Goodbye 2011!

It's hard to believe that 2011 is almost over. 2011 was a very good year for me, although I'm looking forward to 2012. 2012 is both exciting and kind of scary to me, since it will be a major transition year. I'll be getting my MPH in the spring and (hopefully!) starting a new job in public health.

I hope that you had a good 2011 and are excited about 2012 as well. Before I head off, here is a great little video about one of the best things you can do for your health.

Have a happy and safe new year!

The Way We Get By

Even though it's finals week, I still find time to take an occasional break. Recently, I watched The Way We Get By, a 2009 documentary about three troop greeters in Bangor, Maine. (I'm a big fan of documentaries and have Netflix, which is a little dangerous because there are so many great documentaries, like this one, on there.)

This was an incredible documentary, although be prepared to cry about eight separate times if you watch it. The documentary provides a window into the lives of three elderly people who multiple times a week, often in the middle of the night, go to the Bangor International Airport to greet US troops either going to or returning from Iraq or Afghanistan. Although these three people greet the troops for a variety of reasons, one profound reason is that it helps create a sense of meaning and purposefulness for their lives.

I couldn't help viewing this film from a public health prospective. What I mean by that is that since this film documents the lives of three elderly people, it illustrates some unique issues that affect them. Each have their own health problems, including some more serious conditions like severe depression and heart problems, and cancer. I thought about the Health Communication class I took last summer (especially the lecture about health literacy) as I watched one of the main characters try to describe the treatment he receives for his prostate cancer or as another main character explained the pills she takes daily. In addition to health problems, one of the main characters also had a substantial amount of debt and struggled with loneliness and isolation. It definitely provides some perspective on many of the struggles elderly people face today.

Food deserts

I recently did a group presentation on Food Deserts for my Environmental Health class. According to the CDC, food deserts are "areas that lack access to affordable fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat milk, and other foods that make up the full range of a healthy diet." One thing we learned while researching food deserts is that there's even one in Iowa City. There's a great online tool available that was developed by the USDA that allows you to search by address and see if there's a food desert in your area. The food desert in Iowa City included the very place where we were giving our presentation (which was in the University of Iowa medical school building, part of the health sciences campus).

Even though I had known some about food deserts before this presentation, this USDA report to Congress about food deserts was very interesting and had a lot I didn't know before. One of their major findings was that access to food actually isn't an issue for the majority of people - the bigger issues may be easy access to unhealthy foods and the cost of food. They also outline a lot of neat potential solutions to food access issues, including community food projects, and some of the major gaps in the research.

Anyway, next week is the last week of classes and I have two big papers due on the same day and then two big tests on the same day (it seems like it always works out like that, doesn't it?), so I should probably get back to work!

Here are some articles I thought were interesting:

Emergency Room Closures Hit Minorities, Poor Hardest - Kristopher Husted, NPR
Depressing.

Xeni Jardin Live-Tweets Her First Mammogram, Is Diagnosed With Breast Cancer - Dodai Stewart, Jezebel
I've been reading BoingBoing for years - a blog that Xeni Jardin helped found - so when I read this, it almost felt like it had happened to someone I know. I thought this article had some good points about the fact that she live-tweeted her experience getting her first mammogram and her results is a "sign of How We Live Now." Stewart also notes that "Jardin's decision to update her followers as she went for her breast exam highlights a positive aspect of public sharing: The ability to reach out of a community, and have that community embrace you, in turn."

Scooby-Doo and Secular Humanism - Chris Sims, Comics Alliance
This has nothing to do with public health, I just thought it was a really good read. My partner Tim, who is a major Scooby-Doo fan, showed it to me, because I am not a big fan of the show (I've just always found out pretty boring and formulaic.) This article does make a compelling case for why Scooby-Doo is awesome. As a person who values rationalism, I was somewhat moved (although I still don't have an urge to watch Scooby-Doo).

Pizza is a Vegetable: Another Example of Corporate Influence on US Politics

You've probably already heard that Congress reclassified the tomato sauce on pizza as a vegetable for school lunches. The phrase "pizza is a vegetable" has even already become an internet meme.

In case you don't know what I'm talking about: basically, Congress blocked proposed changes by the USDA to make school lunches healthier.

