I was recently invited to speak on a webinar panel with distinguished leaders from the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) and Howard University on getting tested for HIV. The main purpose of the program is to “to heighten awareness and understanding of HIV testing” and encourage this information to be shared throughout the blogosphere.

If you are at all interested in the prevention and elimination of HIV/AIDS, please join us on Tuesday to learn more.

We will be focusing on these questions during the webinar:

• Why should we care about HIV testing?
• Who should get tested for HIV?
• What happens when someone goes to get an HIV test?
• What are some of the reasons people don’t get tested for HIV?
• What are messages about HIV testing we can share with our blog readers?

Please spread the word with the invite here - also check out the main website for more promotional materials. One of the things I mentioned in the last post was about how important it is for us to get a grasp on these new social technologies to use in aiding in the healthy welfare of our society. This session will give some insight into that.

Do you know?

Hello ladies! I wanted to let you know that today (Mother’s Day - how fitting) is the start of National Women’s Health Week! That’s right, an entire week devoted to ensuring that you stay healthy and knowledgeable about the things that impact your health.

To kick off this week’s event, the Department of Health and Human Services along with the National Women’s Health Information Center, is sponsoring the 5th Annual WOMAN Challenge! The 8 week challenge is designed to encourage women and girls to walk 10,000 steps or engage in 30 minutes of physical activity each day. Women can choose to walk one of six “virtual routes” across the country.

What I love about this challenge is that it really gives all who want to participate the tools to succeed and get encouraged - through emails and opportunities to share successes. Also there is the opportunity to join or create teams so that you have others around you to share in the motivation. That is what improving your health is all about, staying continually encouraged and motivated to do what’s best for yourself.

I want everyone to understand that it is always in your reach to attain goals of good health! They always say knowledge is power right? That’s why I absolutely love what can be achieved through the Web - it’s information at your fingertips that can be applied to our lives and that’s my aim with Pulse & Signal. This is especially true for all the women out there who are multitasking with all sorts of things to take care of - take time out for yourself and your well-being.

In honor of National Women’s Health Week and the WOMAN Challenge, I am going to post a series of women-focused health tips each day from Monday to Friday and do a wrap up on Saturday. Check back here everyday to get some information that you might not have known about women’s health.

For more information, please visit the websites for the WOMAN Challenge and National Women’s Health Week.

According to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI):

“High blood pressure (HBP) affects more than 65 million—or 1 in 3—American adults. HBP often has no warning signs or symptoms. Once it occurs, it usually lasts a lifetime. Uncontrolled high blood pressure can lead to heart and kidney disease, stroke, and blindness.”

This month, take some time out for yourself and get your blood pressure checked.

My grandmother used to tell me “Prevention is better than cure” - it makes sense here. Why wait until a problem occurs?

For more information, check out these resources from NHLBI:

• Your Guide for Lowering High Blood Pressure
• Facts and Detailed Information on High Blood Pressure
• Your Guide to a Healthy Heart (PDF)

I’ve been thinking about this topic for a while now and I just was able to locate a useful piece of media for it. Thanks to Chris Condayan (@csuspect on Twitter) for the video!

Ok, so cough/cold/flu season is technically over you say? That may be true but the information in that video transcends seasons. Remember when your parents told you to cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze? Yeah that sounds polite but can actually be pointless in the prevention of spreading germs if you don’t wash your hands.

With most of us clickity-clackin away on the keyboard at work and manuevering the mouse over the keypad, our hands are frequenting surfaces that we use over and over again. So think about it, if you are at your desk and you sneeze into your hand and continue typing - what do you think is going to happen? The germs are going to be transferred to your keyboard and most likely your mouse as well. And then you shake hands with your co worker, congratulating them on a promotion. And then use the doorknob to leave building. I think you get my point.

