Archive for the ‘Advocacy’ Category

On April 17, 2012, I became a citizen of the United States and earned my right to vote. Leading up to this date, I became increasingly aware of my rights and limitations as an immigrant and the stigmas created by those limitations. There were certain privileges—such as voting in presidential elections—in which I had not been allowed to participate and would later in 2012 be able to express my opinion for the first time.

I was empowered! The more I learned about the risks we faced as women in the upcoming election, the more horrified I became. I wondered how deeply my life would be affected if Roe vs. Wade was overturned. Free birth control was so equalizing, it didn’t seem real. Women’s reproductive health choices were so precariously balanced—not in my hands, but in the hands of a government that so fearfully wanted to turn things back to how it was decades ago! (more…)

“Reproductive rights rest on the recognition of the basic right of all couples and individuals to decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing and timing of their children and to have the information and means to do so, and the right to attain the highest standard of sexual and reproductive health. They also include the right of all to make decisions concerning reproduction free of discrimination, coercion and violence.” - World Health Organization

Reproductive rights are the legal rights of individual reproductive health. Access and use of contraception has been a highly politicized and controversial concept in American history. At the center of this struggle is the right of women to individually control their reproduction; to have unrestricted access to birth control, abortion, and family planning services. Until recently, the right for minor women (18 years and younger) to control reproduction, specifically access to emergency contraception, was largely left out of the conversation. (more…)

Last week at Planned Parenthood’s national conference, President Obama spoke about the need to continue funding for the important work that the organization is doing. (See video below.) Obama’s official “blessing” of Planned Parenthood has caused quite a stir. The organization is regularly targeted by conservative politicians for some of the services it provides, including birth control and in-clinic abortions. With the pro-life movement taking aim at abortion laws around the country and right- and left-wing politicians shoring up their bases of support, it often gets lost in the shuffle that Planned Parenthood provides a lot more than abortions. (more…)

Imagine yourself as a young woman who by all accounts appears healthy. One day you experience flu like symptoms, see your physician, and are sent home with the usual: sleep, hydrate, take two of these, and you get better. But do you? Some time passes and you become sick again, this time with a different gamut of symptoms including recurring infections, joint pains, headaches, fatigue, depression, rashes, etc.  As a result, you find yourself in and out of this complicated domestic health care delivery system, seeing one physician/specialist after another and are left with little to no answers.

Fast forward a few years. You’re now in your mid-twenties and have found a personal physician who took the time to listen to your story of diverse symptoms. After reviewing your current symptoms, laboratory tests, and medical history, you finally have the answer to the question you’ve been asking yourself for years: Why am I always sick? You have systemic lupus. (more…)

For all the attention that the world’s aid organizations and news outlets have brought to bear on Haiti, one of the most significant factors that has contributed to the present crisis has been ignored: the desperate lives of Haiti’s women and girls. A lack of education, limited access to reproductive health care, and the rape and violence that Haitian women face have led to a country with a staggeringly poor set of vital statistics. These include a high maternal and infant mortality rate and a high illiteracy rate, with only half the population able to read and write. With 43 percent of the population under 18 years of age and a bleak future for many young men, continued violence and political instability are likely. Unfortunately, as we have seen in other countries, a bleak economic outlook for young men produces a mix of frustration and aggression that is taken out on girls and women. Incidents of domestic violence and sexual assault were at epidemic proportions before the earthquake and will undoubtedly continue for some time. (more…)

Earlier this month, the world lost a great advocate for cancer research and awareness: Zora Brown. Brown, who was a trustee for the Foundation for the Prevention and Cure of Cancer at the American Association for Cancer Research, struggled with multiple bouts of breast and ovarian cancer. She drew on her own experiences in her advocacy for women, especially African-American women, with cancer.

In a statement from AACR, CEO Margaret Foti said, “There is a hole in our hearts as we mourn the loss of Zora Brown, who despite her many years of dealing with two cancers and multiple relapses, maintained an amazing and courageous spirit that inspired everyone around her…. In her memory and honor, we will do our utmost to work even harder to expedite the prevention and cure of this disease that takes the lives of so many.” (more…)

The Steubenville rape trial has shocked us for many reasons, including how visible the crime was because one of the perpetrators posted about it on social media, a fact that is both horrifying and indispensable in prosecuting them. Social media has also been central in a spate of threats to the victim and others who attempted to intercede. An article in TIME yesterday made the point that it could be even harder for the victim to deal with the trauma she has experienced because she has been publicly vilified online – and yet there are some who believe that in the end it might be better for the event to be public, both because the perpetrators were apprehended and convicted, and because some victims find it easier to recover when people know about the incident and can comfort them.

Whatever your views are about the public aspects of this particular case, rape and other sexual violence are notoriously under-reported and kept very private, in part because of the shame that victims often feel. Over half of all sexual assaults are not reported to the police, and 97% of rapists don’t go to jail. This information comes from the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN), the nation’s largest anti-sexual violence organization. Disruptive Women would like to take this opportunity to highlight RAINN for its important work. (more…)

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Regina Holliday bounds across the stage at the old Sam’s Town casino, jumps onto a grey cinder block and flings her arms open wide in welcome.

