Health Fact Friday: 6 Tips for Safe Grocery Shopping
Health Fact Friday: 6 tips for safe grocery shopping during the coronavirus crisis.
Health Fact Friday
WHO Guidelines for Reopening
Masks: What to do?
The CDC now recommends wearing masks or face coverings when outside the home to help prevent community spread of coronavirus.
Mental Health and Quarantine
Adjusting to the quarantine efforts and stay-at-home order has been difficult. There has been a lot of change in a very short amount of time. Taking care of physical health is important in the face of COVID-19, and now taking care of mental health must be a focus in the face of social isolation due…
Incarceration and Health
People serving prison sentences have much higher rates of HIV, Hepatitis C, and tuberculosis than the general population. Unfortunately, competent HIV screening and care is inconsistently available. They also have higher rates of substance abuse and mental health concerns. Once released, health care can continue to be inconsistent or inaccessible with all the life activities…
Poverty and Health
Being healthy is expensive. There are the clearly established barriers in a lack of resources (access to nutritious food, treatment and medication costs, inconsistent insurance, etc) and lack of preventative services (dental, health, etc) which can result in more costly after-the-fact treatment. These expenses resulting in poor health and lack of treatment are crucial when…
Social Determinants of Health
We have presented some statistics on several health disparities faced by Black Americans this month. The people working to reduce these disparities are working towards health equity. Health equity, according to the American Public Health Association, is the opportunity for all people to achieve their best health. In order to do this, some factors that…
Heart Disease and Stroke Disparity
The CDC keeps track of many different health data sets. One of these is called potentially preventable deaths. This is something of a confusing public health term. The number of these potentially preventable deaths can be thought of as a public health goal. If all people received appropriate and timely treatment or effective public health…
Black HIV/AIDS Awareness day
Health Disparity was our Word Wednesday this week. When a group of people is more impacted by illness than another, it is called a health disparity. This can look differently depending on the specific illness. The number of people affected, the quality of life impact, and the access to treatment are all factors to consider…
Take a Break!
Taking breaks is an important part of being healthy! Briefly disengaging from your work, whether it is physically strenuous, mentally intense or simply continuous, is a way to keep your brain and body active and able to perform what you need it to. From 20 seconds to 5 minutes, breaks can help reboot your brain…
Chronic Pain- What is it?
Chronic pain is usually defined as pain that lasts longer than 3 months, or that lasts past the expected time for healing. Chronic pain occurs for many reasons. Sometimes the pain is because of an underlying condition that does not heal, like arthritis pain that is caused by inflammation repeatedly. This pain serves the function…
Cervical Health Awareness Month 2020
It’s Cervical Health Awareness Month! A 2019 CDC study showed that the HPV vaccine that has become widely available is reducing cervical pre-cancer. Women who had received the HPV vaccine had the most drastic decrease in pre-cancers, but unvaccinated women showed a decline as well. Without further study, the cause of decline in unvaccinated women…
Teeth and Nutrition
Nutrition and teeth go hand in hand. We often hear about the foods to avoid for healthy teeth: sugary and sticky foods. Avoiding these foods, and practicing oral hygiene help teeth stay functional and pain-free. It is also important to keep in mind that healthy teeth are necessary for proper nutrition. Many of the nutrient…
Exercise on your Sofa!
Exercising in the winter can be hard! It’s cold, sometimes there is snow on the ground you could slip on, it gets dark early, feeling down in the winter is more common. The obstacles are many. However, just a little bit of exercise each day can be beneficial. The American Heart Association recommends about 20…
International Day for People with Disabilities
December 3rd is the International Day for People with Disabilities. 61 million adults in the United States live with disabilities, which is 1 in 4 people. Adults older than 65, non-Hispanic Native Americans/Alaskan Natives, and women are more likely to have at least one disability. Americans with disabilities are more likely to smoke, have heart…
Moving Forward with HIV Prevention
Some exciting developments in HIV prevention were presented this past July at the IAS Conference on HIV Science. Initially, prevention of HIV transmission was only safe sex practices. Then in 2012 the drugs we know as PrEP and PEP were approved to prevent the transmission of HIV. PrEP is a prevention drug that can be…
HIV and Aging
Older Americans who are diagnosed with HIV are more likely to be diagnosed in later stages, attributing symptoms to normal signs of aging.
HIV Medications
The first treatment for HIV, Azidothymidine (AZT) or the generic name zidovudine was introduced in 1987. Though initially developed as a potential cancer therapy, it was included in a screening program to identify drugs that could treat HIV. Though AZT was an exciting medical development, there were serious side effects, so further testing and trials…
The Fight Against AIDS
The struggle around HIV/AIDS in the United States is an important part of our history. Reflecting on our past helps to show how far we have come and how far we still have to go. Life expectancy before HIV treatment was incredibly low, just 10-12 years of life after diagnosis. Now, people are living longer…
Diabetes Month
It’s the first day of National Diabetes Month! If you’re living with diabetes, knowledge and management are key to preventing further problems and living a full life. Eating healthily, staying active, and monitoring your blood sugar and general health are the basics of managing diabetes. Having a team of people, including friends, family, and doctors…
Breast Cancer
1 in 8 women will get breast cancer in their lifetime, is the 2nd leading cause of death for Native American women, and in some states is the leading cause of cancer-related death. General factors that increase risk are genetics, family history, breast density, and age. When the tumor is small and most treatable is…
Flu Season
We’re heading into flu season, and October is a great time to get that vaccination. Though the flu is a relatively normal part of human life, it is important to remember that many people are hospitalized and die every year due to the influenza virus. The flu vaccine helps not only to reduce your chance…
IPV
IPV, or Intimate Partner Violence affects 1 in 4 women and 1 in 9 men. Even higher rates of IPV are true for certain populations of people. The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence and the National Organization for Women report that LGBT people and women of color experience higher rates of intimate partner violence, yet…
Mental Illness Awareness Month
The National Alliance on Mental Illness celebrates the first week of October as Mental Illness Awareness Month. About 1 in 4 adults experience mental illness in a year, and 1 in 17 adults lives with a serious mental illness. Some common symptoms to pay attention to for yourself or people you care about are: Excessive…