Here are a few tips I thought of to help you keep the sniffles away from yourself and others in the workplace as well as your home:

1. Wash your hands frequently. Especially before eating a meal.
2. When coughing or sneezing (especially when you have a cold), do so inside your sleeve, right by your elbow or further above. When you do this, you can just toss your shirt in the laundry and wash those germs away. If you use a piece of Kleenex, still be sure to wash your hands afterward.
3. Have some of those Clorox wipes handy - they are great for wiping down surfaces on your desk and getting rid of any germs hanging around. Might be a good idea to wipe down your keyboard and mouse at the end of each week.
4. Hand sanitizers! Great stuff and alot of them come in tiny dispensers that you can carry around in your pocket or purse. If you can’t wash your hands, this is the next best thing.
5. If you’re sick and sneezing/coughing all over the place, do everyone a favor and stay home. Trying to keep a perfect record (like the guy in the video) quickly turns into “How many other people can I make sick the fastest”. Don’t be that guy/girl.

Coughing into your hands isn’t going to help when you shake someone’s hand in the next 5 minutes. I know this seems like common sense stuff but sometimes we all need a reminder!

One of the most pressing public health issues of our times, has been the scourge of HIV/AIDS. The disease - which began to gain notoriety and attention throughout the 1980’s - has crippled the lives of many Americans, most often bringing unwelcome stigmas and lifelong medication treatments.

A particular class I took in college (as a matter of fact, it was the class that brought me from engineering to the public health world), was focused on disease prevention. Among diseases like diabetes and tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS was usually at the top of the list of diseases that needed focused attention to cure/eradicate. Now that we are in the 2000s and in an age of advanced communication, many of the details related to the disease itself - as well as cutting edge research working toward a cure - can be effectively disseminated to the lay audience. For far too long, the darker side of word of mouth communication allowed for incorrect insight into the world of those living with the disease. Now we can change that…

A good example of technology (more specifically the social web) being used to inform the public is the recently launched AIDS.gov blog. AIDS. gov is the official website of the Department of Health and Human Services‘ communication on the HIV/AIDS issue. Their willingness to delve into the social media aspect of communication should be applauded in itself. This is what I’m talking about when I mention thoughts on how social technology can help the health world. Health is about people. How people live, eat and interact…and also learn. The site does a great job of introducing people to the disease and the blog seems to facilitate a way for people to interact with how the government is handling the issue.

This is of course a vulnerable position as there is always the tendency for the public to not always trust government leadership. This is a great step in the right direction. The HIV/AIDS dilemma is a big one - a global one. And from my point of view, problems can be solved faster by having more people truly understand what is at stake.

Bottom line is, as we continue to become more connected, more vocal about what is going on in our lives, it’s important to not only become knowledgeable about these issues but also to provide feedback regarding solutions. Especially in the realm of health - it’s not about what the government can provide, it’s not about a “professional” tackling the problem for us. Our better health future relies on you - it relies on me - to make forward progress. Get educated about health issues that matter to you…and then give back.

Did you remember to grab your morning cup of coffee this morning at the local shop? Have to get up and moving!

Does the sound of a Red Bull can being snapped open spark your senses and dilate your pupils? This is all I need to get through the rest of the afternoon!

Noticed it was approaching 1 a.m. and wanted to just read that last RSS feed? This won’t take long, besides it’s [insert popular blog here]!

Do these instances sound familiar? Was the Sandman composing a lullaby for you when these thoughts began to hit? Well don’t worry, you’re in good company. In a recent article on CNN.com, a survey from the National Sleep Foundation was taken that pointed out one-third of workers catch shut-eye on the job. Wow. First of all, I can only remember one time in my professional career where I was so tired that I actually contemplated falling asleep at my desk. Secondly, that has to be detrimental to your job security!

Not Enough Hours in the Day?

Let’s be honest, when was the last time you felt as though you had enough time to do the things you wanted to do in one day? It seems that from the moment the alarm jarrs us back to reality and we realize another day has begun, we grumble that the morning came too quickly. Whether you have a 9 to 5 (or more commonly an 8 to 6), living the life of a freelancer or toiling as an entrepreneur, work takes up a huge part of our day. The survey points out the fact that work days have gotten longer which means less “you time”.

Also, we are in a time now where work is all over the place. Even if we have a day job, alot of people are doing the slash career thing - working on projects after (or sometimes before) the regular job. Of course you’re sleepy but you have that side consulting gig that you are passionate about and need to come through on so that you can develop your credibility! If only you had one or two more hours, you could get it all done and get some rest…right?

