Carol Schechter

The following is a guest post by Carol Schechter, a leader in the field of health communication and social marketing. You can follow Carol on twitter @carol_schechter.

Last week was a bad week for the Susan G. Komen Foundation. On Monday, they were still an iconic charity; the group that successfully put women’s health issues in the public eye and the group that forever changed our associations with the color pink from babies to breast cancer survivors.

On Tuesday, their world changed. On January 31, AP broke the story that Komen decided  to stop funding Planned Parenthood, allegedly because Planned Parenthood was under Congressional investigation.   Social networks erupted with the news, and the world started to learn a lot about the workings of the Foundation: that the Komen VP behind the defunding decision was  tea party Republican who had long been opposed to Planned Parenthood; that Komen also opposed stem cell research; that a significant amount of Komen funds went to law suits against other charities that dared to use the phrase “for the cure” in their campaigns; that the decision to defund Planned Parenthood wasn’t shared with Komen grass roots chapters until after the announcement; and that many of these chapters opposed the decision when they learned of it. Komen started back pedaling quickly, first stating the real reason for the decision was not the Congressional investigation, but was because Planned Parenthood didn’t offer mammograms as a direct service. Excuses kept coming, but the damage was done. By the end of the week Komen reversed its decision and said Planned Parenthood was once again eligible to apply for grants. Then they engaged their PR firm. (more…)

We hope you remembered to wear red today!

The Heart Truth®—a national awareness campaign for women about heart disease.

Organized by the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH) as part of The Heart Truth’s American Heart Month festivities, “Friday, February 3rd is National Wear Red Day®, on which Americans wear red to show their support for women’s heart health.”

National Wear Red Day® is only the beginning, though. One of The Heart Truth’s signature events, The Red Dress Collection Fashion Show is also held during American Heart Month, as a kick-off to New York Fashion Week. This year’s show is being held Wednesday, February 8th. You can learn more and see highlights from last year’s Red Dress Collection Fashion Show here.

American Heart Month, National Wear Red Day®, The Red Dress Collection Fashion Show and all of The Heart Truth’s other initiatives, events and activities serve to further one objective — increasing awareness about heart disease among women and helping women take steps to reduce their own personal risk of developing heart disease. To learn more about the organization and its mission or find out how you can get involved, check out The Heart Truth’s website, Facebook page and Twitter profile.

By Jane Sarasohn-Kahn. When I would meet up with clients and friends during the latter half of 2011, people whom I hadn’t seen for months would do a double-take when they saw me. “What have you done?” they have asked. In this first post of 2012, I will share with Health Populireaders my story of 2011 – a year of living health-fully for me.

One of the blessings of my work-life is that I have access to some of the great minds in health and health care. But not until I began to personally harness their wisdom, intentionally incorporating what they’ve learned into my own life-flow and personal health ecosystem, did I impact my health.

You can see from the then-and-now photo what the physical transformation has been. This journey, though, went way beyond weight loss: my changed behaviors have to do with, yes, food intake, but also exercise, relaxation and balance, attitude, social connections, creativity, and intentional living.

2011 marked a major milestone in my life: my 25th wedding anniversary. This was a key health activation point: my husband and I discussed what we could give each other for the occasion. The idea of getting on another plane for a ‘special trip,’ when we both regularly travel for work and want to stay off planes in our spare time, did not appeal. Instead, we threw each other a wonderful party with special friends…and we gave each other the gift of health.

I disrupted my routine in many ways:

• How I eat (lean protein at every meal, including and especially breakfast, low fat, low-to-no white carb and sugar, lots of water and decaffeinated beverages – my choice, Tazo Calm Tea); listening to Michael Pollan’s Food Rules; and, continuing my allegiance to Slow Food. (more…)

By Magaly Blas. Can cell-phones be used to improve maternal health in Peru? The answer is Yes. Peru has one of the highest mortality rates in the Americas, 240 per 100,000 women die in childbirth. In Peru, 75% of homes have a cell-phone. Thus, the use of cell-phones to reach pregnant women with health messages seems a good strategy.