As the New York Times reported, "Food companies including ConAgra, Coca-Cola, Del Monte Foods and makers of frozen pizza like Schwan argued that the proposed rules would raise the cost of meals and require food that many children would throw away... The companies called the Congressional response reasonable, adding that the Agriculture Department went too far in trying to improve nutrition in school lunches."

This is a perfect example of the control large companies have over our political system. These big food companies basically bought out Congress to not allow healthier changes to be made - "practical, science-based standards" supported by nutrition experts.

I read the politics section of reddit occasionally, and Tarkaan, a reddit user, wrote something I really agree with: "See, the reason this is offensive and that you should be outraged by it is because nutritionists and scientists guided public policy to improve health and nutrition in children. ConAgra came in and spent a bunch of money, and erased the work that science has done." Tarkaan relates this decision back to Occupy Wall Street and one of the major things the movement is about: protesting the corporate influence on our democratic process.

The Occupy movement has been getting a lot more attention lately, especially after the videos of the police officers pepper spraying UC Davis protesters went viral. Although the videos showing police brutality are disturbing and important, the Occupy movement is about much more than reforming our enforcement practices. Corporate influence and lobbying affect so much, including public health.

Back from DC!

I got back from the American Public Health Association conference yesterday, which was held in DC this year. The trip was really fun! I still can't get over how great it is that the MPH program and CBH department basically paid for the whole trip (airfare/travel, registration, and hotel); it's definitely pretty wonderful to get the opportunity to DC for free and be around public health leaders.

Like last year's conference (and most conferences in general, I think), some of the sessions were excellent while others were more so-so. I've found that it seems like most of the sessions are very focused on researching health problems, which, while obviously very important, can be a little frustrating if you're working in an implementation/practitioner capacity. It's always great to learn new things though, and it was fun hanging out with other MPH students and one of my coworkers. It was also nice to see DC again (I hadn't been there since I was in elementary school). One of the highlights of the trip was going to Sprinkles, a cupcake shop that has ridiculously good cupcakes! It was also kind of cool to see Occupy DC (which was set up very close to my hotel).

One of the most amusing things at the conference - an exhibit had ties for sale with disease patterns.

Here are some articles I've read recently that I've thought were interesting:

Native Foster Care: Lost Children, Shatter Families - Laura Sullivan and Amy Walters (NPR)
Absolutely heartbreaking story about how Native American children are disproportionately taken from their homes and put into foster care.

Her Name is Jahessye Shockley. - Francie Latour (The Hyphenated Life) 
A sad and well-written article about how missing white children get way more media attention (and donations) than missing children of color.

The Birth Control Solution - Nicholas D. Kristof (NYT Op-ed)
A simple case for increased birth control. It's hard to argue with this logic, even if you are pro-life.

What's Luck Got To Do With It? - Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen (NYT essay)
An interesting article on luck and "return on luck."

Informed Patient: A New Push to Prevent Infections in Cancer Patients - WSJ Health Blog 
About the CDC's new campaign and website.

Mammogram's Role of Savior is Tested - Tara Parker-Pope (NYT Well)
Interesting article about mammograms. It seems that recently there's been more discussion on the potential downsides of various cancer screening tests. Even though this article was interesting, I have to say I'm still a big supporter of mammography - it still has been proven to save lives.

Fat Talk Free Week!

This week is Fat Talk Free Week. This article in the Huffington Post really captures what the week is all about. Dr. Rosenberg describes "fat talk" as "comments like 'I feel so fat in these clothes,' or 'do I look fat?' It can also be saying to someone else, 'You look great, did you lose weight?' This implies that lost weight is the metric of looking good."

I know I used to make self-depreciating comments in high school and early in college - it's just such a part of our culture and I think in many circles it's an expected way for women to talk. Starting in college, I began to stop saying things like that, because I started to realize that making those comments isn't just dissing yourself - it sends a message to others as well. I can't count the number of times friends of mine (many of whom are much smaller than me) have commented negatively on some aspect of their body ("My arms are so gross," "I feel like a cow"), and I've thought - what does that say about my body and how it looks? Obviously, their intention is just to remark on their own body/express their opinions about themselves - not to insult anyone else, but I think people often forget that their negative comments send a message to others about what's acceptable and what's not acceptable in terms of body size.

