Southwest.

But expect the blog to be back in action by June 13. Hope to see you then:-)

Pet needs? Or human needs?

It's Friday afternoon, and I'm getting tired of writing about human health, so I thought I'd post some tidbits about dog health. In particular, I want to write about some new products on the market designed to improve the physical, emotional, and social well being of our canine companions.

The first product is doggles, which are doggie goggles designed to protect your pup's eyes from harmful UV rays (I've recently seen a beagle wearing them and he looked like a doggie aviator). I'm not kidding. But wait. It gets better. The next product is neuticles (I'm still not kidding). These synthetic doggie implants, which are the size and shape of, well, you know, are designed to help male canines regain their sense of masculine self confidence (no, I'm really not kidding) that was squashed at the hands of evil vets during the neutering process.


Now, don't get me wrong. I loves dogs as much as other folks do. In fact, I am the proud person of the best golden retriever in the whole world. I love Molly a lot, and Paul and I consider her to be a member of the family (she even gets to sleep on our bed). I try to provide her with a happy and healthy life, which includes giving her wholesome food, taking her to the vet, bringing her to the dog park daily, and buying her colorful collars and leashes that complement her blond coat.

I draw the line, however, at doggles and neuticles when it comes to pet care. It seems to me that products such as these are more about human needs and less about the actual needs of dogs (It's also a sign of capitalism running amuck, in my opinion, but that's an issue that goes beyond the scope of this post). Are we really to believe that male dogs feel a sense of shame and emasculation after they are neutered? I think not. It seems to me that as our society has increasingly come to see pets as companions with whom to forge emotional bonds ( as opposed to in the past, when dogs were treated more as lowly creatures whose place was in the backyard rather than in the family home), we have also anthropomorphized our dogs, treating them as if they are human rather than the "companion species" (in the words of Donna Haraway) of humans. Consequently, many of us have assumed that dogs share the same type of health concerns and worries as we do.

Certainly dogs have emotional and social lives, but they are not humans. And by treating them as such, we run the risk of expecting too much from them and/or not meeting the needs that they actually do have.

A geography of children's health and obesity

In a recent study of children's health, researchers from Mount Sinai School of Medicine found that when it comes to food outlets located within walking distance of most elementary schools in Harlem, junk food stores outnumered markets selling healthy foods by 6:1. The researchers found these results alarming because they suggest that young children may be consuming junk food rather than healthy products not simply because of personal choice but also because they have little access to the latter. With inner city children facing increasing risks of developing obesity and other related health problems, this lack of access is disturbing.

This situation is not unique to Harlem. Many inner city neighborhoods across the country house a disproportionate number of junk food stores. Moreover, some inner city neighborhood have no access to healthy foods because the only food outlets located in them are convenient stores. Given this lack of access to health foods, it should come as no surprise that overweight and obesity are significant problems in inner city communities.

In recent years, overweight and obesity have received significant attention by health care professionals, public health professionals, educators, health organizations, policymakers and the media. Some individuals and groups have constructed these health problems as individual/personal ones that can be solved by simply getting people to eat less, eat better and exercise more. Certainly there is much merit to this argument because people can't lose weight if they don't change their eating and lifestyle habits. At the same time, it is studies such as the one conducted by the Mount Sinai researchers that demonstrate the extent to which overweight and obesity are also public health problems that need to be addressed through community, state and national measures. People can't be expected to eat healthy, for instance, if they have no access to health food.

There is much more to the viewpoint that overweight and obesity are public health problems rather than simply individual/personal ones, but I will save more of this discussion for future posts.

Progressive fathering

In earlier posts, I've discussed on-line resources related to mothering, but today I came across two blogs by Daddychip (Daddychip and DaddyChip2: gender and social issues), who describes himself as "a former stay-at-home dad who wishes he could have stayed at home longer." Daddychip writes about parenting and in particular fathering issues from a feminist perspective. I like his blogs because he not only writes eloquently about his children and experiences with them but also serves as a model for "progressive fathering" by challenging gender stereotypes about fathers and the role they can play in their children's lives.

Daddychip also links to other blogs written by fathers and to an interesting site called Dads and Daughters: resources and support for fathers of girls. I have yet to go through all of his links, but when I do, I will be sure to list some of them in my own set of links.

Pew report on health information and the internet

As part of its Internet and American Life Project, Pew just released a report about the public's use of the internet for health purposes. Here's the report's summary which was written by Suzannah Fox:

Eight in ten internet users have looked online for information on at least one of 16 health topics, with increased interest since 2002 in diet, fitness, drugs, health insurance, experimental treatments, and particular doctors and hospitals.