WawaRed (wawa means baby in Quechua language) is a pilot project of Cayetano Heredia Peruvian University that provides pregnant women with access to health information through a cell-phone-based interactive system. Women can access for free information about what to do if they have warning signs during their pregnancy such as vaginal bleeding or severe vomiting. The system also provides them with SMS reminders for their clinical appointments and with motivational messages.

The project will soon develop an electronic medical record that will interact with a mobile phone platform. Initially, the project was focused only on health information before the delivery. Given that women expressed their desire to continuing receiving messages to remind them about clinical appointments for their newborn, vaccinations, and nutritional tips, the project is being extended to cover one year after the delivery.

The project is being conducted under the leadership of Dr. García and Dr. Curioso and it is financed by the Mobile Citizen Program of the Science and Technology Division of the Inter-American Development Bank.

Wawared has established strategic alliances with the Regional Government, through the Callao Health Division, and with Telefónica Movistar of Peru. The project has now additional support from UNICEF to include an Electronic medical record for the baby`s first year of life.

Video of the project: WaWaRed: Getting connected for a better maternal and child health in Peru by IDB’s Mobile Citizen

By Magaly Blas. Gender inequalities have persisted over decades across all continents. Whenever we hear about gender inequalities we think in women who have lower access to education, jobs and health care compared to men. Women are also more prone to domestic violence, human trafficking, gendercide, and sex-selective infanticide.

So far we have seen women as victims of gender inequalities, but how about the role that women have as perpetuators of these inequalities? In many developing countries mothers, wives and teachers have a high acceptability of behaviors that maintain disparities between genders. For example, in some countries mothers teach their daughters that they have to cook and clean the house while their sons can keep playing. So when these daughters become mothers they assign their children the same roles, perpetuating this cycle. Mothers in some settings decide to favor her son over her daughter to attend the school and university. In some areas this is also true for health. In rural areas parents may sell their cow to pay the medical treatment of their sick son but they will not do this if their daughter gets sick.

Studies have shown that women with lower socioeconomic status and education are more likely to hold on to traditional ideas that perpetuate gender inequalities, and also more likely to perpetuate such ideas in the younger generation. For all of these reasons, it is important that in future awareness campaigns we place women not only as victims of inequalities (which gives them a passive role), but also as perpetuators of these inequalities.

My question to all of you is…Are we (as women who work for women’s rights) working to end the cycle of women as perpetuators of gender inequalities? Should we start by changing our own minds and own approaches towards interventions to decrease these inequalities?

The following is a guest post by Saundra Pelletier the CEO of WomanCare Global, a UK-based charity.  Saundra is an international marketing expert, published author, keynote speaker and executive coach.

By Saundra Pelletier. Big numbers always make people stop and think. Big birthdays, anniversaries or milestone are moments to reflect on what once was, and what could be.

Over the last few months, media coverage of the population reaching seven billion people has been especially ponderous, causing wonder about what the pressure of so many people will do to our planet. Questions abound. What will the carbon footprint of seven billion plus people be? Will there be enough food to feed everyone?  What can we do about population growth? How many people can the planet manage?

One of the ways we can help our planet is by investing in family planning. Family planning is one of the most cost-effective, high-yield interventions that exists today. Countries that invest in family planning can reap immediate health benefits, investment savings in health and education sectors, and social and environmental benefits that extend well beyond a single generation.

As I wrote in an earlier post, the ability for women here in the U.S. to use birth control to prevent or delay pregnancy gave every woman  the power to decide if and when she wanted to have children, and how many to have. And with the ability to keep families smaller, came the ability to provide for their present and future well-being. (more…)

By Phyllis Greenberger. Just as disease affects women differently than men, military women experience different health concerns than their male counterparts. Women veterans are affected by a number of trauma-related disorders, including PTSD, depression, sleep disturbances, and increased use of tobacco and alcohol. In fact, nearly half (48%) of women tested for major depressive disorder in a VA medical study screened positive compared to 39% of men. Osteoarthritis, infertility, urogenital and pelvic floor disorders are some of the other unique issues faced by women veterans.