Here are some articles I've read this week that you might find interesting:

Interview: James Hansen on the Tar Sands Pipeline protest, the Obama administration, and intergenerational justice - Jerry Cope, Huffington Post
I've become really interested in the Tar Sands pipeline - which, if you don't know about it, is basically a proposed project to have a large oil pipeline go through the United States to link crude oil from Canada to refineries in Illinois, Oklahoma and the Gulf Coast. Leading climate scientists like James Hansen (a UI grad and Iowa native who heads the NASA Goddard Institute) and environmentalists (such as Bill McKibben) have said this pipeline would be "game over" for the environment and have gotten arrested for protesting it. I really hope Obama rejects the proposal.


Pedestrians on streets designed for cars - Lisa Wade, Sociological Images
Features some great examples of problems in the built environment

Men with disabilities face increased risk of sexual violence - Whitney Blair Wyckoff, NPR

Can the 14th amendment defend itself? - Linda Kerber, CNN Opinion
I just saw Linda Kerber speak this morning at the law school and it was very interesting (my friend who attends law school told me about the lecture and invited me to come with her). Ms. Kerber talks a lot about the importance of historical context in understanding the constitution. The 14th amendment is not something I had thought a lot about, but I think her take on why it is important in terms of immigration is fascinating.

Film Underscores Koreans' Growing Anger Over Sex Crimes - Choe Sang-Hun, NYT
A recent South Korean film about the sexual assaults of a number of deaf students in a school and the lax punishments the perpetrators got has "tapped into the widespread anger of official reluctance to take sex crimes seriously, and over how justice is served." Nearly a 10th of the country's population has seen the film.

Early Detection

My friends joke that all I do is talk about cancer, and here I am - talking about cancer again. But big things have just happened in the cancer world! The United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recently decided to not recommend using the P.S.A. test on healthy men to screen for prostate cancer. This decision came after the USPSTF reviewed five clinical trials that showed that the P.S.A. test often results in tests that cause needless complications and that it does not lower mortality. This is a controversial decision for some, especially since there are many men who believe the P.S.A. test saved their life and there are a number of groups who advocate for increased use of the P.S.A. test.

I think this article, the Shortfalls of Early Cancer Detection, brings up some very interesting points, in light of this new decision. Harris states that "scientists had found cancer cells in the blood of patients with seemingly tiny, localized cancers, suggesting that cancer cells could spread silently early in the course of disease. In that case, so-called early detection might not really be early, or of much value. Researchers coined the term 'biological predeterminism' to underscore how the cellular makeup of a given cancer — rather than when it was found — was most important in determining survival." (emphasis mine).

Early detection is a central part of cancer control, and I think it should continue be, especially for the cancers we have effective and proven-beneficial screening tests for (breast, cervical, and colorectal). With these three caners, early detection does make an impact on mortality, and increasing the use of the evidence-based screening tests is an important way to control cancer. But I think Harris makes a good point that maybe for some cancers, finding it early doesn't lead to decreased mortality, and that needs to be taken into account when considering which best course of action to take in terms of research. Although I think for some cancers, like lung especially, the development of an effective screening test would be very beneficial and could lower mortality, maybe there are other cancers where finding it early wouldn't necessarily lower mortality. Maybe for those cancers, a different route needs to be taken, like developing alternative treatments that are more effective.

Anyway, enough about cancer. I'm looking forward to this weekend. I'll be going to see the Old Capitol City Roller Girls play their last bout of the season, the Monster's Brawl. The Roller Girls and some people attending will be wearing costumes, so that should be fun!

Here are some other articles I've read recently that you might be interested in:

Domestic Violence Law Repealed by Lawmakers in Topeka, Kansas - John Hanna, Huffington Post
Pretty upsetting.

Sexy Breast Cancer Ads: Provocative or Patronizing? - Kate Dailey, Daily Beast
I am not a big fan of sexy breast cancer ads and I think Dailey does a nice job of summing up some reasons why - the main one being that it can detract people from the fact that breast cancer affects real people, and the reason we should care isn't to "save second base," but rather to save people.

First Lady Targets World Record for Jumping Jacks - AP
Gotta love Michelle Obama. I think this is pretty fun.

The Mammotives Project Begins!