Holliday, an artist and patient advocate from Washington, balances there for just a moment, beaming before the small cadre of advocates, doctors and tech gurus who are as determined as she is to make patients equal participants in every area of health care. They are here, on the banks of the Missouri River early on a Saturday morning, for a conference she has organized in just weeks. (more…)

If all women around the world breastfed their babies immediately after birth, the lives of 830,000 babies a year could be saved, Save the Children estimates in a new report released today. 

In “Superfood for Babies,” the international humanitarian and development agency identified four significant barriers that prevent more women from successfully breastfeeding, including during the critical “power hour” after birth.  They are: cultural and community pressures, the health worker shortage, lack of maternity legislation, and aggressive marketing of breast-milk substitutes. 

“Last year, we saw a lot of handwringing in this country over how long is too long for moms to breastfeed.  But the real scandal is that many moms around the world don’t get the support they need to start breastfeeding early – or even at all.  It’s a choice all moms should have, and in the developing world it can literally be a matter of life and death for their babies,” said Carolyn Miles, President & CEO of Save the Children.

Breastfeeding in the “power hour” after birth saves lives

The colostrum, as the first milk is called, jump starts a baby’s immune system.  Earlier breastfeeding also leads to higher rates of exclusive breastfeeding for six months, which further reduces vulnerability to malnutrition and deadly disease, Save the Children’s new report explains.  (more…)

This has been a watershed year for health care and health policy. With the survival of the Affordable Care Act – having been confirmed as constitutional by the Supreme Court back in June – and the rise of health IT, it is safe to say that 2012 left its mark on our country’s health care delivery system.

Rather than looking back and reflecting on the triumphs and failures of the past year, in the interest of being disruptive, we’re instead taking this opportunity, on the very last day of the year, to look forward. (more…)

Yesterday the Atlantic held the second of three events in its Community Health Tour, in which leaders on the frontlines of community health join panelists in a conversation to identify and solve problems. Yesterday’s conversation in St. Louis, MO featured panelists Robert Fruend, CEO of the St. Louis Regional Health Commission; Joy Krieger, Executive Director of the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, St. Louis Chapter; Melba Moore, Health Commissioner for the City of St. Louis; and Dr. Jason Purnell, Assistant Professor at the Brown School of Social Work and Public Health at Washington University.

The panelists weighed in on the progress being made and challenges to be reckoned with in St. Louis. Socioeconomic disparities remain one of the toughest hurdles to overcome in creating healthier communities. Low incomes and lack of education and information tend to be indicators of other health factors such as smoking and poor diet. Add this to a general lack of access to health services and you begin to see a population that is becoming sicker over time, unable to tackle either disease management or prevention. (more…)

Disruptive Woman Regina Holliday is often lauded by the patient advocacy community as the Rosa Parks of patient care. With her own patient and caregiver experiences tucked in her heart pocket, she travels globally to present her message of patient empowerment and inclusion in health care decision making, health records, and care plan discovery. Fearlessly she stands before officials, practitioners, and others to demand a thoughtful dialog on the role of patients in their own health care. In her own words, “Being a thought leader in social media takes a lot of work, but you can do amazing things.” (more…)

More than 125 million individuals worldwide, including as many as 7.5 million Americans, live with psoriasis—a chronic, inflammatory, painful and disabling autoimmune disease for which there is limited effective, safe and affordable treatment options.  There is no cure for psoriasis and it can affect anyone, anywhere around the world.  Psoriasis knows no boundaries.  I worry that too many people suffer needlessly from psoriasis due to incorrect or delayed diagnosis, inadequate treatment options and insufficient access to care.  People with psoriasis also suffer from stigma and a lack of understanding from the general public, who incorrectly fear psoriasis is contagious or “just a skin thing”. Because of this discrimination, people with psoriasis are more likely to suffer anxiety, low self-esteem and depression. (more…)

By Dominique Browning. In the wake of the tragic shooting of Trayvon Martin in Florida, there’s been a lot of talk about the risks to black children of being shot and by whom. Last week Harry C. Alford, the President and CEO of the National Black Chamber of Commerce, testified against the new Mercury and Air Toxic Standards during a Senate committee hearing.

“Poverty brings far worse health than mercury coming out of a coal plant or utility plant. Violence, crime. These kids that I see are far more likely to get a bullet in the head than asthma. And that’s the reality of it.”

Two days later, during another Senate hearing on the EPA budget, Alabama Senator Sessions claimed that air pollution victims are “unidentified and imaginary.”

But neither of these gentlemen is talking about reality. (more…)

Matthew Zachary

This month we are extremely excited to have Matthew Zachary as our Man of the Month! Matthew is the CEO/Founder of Stupid Cancer – an organization focused on empowering young people who have cancer. He is the face of the next generation leader for meaningful, community driven health innovation.

We caught up with Matthew to get some additional insight on his background and Stupid Cancer.

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