Realizing the seriousness and magnitude of the problem, SWHR began a multi-year program for women veterans in 2008 when we hosted a conference entitled, “PTSD in Women Returning from Combat Areas.”

SWHR’s president twice testified before the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs on the important topic of enhancing healthcare services for women veterans and the need for research into sex differences that influence the unique health issues military women face.

In February 2011, SWHR launched Fatigues to Fabulous™ (F2F), an ongoing national campaign to honor and support female veterans as they transition home. Collaborating with veterans’ service organizations and the fashion industry, SWHR is raising awareness about the unique physical, emotional, and psychological challenges female veterans face, and is working to harness resources to support them.

A SWHR scientific conference in July 2011 “What a Difference an X Makes: The State of Women’s Health Research – A Focus on Female Veterans” brought together researchers and clinicians to discuss research gaps and clinician care options for military women.

SWHR believes sex differences must be researched in order to better understand the cau (more…)

The following is a guest post by Janice Lynch Schuster who  works at the Altarum Institute, a new voice in the field of aging and end of life issues.

By Janice Lynch Schuster. Sunday night, simultaneously tired and wired from my participation in a 39-mile fundraising walk for breast cancer, I attended my daughter’s one-year anniversary meeting to celebrate her achievement: She has one year of drug-free living. The ceremony was moving and painful, joyful and sad. She talked about her struggle, her journey and moments of arrival, insights into her addiction and awareness of ways to overcome it. She talked about people in the room who had helped her along the way, who had called her on it when she tried to bamboozle them, who had loved and supported her as she worked to find other ways to cope with a world in which she had trouble living by the rules. Others in the room testified about their experiences with her—her determination to stay sober had inspired theirs; the fact that she had made it for a year gave them hope to reach similar goals; her enthusiasm and dedication, they said, was electrifying. To other teens in the meeting, she was a role model. She was—and is—a beloved part of this community of addicts and alcoholics. The outpouring of love and affection these people have for my daughter made me understand more fully and deeply just what it means to be on a journey with a community of like-minded people, and how important it is to be surrounded by such people when the journey is long and difficult, when there are barriers to be overcome and milestones to reach.

This time last year, we were in a very different place.  Aware that my daughter was self-destructing, I admitted her to a rehab facility; she was furious with me and told me our relationship was over, that I was not her mother, and she would never be my daughter again. She was livid and, until I stopped answering the phone, would call me daily with her fury. I was heartbroken—my beautiful girl, so smart and talented and funny—had been waylaid by a disease that has plagued our family for generations. She was 17, at the end of her junior year in high school, and at a time when I had expected her to be visiting colleges, studying for the SATs, buying her class ring, we were sitting in a locked room, crying and angry and overwhelmed by what was happening. The weekend I checked her in to the rehab facility coincided with the annual 39-mile walk, and despite my sorrow, I felt obligated to walk. So many people had donated so much money to me, and although the funds were committed whether I showed up or not, I felt compelled to go along with my plan. (more…)

A new OWL survey of women showed women of all ages need more information about menopause, and that younger women, in particular, often lack even basic information about this major life stage:

• Nearly 70 percent of younger women (age 30-44), many of whom could shortly experience initial symptoms, say they don’t have enough information about menopause;
• Two-thirds of younger women say they do not know most signs and symptoms of menopause
• Nearly a quarter of younger women – 24 percent – say they have more information about symptoms and treatments for erectile dysfunction (ED) than menopause

Additionally, the survey results showed that younger women aren’t aware of some of the most serious and life-altering symptoms of menopause. Only 16 percent of women age 30-44 cited painful intercourse as a symptom of menopause, and only half of women in this age group thought vaginal dryness was a serious symptom. Younger women also showed substantially less understanding that weight gain and insomnia are common menopausal symptoms. In contrast, in women ages 55-60, about 50 percent recognized insomnia and painful intercourse as symptoms of menopause; three-quarters understood vaginal dryness to be a symptom; 58 percent reported weight gain as a symptom. 