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The Iowa Cancer Summit just launched their social media campaign project, which is funded by the American Cancer Society, to help understand why women decide to get - or not get - screened for breast cancer. The project is call Mammotives. In addition to Mammotives.org, Mammotives is on Facebook and Twitter. All Iowa women, ages 40+, are welcome to join the conversation. Please spread the word too! We want to reach as many Iowa women age 40 and older as possible. For more information about the project in general, click here.   


I'm really excited for this project, which has been planned by my coworker Kelly Sittig, fellow MPH student Megan Lessard, and people at the American Cancer Society, along with other partners at the Iowa Department of Public Health and the Care For Yourself Program. Although I haven't been very involved in this project, my one claim to fame is that I helped come up with the name! Full disclosure: this awesome website, Wordriod, helped. Wordriod creates a bunch of natural-sounding new words based on what you type in and checks to see if they already exist on the internet. It's really fun!

Iowa Cancer Summit

The Iowa Cancer Summit was Monday and yesterday, and fortunately I was able to go yesterday. The Summit is an annual statewide event that brings together over 100 people involved in cancer control practices. A major theme at this year's Summit was the unveiling of the newly revised Iowa Cancer Plan, which is available to download online here. The plan is meant to guide cancer control practices across the state for the next 6 years and is separated into four major sections: Prevention, Screening, Treatment, and Quality of Life.

The keynote speaker this year was Dr. Laura Seeff, the Comprehensive Cancer Control Branch Chief for the CDC. Her talk was great; one of the take home messages was about the importance of policy and systems-level change, and that we should be sure to include efforts to change those instead of focusing only (or even primarily) on individuals. She also talked about the importance of working together with other chronic disease control efforts and groups dedicated to improving health in other ways to make sure we aren't all duplicating efforts and not being as effective as we could otherwise be.

One of my favorite parts of the Summit, however, was the Cancer Survivors Panel breakout session. Three cancer survivors spoke on the panel about their experiences. The speakers were Gail Orcutt, a radon-induced lung cancer survivor who is a tireless radon advocate and simply a wonderful person; Greg Cantwell, a stage 4 brain cancer survivor; and Gabbi DeWitt, whose mom passed away from cancer this spring. (The ICC, like the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship, defines cancer survivors as those who have been diagnosed with cancer, those who are affected by a loved one's cancer, and caregivers). One major theme of their stories was the importance of having care coordinated. As a cancer patient, you see many different specialists, and sometimes they do not communicate with each other, meaning that major problems/complications can be overlooked and it can be very confusing. I was especially thankful for Gabbi's insights into the benefits of hospice. I think many times the focus in cancer treatment is how survivors are going to win their battle with cancer, but sometimes that is not possible, and that can be very difficult for people to accept or even want to talk about. Gabbi, who works in hospice herself, said that her mom was able to be on hospice care for 11 weeks before she passed, and that those 11 weeks were wonderful and "like a breathe of fresh air." Her mom was able to stay at home and spend time with her friends and family. For more information about hospice, here's a fact sheet from the National Cancer Institute.

This was the second Cancer Summit I've been able to go to, and it's always great to see so many great people dedicated to fighting cancer.
 
Anyway, before I got, here are some articles I've read this past week that you might find interesting:

Study Cites Increase in Throat Cancers from HPV - Denise Grady, NYT
Further support for the importance of the HPV vaccine and for the importance of vaccinating boys.


Hormonal Contraceptives May Raise HIV Risk for Men and Women - Scott Hensley, NPR Health Blog


Top 5 Unnecessary Health-care Costs - Jonathan D. Rockoff, WSJ Health Blog
"Doctors’ prescribing a brand-name statin, without first  checking to see if a lower-priced generic drug would cut a patient’s cholesterol sufficiently, results in $5.8 billion in excess health-care spending, according to the research letter published Oct. 1."


Should a Candidate's Weight be Part of the Conversation? - Katherine Hobson, WSJ Health Blog
My opinion to this question is a definite no.

Great weekend!

This weekend was very needed after last week, which was filled with a larger-than-normal load of readings, writing assignments and even a test. Some friends and I went to the Kalona Fall Festival on Saturday, which I had never been to before. They had a ton of great (and ridiculously unhealthy) food, including fried PB&J (pictured below), and it was fun to see the crafts and the historical side of Kalona as well. Also, Stringtown Grocery is an awesome little grocery store just outside Kalona where you can get things like spices in bulk, freshly made pastries, or other random local items. My partner, Tim, got some sweet habanero pickles from there and they are deliciously sweet and spicy!