As reported in the July 2003 report, "Internet Health Resources,"
certain groups of internet users are the most likely to have sought health information online: women, internet users younger than 65, college graduates, those with more online experience, and those with broadband access.

Some demographic groups showed notable interest in specific topics. 59% of online women have read up on nutrition information online, for example, compared with 43% of online men. Thirty-eight percent of online parents have checked online for health insurance information, compared with 26% of internet users who do not have children living at home. Forty-one percent of internet users with a broadband connection at home have looked up a particular doctor or hospital, compared with 19% of internet users with a dial-up connection at home.

A few thoughts about the report's findings: First, I am not surprised about the overall number of individuals who turn to the internet for health information. In the past twenty to thirty years, our society has shifted from treating physicians as god-like figures who always know best, to encouraging patients to question their doctors, get second opinions, and take an active role in their own health care decision-making. In addition, with physicians spending less and less time with each patient due to institutional and economic changes in medical practice, it wouldn't surprise me if people often leave their doctor feeling unsatisfied with the information and care they were given and consequently seek these things on their own.

Nor am I surprised about the groups most likely to use the internet. Take the cases of women and internet users under 65. Women often take the role of their family's primary caregiver, feeling responsible for not only their own health but also the health of their family. When it comes to the internet, then, women may have the health issues of several persons to research. In the case of internet users under 65, this is a group who--unlike their older counterparts--are more likely to have formed their beliefs about the doctor-patient relationship during the time when the cultural shift from putting complete faith in doctors to encouraging patient involvement was taking place or had already taken place.

I am also happy that Pew asked questions about internet service. What type of service people have--i.e., dial up, modem speed, broadband, etc.--can make a huge different in how, and to what extent, they go on-line. Too often, popular and scholarly studies of the internet tend to forget that the technology's material and digital apparatus does influence the ways in which people navigate and interact with on-line spaces. Given that such studies focus on the social and cultural dimensions of this so-called new media technology, this tendency to render the actual technology invisible is ironic (not to mention problematic).

Finally, one topic I wished the study addressed further was public participation in on-line support groups and communities. These groups often provide individuals with different types of health information and learning experiences than what they can receive from text-only resource pages. Because Pew focused on general internet use and the types of health information people researched, however, the study did not emphasize the different kinds of on-line spaces in which people get (and potentially give) health information.

Health care cartoons

People have said that laughter is the best medicine. So if you are in need of some (or if you just like editorial cartoons), check out Daryl Cagle's archive of health care cartoons by the nation's top editorial cartoonists. The archive, which is housed on Slate Magazine's website, is updated daily.

One of my favorite cartoonists is Pulitzer Prize winner Signe Wilkerson, who works for the Philadelphia Daily News. A good deal of her work has focused on women's reproductive rights, and in the early 1990s, she published a collection of her cartoons dealing with these issues entitled Abortion Cartoons on Demand. (I'm also fond of her work because like me, she's a Philly-area native who went to Swarthmore College)

A creative way of dealing with allergies

Now here's a solution to chronic allergies that I bet you didn't think about before: Hunting the Lorax. This strategy seems a bit ethically and politically problematic to me, but given that I woke up this morning with what feels like large cotton balls shoved up my sinuses, I can see where Jody et al (a.k.a. PoliSciFi Blog) are coming from.

Public Brewery also wrote about Jody et al's solution. Check it out, because in the post he also writes about the Truax, who evidently speaks for the Wood Flooring Manufacturers situation. It appears that--at least in this instance--the PolySciFi bunch and the flooring people have something in common.

More evils of the tobacco industry

In the past couple of years, tobacco companies have developed a new breed of flavored cigarettes. Gone are the days of boring menthol. Instead, we now have flavors such as "Winter Warm Toffee," "Twista Chill," and "Kauai Kolada." And to make sure these hip new cigarettes are not overlooked by the public, they are packed in bright red, yellow, and black boxes.

Unfortunately for the tobacoo companies, anti-tobacco and health advocacy groups, not to mention some members of Congress, are not on board with these new cigarettes and are seeking to have them banned.

Why, you ask? Well, it's not because the concept of inhaling a nicotene-flavored pina colada grosses them out (although that's not to say that poor flavor combination isn't ample reason to have them banned, because I think it is). Rather, it is because officials believe that the companies developed these cigarettes as a way to lure new teen smokers. Think about it: candy and fruity-drink flavors, hip slang (with all due respect to teens, who else would find the word "twista" appealing?), and cool colored boxes. It also makes me wonder if the companies are trying particularly hard to attract teen girl smokers. Not that guys don't like fruity drinks and chocolate, but I think back to my teen days when berry wine coolers were the trendy drink among us underaged girls. Most guys we knew found them pretty gross and preferred their beer instead.