Information Overload

The Information Era. The Digital Age. The Wired Generation. Yep, that’s what we’re living in and who we are and we love it don’t we? Answers to questions a mouse click away, family members around the world can meet up in cyberspace, blogs to read, comments to write - it almost seems like too much! But we tell ourselves we can handle it. As a matter of fact, I really think that in some cases, we feel like it’s a badge of honor that we stayed up the night before til 2 a.m. cranking out a blog post or clearing our feed reader. When was the last time someone told you something to that effect and you furrowed your brow and scolded them for not getting enough sleep? I rest my case.

We have so many electronic devices at our finger tips designed for “increased productivity” e.g. Blackberries, PDA/Smartphones, and laptops that are ultra-portable (yes, even in the bedroom - *tear*). But what about increased sleep production? Ever been startled from sleep by your Blackberry alerting you that someone sent an email at 2:45 a.m.? The fact of that matter is that it’s amazingly easy to get caught up in surfing the web, checking our electronic devices and even watching DVR’d television.

What’s the Problem?

From a recent USA Today article:

For years, sleep researchers have been preaching the dangers of lost sleep: People who are fatigued can’t pay attention to routine tasks, have trouble learning and are prone to a laundry list of health problems, from depression to high blood pressure.

New research suggests an added risk to losing sleep day after day: Humans and animals that have chronic sleep deprivation might reach a point at which the very ability to catch up on lost sleep is damaged, says Fred Turek, a sleep researcher at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill.

Basically, if you continue to get little amounts of sleep each night (sleep debt), your ability to make up that lost sleep is hampered.

By the end of two weeks, the people who had lost sleep at night said they no longer felt tired during the day. But test scores revealed a different story, according to the 2003 study published in the journal Sleep. The sleep-deprived group had trouble paying attention, had slower reaction times and developed impairments in memory, Dinges says.

The article also shows a few tips on how to NOT lose your precious sleep:

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine, the National Sleep Foundation and other sleep experts offer these tips on getting a good night’s sleep:

1. Do not stay up late to talk on the phone or surf the Internet.
2. Keep computers and TVs out of the bedroom.
3. Stick with a regular bedtime.
4. Avoid food or drinks with caffeine, especially at night. Such stimulants can keep you awake.
5. Don’t stay up all night to cram for a big work project or to finish homework if you’re in school.
6. Avoid vigorous exercise within a few hours of bedtime.

The Ultimate Increased Productivity

This is a problem folks. I was talking to a friend today about how I’ve been keeping an eye on her because of her ultra busy schedule and lack of adequate rest. I especially think that those of us who might be so overbooked with school, work, side work and trying to maintain a social life, will think that “after this is done, then I can sleep”, are just fooling ourselves. One thing I’ve realized is that life never gets less complicated as you grow older. It just doesn’t. YOU have to make the time for yourself to recharge and refresh. The technology doesn’t have to sleep, but you do. That’s my take on “increased productivity”.

I’m a proud member of the Metropolitan Washington Public Health Association (MWPHA) and as most of you know, a big advocate for health education and public health efforts. Especially in the Washington, DC area where HIV/AIDS and poverty are pressing issues - we need to count on local talent to lead initiatives and generate great ideas.

I know, you’re probably thinking: ‘That’s great Andre, but what does that have to do with us?’

Well….I wanted to let you all know that the MWPHA is opening up their leadership committees to new positions for 2008 and going forward! If you or anyone you know is interested in making a difference in the area through health education and public health initiatives, please let me know by dropping me an email. I would be more than happy to send you more information!

Another exciting part is that I’m currently being nominated for one of the positions! Hopefully I can bring some insight to the group on the useful tools of social media and spreading the word on issues that impact all of our lives.

For more information on this wonderful organization, please hop on over to www.mwpha.org

Recently I wrote about the website OnDayOne and how I was excited that this existed for people to become even more involved in speaking up about how the President began their term.

I just posted my Idea suggestion for the website - obviously focused on some aspect of health.

As an advocate for public health education, I would want the President to boost publicity about the National President’s Challenge - a nationwide physical fitness program aimed at getting kids, teens and adults living healthier. This year will be the 52nd year of the Program, started by Eisenhower and it’s no secret that the country is in need of a fitness/healthier lifestyle boost. Let’s unite the country in good health!

You can find the post here on the site. Some pretty interesting ideas have been posted and hopefully you can also join in. Web technology is enabling us all to do so much, I love it.