I also tried out some new recipes this weekend, including this curried sweet potato and lentil soup (which is one of the best soups I think I've ever made; I doubled the lentils and used low fat coconut milk) and these roasted rosemary tofu cubes (which were pretty good but needed a bit more flavor, so I dipped them in BBQ sauce, which tasted great!).

I hope you had a good weekend too! I'm looking forward to this week - tomorrow is the College of Public Health Student Mentor-Mentee Program kickoff event at The Mill restaurant and then this weekend is Oktoberfest in the Amanas, which is always fun.

Here are some recent articles you might find interesting:

Officials, churches join fight against sexual diseases - Anna Gorman, LA Times
Seems like an innovative idea for an intervention (providing free tests through a computer kiosk and mobile van) and it's awesome that churches are supportive of it as well.

Growth of children's hospitals raises adult-size questions - John Fairhall, NPR
The fact that children's hospitals (like the majority of hospitals in general in the US) are classified private nonprofit, yet often they make a substantial profit and have very high-paid CEOs, is very interesting. It does bring up some ethical questions as to whether or not they should qualify as nonprofit.

The effects of hourly differences in air pollution on the risk of myocardial infarction: case crossover analysis of the MINAP databse - Bhaskara et al.
This study found that for every 10 µg/m³ increase in traffic-related pollutant level, the risk of heart attack increased during the period of 1-6 hours after exposure.

Iowa's Colorectal Cancer Dialogue

Last Friday, I went to Iowa's first Colorectal Cancer Dialogue, which was organized by the Iowa Cancer Consortium, the American Cancer Society, and the Iowa Get Screened Program. The day-long conference was all about colorectal cancer (CRC) - a type of cancer I didn't realize was as common as it is until I started working for the ICC. This may sound ridiculous, but I didn't even know until recently that one of my grandparents was a CRC survivor. (I found out when I was asking one of my parents about our family medical history; my grandparent had been diagnosed and treated for CRC long before I was born and died when I was in elementary school.)

Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related mortality (lung cancer is the leading cause). The fact that it causes so much mortality is especially upsetting considering that its one of the few cancers for which there are screening tests available and if its found early, the chance of 5-year survival after diagnosis is 90%.

Much of the discussions at the Dialogue focused on how to increase CRC screening rates, either by targeting physicians and other health care providers to recommend screening or by educating adults about the various screening options/providing the tests themselves. When people think of CRC screening, they usually only think of colonoscopy, but there are actually three different kinds of screening tests that have been shown to be effective for average-risk adults aged 50 to 75, including getting an annual fecal immunochemical test (FIT). The speakers included Dr. Durado Brooks (national director of the CRC and prostate cancer division of the American Cancer Society), the University's own Dr. Charles Lynch and Dr. Barcey Levy, and ACS's Lorrie Graaf. Many materials from the Dialogue, including presentations, are available to everyone on the ICC website.

Here are some random public health articles you might be interested in:

Conservatives Step Up Attacks On Public Funding For Birth Control - Julie Rovner
Rep. Steve King from Iowa apparently doesn't realize that women can be on birth control and still have children some other time in their lives.

Time to Revive Home Ec -Helen Zoe Viet
"Too many Americans simply don’t know how to cook. Our diets, consisting of highly processed foods made cheaply outside the home thanks to subsidized corn and soy, have contributed to an enormous health crisis."

Med Schools Fall Short on LGBT Education - Eliza Barclay

And here's a picture of my cat, Alley, sitting on my lap while I tried to work on a literature review paper yesterday:

Weight and health

I’m very interested in the relationship between weight and health, although I hold some unconventional views. I think that weight alone should not be used as an indicator of health and that focusing on weight loss as a goal in health interventions can have some unintended negative outcomes.

First, I will preface this by saying that I am not denying that the US population, on average, eats worse and is less active than it was in previous generations, and that this has led to poorer health outcomes. As a person interested in public health, I think there should be efforts (on multiple levels, not just individual) to improve our nation’s health. I also realize that we have, on average, gained weight.