Of course, the tobacco industry denies that it is targeting teens, and says that consumption of these cigarettes by teens--which appears to be on the rise--is an "unintended consequence." Uh huh. We've heard that one before.

HIV/AIDS and Infidelity in Africa

Following up on my discussion about HIV/AIDS in Africa: Yesterday afternoon, NPR ran a story about the topic in its program, "The World." This story examined how infidelity was helping to spread HIV/AIDS in South Africa, especially among women, and how a Soweto radio station is trying to stop this practice by hosting a show called "Cheaters." The focus of this two-hour program is to identify, interview, and shame so-called "cheaters" and those who were cheated on. Evidently, the radio station's listenership triples during the show, and many community members believe that it has made people think twice about cheating for fear that they will be exposed on the show. It's a very interesting story, and it is accompanied by photos of the radio show.

A personal account of acupuncture

I came across PeaceBang's account of her first acupuncture session, and I wanted to write a post about it because 1) it gets at many of the reasons why I personally like acupuncture and 2) it points to some key problems with conventional medical practice. Don't get me wrong. I think biomedicine is a great thing, and I *love* my MD. However, I can empathize with PeaceBang's observations of and feelings about her doctor always seeming rushed and stressed, getting prescription notes thrown at you, etc. I often leave my doctor appointments feeling very frustrated that I wasn't able to address the various questions I had for her because my fifteen minutes was up. And don't get my started on the triage nurses who are supposed to be able to answer your questions in between appointments--in my own experience, they have not been particularly helpful.

For the most part, these problems are not so much the fault of individual MDs or nurses (although some health care providers are better than others) but are indicative of broader problems with our current medical system.

Oh, in case anybody is wondering, I have been getting acupuncture regularly for the past five years. I have chronic eczema, and although accupuncture hasn't "cured" my condition, it has decreased my symptoms without the use of potentially harmful steroids, antibiotics, etc. I recommend it for anyone suffering from eczema or other skin and allergy problems.

The politics of U.S. HIV/AIDS prevention policy

A friend of mine, Milo, just alerted me to this recent AlterNet.org news report detailing how Brazilian officials turned down $40 million dollars from the U.S. to fight HIV/AIDS in their country. They turned down the money not because they are unconcerned about HIV/AIDs in Brazil (to the contrary, Brazil has gained worldwide attention for its innovative AIDS education, prevention and treatment policies) but because they refused to comply with the U.S.' demand that to receive the money, Brazil would have to condemn prositution and sex work.

Brazil has refused to do this because sex workers have played a key role in the training of community HIV/AIDS educators, the mass dissemination of condoms and safe sex information/education, and in working with the government and other civic organizations to develop an extensive network of groups working to prevent HIV/AIDS. By including sex workers and their organizations in HIV/AIDS prevention efforts, Brazilian officials are not condoning prostitution per se. Rather, they believe that the best way to prevent HIV/AIDS is to take a practical approach instead of what they call an "ideological" approach, the latter of which they accuse the U.S. of taking by requiring countries to condemn sex work if they are to receive U.S. funds.

Brazil officials are not the first group to criticize the U.S. government for its ideologically-driven global HIV/AIDS and public health funding. The U.S. has also received criticism from NGOs worldwide for its refusal to fund HIV/AIDS efforts in other countries--including those in AIDS-ravaged Africa--if the organizations doing this work do not take abstinence-only approaches to HIV/AIDS prevention. Such abstinence only programs can have devasting consequences for countries such as those in Africa where HIV/AIDS rates are incredibly high, and gender inequality is a cultural given. For istance, many men believe that sex is their right and many women feel that they do not have the choice to say no to unwanted sex.

In the U.S., officials from the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) were required by government higher ups several years ago to remove references to condom use from its HIV/AIDS prevention website. More recently, the Department of Health and Human Services created a website for parents providing them with information on how to talk about sex with their teen children. The site takes an abstinence-only approach and the only information it has about contraception focuses on its negative and potentially harmful aspects. The abstinence-only approach to public health has frustrated many U.S. public health workers. Although they believe that abstinence should be encouraged among teens as a means of preventing both pregnancy and STD infection, they also believe that it is not realistic to expect all teens to remain sexually chaste until marriage. Thus, they believe that abstinence-only education is a bad public health strategy, and that to promote and protect adolescent health, especially the spread of HIV/AIDS, teens must also be educated about different forms of birth control and safe sex strategies.

