January 8th, 2010 by Dr. Val Jones in Audio, Expert Interviews
Tags: Companies, Edelman, Employee Benefits, Employers, Engagement, Featured, GE, Health Engagement Barometer, Health Engagement Pulse, Healthcare reform, J&J, Nancy Turett, Opinion, Poll, Starbucks, Survey, Wellness
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Edelman has been a leader in surveying and analyzing consumer health opinion on a global scale. In 2008 they released the results of a Health Engagement Barometer, confirming the public’s strong desire for personal engagement with health experts and peers online and beyond. I clearly remember Edelman’s revelation that medical bloggers (particularly healthcare professional bloggers) are one of the most trusted sources of health information online. That made me feel good.
This time around, Edelman created a new survey (The Health Engagement Pulse) focused on consumer expectations of their employers. The results reflect a further shift away from traditional siloed roles and relationships (where employers have nothing directly to do with healthcare) and a new era of blended responsibility. To understand this shift, I interviewed Nancy Turett, Edelman’s Global President of Health. Please listen to the audio interview or enjoy the synopsis below.
[Audio:https://getbetterhealth.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/nancytourettjan.mp3]
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January 8th, 2010 by Dr. Val Jones in Audio, Expert Interviews
Tags: ACP, American College Of Physicians, Dr. Joseph Stubbs, Feature, Flu Vaccine, H1N1 Flu, Infectious Disease, Internal Medicine, National Influenza Awareness Week, Seasonal Flu, Vaccines
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Over 10,000 Americans (mostly young) have already died of H1N1 flu, and yet we’ve only vaccinated 10-20% of those who need protection. January 10-16 is National Influenza Awareness Week, and the American College of Physicians is doing its part to raise awareness of the ongoing need to protect Americans from the next wave of influenza.
I interviewed ACP President, Dr. Joseph Stubbs, about the current influenza season and Americans’ vulnerabilities to the virus. Please enjoy the audio of our conversation or read the transcript below.
[audio:https://getbetterhealth.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/flustubbsjan.mp3]
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December 1st, 2009 by Dr. Val Jones in Audio, Expert Interviews
Tags: Baby Bottles, Beverage, Bisphenol A, BPA, Containers, Epoxy Resin, estrogen, Evidence, Featured, food, Hard Plastic, Metabolism, Pharmacokinetics, Plastic, Polycarbonate, Rats, Rodents, Safety, Toxicology
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There has been a lot of media attention surrounding the safety of polycarbonate plastic products containing bisphenol A (BPA). BPA is found in polycarbonate, hard clear plastic products like eye glasses, bicycle helmets, and food containers, and also in epoxy resins that act as protective coatings on everything from food and beverage cans to steel pipes and car engines.
In the next week or so, the FDA is expected to provide a new analysis of the science behind BPA safety. To gain some insight into what the fuss is all about, Dr. Steve Novella and I interviewed Dr. Steven Hentges (Executive Director of the Polycarbonate/BPA Global Group of the American Chemistry Council) on a blogger briefing call.