“Many younger women have more information about ED than menopause,” said Bobbie Brinegar, Executive Director at OWL. “We need to demystify menopause.”  (more…)

Healthy People 2020 sets the Nation’s health agenda. It was developed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in partnership with other Federal agencies and with broad, cross-cutting stakeholder input. For three decades, Healthy People has provided a comprehensive set of national, 10-year health promotion and disease prevention objectives aimed at improving the health of all Americans. Healthy People 2020 identifies nearly 600 objectives with 1,200 measures across 39 topic areas.   It aims to involve anyone and everyone interested in improving health in our communities.

One goal of the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (ODPHP), which manages the initiative, is to extend the use and value of Healthy People to those who may not traditionally consider themselves “public health professionals.” These professionals include city planners, educators, and those working in agriculture, labor, veteran’s affairs, housing, and environmental protection.

Healthy People 2020 and Women’s Health

Most Healthy People objectives are focused on improving the health of the general population; however, some topic areas specifically focus on women’s health, including the Family Planning and Maternal, Infant, and Child Health topic areas. Additionally, for the first time, Healthy People includes a topic area on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Health. Objectives for this new topic area are currently in development and will be released in the coming months. (more…)

The following is a guest post by Nyaradzayi Gumbonzvanda who is General Secretary, World YWCA  and Dr. Nalini Saligram the Founder and CEO of Arogya World. It was originally posted on The Huffington Post on September 6th.

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs), which include cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, lung disease, and mental health are one of the greatest health and development challenges of the century, responsible collectively for 2/3 of all deaths worldwide. Though all people the world over are susceptible to the threat of these chronic diseases, this is a women’s health rights and empowerment issue because these diseases impact girls and women differently. At the same time, women are a crucial part of the solution to this crisis.

Arogya World, World YWCA and other organizations have joined forces to form the Women for a Healthy Future movement. We are mobilizing women and men from around the world to sign a petition demanding that world leaders reduce the vulnerability of women and children to NCDs.

As advocates for women’s right to health and empowerment, we call on the world leaders during the forthcoming United Nations High Level Meeting on NCDs to consider the following critical factors related to women and NCDs:

1. NCDs have a direct impact on women’s health
NCDs are the #1 killer of women. A staggering 50,000 women lose their lives to NCDs every single day. More than 1,000 women die from cardiovascular disease, one of the four main NCDs, every hour.

Women are uniquely affected by NCDs. New research published in The Lancet (Aug 2011) shows that for women, especially pregnant women, the harmful effects of smoking are even higher than for men. When it comes to coronary heart disease, smoking is 25% more dangerous for women. (more…)

The following is a guest post by Karen Orloff Kaplan the CEO of the Ovarian Cancer National Alliance.

TEAL is on trend this September. Not only is teal a top fashion color for fall 2011, it’s the color of ovarian cancer awareness—and September is national ovarian cancer awareness month. Here’s how you can help raise awareness of this disease.

To support ovarian cancer awareness you can get involved in the Ovarian Cancer National Alliance’s United States of Teal campaign. The goal of the campaign is to have every state in America teal—which happens when state legislators pledge their support for ovarian cancer awareness. Twenty-four states are already teal—visit www.unitedstatesofteal.org to see if your state supports women with ovarian cancer.

The website also shows how you can contact your state legislators and urge them to pledge their support to the ovarian cancer community. We need your help to raise awareness of the symptoms, and expand federal research to improve treatments and support the development of a desperately needed screening test. (more…)