Toxic cosmetics

In the past few years, scientists and environmental health activists have become increasingly concerned about phthalates, a type of endocrine- disrupting chemical that has been recently linked to reproductive health disorders in humans, particularly boys and men. A few researchers have also speculated about their link to breast cancer. Some of the most common sources of these chemicals are cosmetics, shampoos, skin creams, and other beauty/body care products. The Washington DC-based Environmental Working Group has worked with a number of other environmental health organizations to raise public awareness about the possible dangers from these chemicals. One outcome of their efforts has been the report Skin Deep, which can be found on Environmental Working Group's website. The report not only discusses the environmental health research conducted on phthalates but also provides an interactive site for readers to find out whether their beauty/body products contain these toxins. In addition th report outlines disease prevntion strategies that could be taken by individuals, industries, and regulatory agencies.

Not Too Pretty--one of the organizations with which EWG has worked--has done extensive activist work in Europe and the U.S. on the issues of phthalates in cosmestics. Check out their website as well.

Alternative medicine?

Although acupuncture, hearbal treatments, yoga, meditation, bodywork, and other forms of so-called "alternative" medicine are still for the most part considered outside the boundaries of conventional biomedicine, they are becoming more accepted and legitimated by health care practioners, health insurers, and the medicial establishment more generally. One example of the "mainstreaming" of alternative medicine is the establishment of the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), which is one of the newest research centers within the National Institutes of Health. Founded in the late 1990s, this center, which used to be called the Office of Alternative Medicine, is funding and conducting research on the possible health benefits of an array of alternative healing modalities. The center's website discusses the center's studies, as well as serves as a databate on research conducted by other instutions worldwide. Although the center doesn't get nearly as much federal funding as, say, the National Cancer Institute (nor is the center an official "institute"), the government's acknowledgement that alternative healing modalities are worth scientific investigation is for the most part a good thing.

At the same time, the "western" biomedical approach to the healing potential of alternative modalities raises some interesting phenomonological and epistemological questions: for example, how do you measure the efficacy of traditional chinese acupuncture when the practice is based on the principle that the body has hundreds of energy channels running through it--energy channels that cannot be seen through visual means and do not necessarily corrolate with the biomedicalized body that consists of physical parts (organs, veins, cells, etc)? When studies find that acupuncture helps to relieve pain, nausea and other ailments, what explanatory frameworks for the practice's efficacy are put forth by researchers? As acupuncture has become increasingly legitimated by conventional biomedicine and increasingly practiced by medical doctors, has the practice lost any of its traditional chinese phenomonology, or have medical pracitioners found ways to integrate and embrace both notions of the body simultaneously? Of course, there are several high profile doctors who do this type of integrative work, including Andrew Weil, David Simon, Rudolph Valentine, Christiane Northrup, and Deepak Chopra.

I haven't done much research on this particular topic myself, but it is one that I'm interested in, and one that other academics have written about. A cool study that I'd like to conduct at some point would be to interview biomedical practioners who also practice accupuncture to learn the many ways that they integrate both "western" and "eastern" knowledge and "ways of knowing."

Episiotomies questioned

A study published in the most recent issue of JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association) found that routine episiotomies harm women more than they help them. Epistiotomies were first conducted on pregnant women in labor during the 1930s (a time period in which OB/GYN was a very male-dominated field), and since then have increasingly become a routinized childbirth practice. Currently, about 1 million women receive them each year. The presumed rationale for them is that they make labor easier and prevent less vaginal tearing.

The JAMA study discovered, however, that episiotomies may actually cause more health problems than they prevent. In most women, episiotomies do not make childbirth easier. In addition, they cause more--rather than less--vaginal tearing. Finally, they make post-pregnancy healing more difficult, and post-pregnancy intercourse more painful. Given these findings, the study recommends that the procedure only be conducted in high risk situations, and not as a routine childbirth practice.

So how did episiotomies become routinized if they actually harm women more than they help them? It turns out that they became established medical practice not because there was research backing up their health benefits but because their benefits were simply assumed and taken for granted. New generations of doctors practiced them because the older generations did (In other words, "If everyone else is doing it, it must be good"). Thus, the more that doctors and the medical profession got on board with them, the more that the procedure was presumed to be beneficial and acceptable. Moreover, episiotomies became routinized and established practice as U.S. medicine became more professionalized/institutionalized, and pregnancy/childbirth in particular became more medicalized.