You may listen to the entire conversation here (and please read on for my summary of the issues):
[audio:https://getbetterhealth.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/bpacall.mp3]
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November 18th, 2009 by Dr. Val Jones in Audio, Expert Interviews, News, Research
Tags: ACS, Breast Cancer, Dr. Avrum Bluming, Guidelines, Mammogram, Oncology, Radiation, Radiology, Screening, Treatment, USPSTF
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Dr. Avrum Bluming is a medical oncologist and clinical professor of medicine at the University of Southern California. He is also a dear friend, scientist, and careful analyzer of data. I asked him to help me understand the current mammogram guidelines debate, and what women (now faced with conflicting recommendations) should do about breast cancer screening. Please listen to his fascinating discussion captured here:
[audio:https://getbetterhealth.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/mammogrambluming.mp3]
What I learned is that the guidelines must be tailored to each woman’s unique situation. The variables that must be considered are incredibly complex, as breast cancer risk factors include everything from when and if one has given birth, to a history of smoking, drinking, overweight, breast cancer in the family and even the age of your parents when you were born. Beyond risk factors, new research suggests that some breast cancers spontaneously resolve without treatment, but our technology is not advanced enough to distinguish those from others that will go on to become life-threatening tumors – so we treat all cancers the same. Read more »
September 24th, 2009 by Dr. Val Jones in Audio, News
Tags: Aerosmith, Alzheimer's, Cancer, Capitol Hill, Delta Goodrem, Event, Francis Collins, Joe Perry, Mary Woolley, Meryl Comer, NIH, Research America, Rock Stars Of Science, Rudy Tanzi
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Rudy Tanzi, Joe Perry, Francis Collins
I know. I was just as surprised as you are. Dr. Francis Collins, former director of the Human Genome Project, author of The Language Of God, and new director of the National Institutes of Health performed live in front of a group of Washington locals at the Capitol building today. He actually jammed with Aerosmith’s Joe Perry in an “unplugged” performance of Bob Dylan’s, “The Times They Are A Changin’.” This is not the kind of thing one expects in the hallowed halls of the Capitol building. But maybe it’s time to expect the unexpected?
I happened to have my reporter’s microphone with me in the audience so I recorded the song. The vocalist is Dr. Collins, Joe Perry does a guitar solo near the end, and Dr. Rudy Tanzi is on harmonica. The sound quality is… well… it’s what you’d expect from a hand-held microphone. But it’s worth a listen, just to get to know our new NIH director a little better!
[Audio:https://www.getbetterhealth.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/francis-collins.mp3]
Delta Goodrem
Australian pop star and cancer survivor Delta Goodrem followed Dr. Collins with this acapella beauty (again, forgive the sound quality):
[Audio:https://www.getbetterhealth.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/delta-goodrem.mp3]
A few things struck me about the event. First of all, Francis Collins is more of a “firecracker” than I expected. I read and reviewed his book recently, and his vivacious personality did not come through in its pages as well as it did on the stage with Joe Perry. He’s a fun-loving guy, a serious scientist, and very committed to advancing research and encouraging young people to rekindle their interest in discovery. That’s all very good news for America.
Secondly, I was touched by Joe Perry’s story about wanting to be a marine biologist when he grew up. Apparently he had a learning disability of some sort that was not addressed in school. For that reason, his test scores suffered and he looked for ways to excel outside of the classroom. His bright mind discovered an immediate affinity for music, and he poured himself into a career as a rocker. He still yearns for the ocean, though, and is a certified diver. As I looked at Joe, I kept thinking – my gosh, he might have been the next Jacques Cousteau if he had more help in school. But brilliance finds its own way to flourish – and Aerosmith became his outlet instead.
Thirdly, I realized that there are in fact a few congressmen with their heads screwed on straight when it comes to science. I had almost lost hope after watching video footage of Tom Harkin instructing scientists to validate his opinions rather than test whether or not certain things were true. Yikes. But the three co-chairs of the congressional biomedical research caucus, Reps Brian Bilbray, Mike Castle, and Rush Holt, seemed to truly understand some of the issues facing the advancement of medical research – and are determined to move America forward.
And finally, I noted that there wasn’t a single female or minority “rock star scientist” in the program. That made me a little bit sad. Are we really that rare? I guess we still have a long way to go on that front… And since Dr. Collins mentioned that only 15% of US students are enrolled in science or engineering bachelors’ programs (compare that to 50% in China or 75% in India) we are soon going to be playing catch up with the rest of the world in terms of scientific discovery.
So we’ve got our work cut out for us folks – with our youth’s waning interest in science education, the excessive red tape that is slowing down the process of producing cures, and the public getting their medical advice from the likes of Jenny McCarthy, there has never been a more important time to restore science to its rightful place.
Maybe Francis Collins is going to “bring sexy back” to science?
Whatever works!
***
More info on the Rock Stars Of Science program.