Here's a link to an NPR interview with the study's primary investigator, Dr. Katherine Hartmann, that was conducted on May 4th.

The routine practice of episiotomies is not the only case of a medical procecure becoming institionalized based on factors other than ample scientific evidence. Other routine pregnancy/childbirth practices and the use of X-Rays (particularly during the 1940s and 50s), among other things, have similar histories.

Iranian gender/sexual politics

Last night I attended a talk by Marjane Satrapi, an Iranian woman who was in Milwaukee as part of her U.S. book tour for her latest work, Embroideries, which explores the gender/sexual politics in contemporary Iran. I will come back to this post and say more about the book and her talk; for now, however, here's a recent interview she did with the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel about the book, as well as her previous ones, Persepolis and Persepolis II.

On-line health communities

I teach in a mass communication department and teach courses on internet culture, health and the media, and science, technology and politics. Currently, I have several graduate students who are all doing research projects on on-line health communities. One student is looking at autism discussion boards, another is studying Pro-Anorexia (Pro-Ana) websites/blogrings, and two others are conducting analyses of pregnancy discussion groups. I am very excited about these projects, as I am planning to conduct my own research about on-line health communities in the months to come, most likely related to mental health issues. In the Fall 2005 semester, I'm also hoping to organize a colloquium about on-line disease cultures and communities, with my students being the main participants. As they progress further with their research and writing, I will post updates about their (and my own) findings.

Queer Zine Archive Project

My friends Milo and Chris have started the Queer Zine Archive Project, which is an on-line archive of queer zines published over the past several decades. Although they are interested in collecting zines about any queer-related topics, they are especially interested in those focusing on queer health. If you have any queer health-related zines that you'd like to put in the archives, contact Milo or Chris. Their contact information is on the website.

Mothering/pregnancy email listservs

I recently found this extensive list of email listservs for women interested in chatting with others about motherhood, pregnancy, and childbirth. Most of the groups are geared towards particular groups of women (i.e., stay-at-home mothers, writer-mothers, lesbian and bisexual mothers, black single mothers), and/or focus on particular issues (i.e., breastfeeding, unassisted childbirth, raising healthy girls). Some of the groups also have a feminist perspective.

The list was put together by Joan Korenman, Director of the Center of Women and Information Technology at University of Maryland-Baltimore Campus (UMBC). At UMBC, she is also Professor of English Literature and an affiliated Professor of Women's Studies.

Hip Parenting

Even though I am not a parent (yet), I love Hip Mama. It's a quarterly zine based in Portland, Oregon, that approaches pregnancy, parenting, and family issues from a feminist, anti-racist, and queer-friendly perspective.

Ariel Gore, the hip mama who started the zine, has also written several related books, most of which I own and have read. The Hip Mama's Survivial Guide is a primer covering assorted pregnancy, child birth, and child rearing issues. The Mother Trip: Hip Mama's Guide to Staying Sane in the Chaos of Motherhood, deals with the trials, tribulations, and stresses of being a mother. Breeder: Real-Life Stories from the New Generation of Mothers, which is edited by Gore and Hip Mama co-editor, Bee Lavender (more about her in another post), is an anthology of mothering stories written by various hip mamas.

The Well Being

In The Well Being, I discuss the many facets of personal, social, and societal health. In particular, I highlight how human health is not just a personal issue, but also a social, cultural, political and economic one. Ultimately, I discuss how the improving the health of humans often means improving broader social and societal conditions--and vice versa. In addition, The Well Being provides readers with links to informational, educational and advocacy resources relating to the health issues I examine.

Just so eveybody fully understands The Well Being's focus and aims, I want to define my terms. Personal health refers to the physical, emotional, psychological, and spiritual health of individuals. Social health refers to the wellbeing of relationships, families, and other types of interpersonal and social group dynamics. Societal health refers the wellbeing of cultures, communities, social systems, political institutions, economies, and the environment.

Although The Well Being covers an array of health issues, there are a number of topics about which I particularly like to write. These topics include women's health, girls' health, pregnancy and parenting, environmental health, Iranian gender and health politics, digital technologies, science, eating disorders, and alternative medicine. These emphases reflect my own personal, political and academic interests, which you can read more about in my bio and my research/teaching statement.

My Bio

I am a media studies professor who lives and teaches in Milwaukee. I was born and raised in the Philadelphia area, went to graduate school in California, and lived in Washington, D.C., for five years before moving to Milwaukee two years ago.

I am married to Paul Brewer, who also teaches in my department, and we have a golden retriever named Molly.