While I recognize this relationship between our increasingly unhealthy environments/lifestyles and our increasing size, I don’t think that it’s as clear-cut as many in our society make it out to be. I believe that someone can have a technically unhealthy BMI (over 25) but still be healthy while someone who has a normal BMI can be unhealthy. Now, clearly there are countless credible studies that have found that people with higher BMIs tend to be at risk for an assortment of health problems that are less common among people with lower BMIs, but there are also a number of studies that complicate this apparently obvious relationship (for example: here, here, and here). And while perhaps on average someone with a BMI of 30 is more likely to have certain health issues than someone with a BMI of 20, this does not mean that all people with a BMI of 30 are unhealthy and that all people with a BMI of 20 are healthy.

I believe that our focus on weight as the primary sign of health and our obsession with weight loss as the way to gain health has lead to some unintended negative consequences: 

1. There are many very unhealthy ways to lose weight. If weight loss is the focus instead of adopting healthy behaviors regardless of weight loss, people may try to lose weight at any cost, even if it means actually being less healthy. 

2. People who have a normal BMI may think they’re healthy even if they aren’t eating well or getting enough physical activity, while people with higher BMIs who adopt healthy behaviors may become discouraged and think they aren’t healthier if they don’t lose weight. 

3. By conflating weight with health, people who do not have a normal BMI are automatically judged as being unhealthy, even if they actually are healthy/do have a healthy diet and exercise regularly.

As a society, we are very focused on losing weight as the key to being healthy, but I think there may be a different way to approach it. What about being healthy simply for the sake of health, not weight loss? This is what I like about Health at Every Size (HAES). I find this approach to health very interesting and others have argued that we should have a paradigm shift away from focusing on weight loss to HAES. Here, here and here are some published articles on the benefits of HAES.

Of course, it should go without saying that even someone who does have a high BMI and actually is very unhealthy (for whatever reasons) should still be treated as a human being and not discriminated against. Here’s an example of weight discrimination: this study found that the higher your BMI, the less your doctor respects you.

It should also be noted that the degree of agency people have in controlling their weight (and health in general) is greatly debated. Our society tends to put the blame largely on individual-level factors (usually focused on behaviors, but sometimes genetics are mentioned too). Public health professionals and some other experts have done an excellent job of pointing out other factors, including environmental and social.

I am not the first person to say these things, and many other people have written much more eloquently than me on these issues. I know many people feel passionately about this topic and may disagree with me. I love to discuss this issue, so feel free to voice your opinion!

Working for a Non-profit

I love working for a non-profit. I've worked at Iowa Cancer Consortium (ICC), a state-wide cancer control non-profit, since June 2010 and it's been a really wonderful experience. While I know there's a lot of variation within the non-profit sector, generally speaking I think many non-profits can provide unique opportunities for students interested in public health. Since non-profits are often (unfortunately) working on a very tight budget and have activity-packed staff, students can often take on more responsibility than they may otherwise be able to in jobs in other areas.

Through working at the ICC, I've been able to work on a range of projects and expand my skills and knowledge considerably. My boss and coworkers have taught me a lot and continually provide me with guidance. I've been able to help plan conferences (like the upcoming Iowa Cancer Summit, which is open to anyone interested in cancer control efforts!), design materials, write grants, edit web pages, conduct literature reviews, contribute to revising the state cancer plan, facilitate membership meetings, learn a lot more about cancer control methods and cancer itself, and meet some cancer control leaders from across the state.

Granted, there are some downsides to working in the non-profit world: the disappointment when a proposed project doesn't get funded, the uncertainty when the fiscal year ends. But all in all, it's been an invaluable experience and I'm looking forward to working with them for the rest of the school year.

The Rape Victim Advocacy Program in Iowa City is another great non-profit I love being a part of. I don't work there, I'm just a volunteer advocate, but the women that work there are incredible and they do many very important things, like provide free counseling for survivors and conduct sexual assault prevention education.

Anyway, enough about non-profits! Here are some articles you might find interesting:

Women could be given the right to choose Caesarean Birth - James Gallagher
I've been interested in birth and its medicalization for a few years now. I feel a little conflicted about the right to choose to have a C-section. On the one hand, I could see how it may be empowering to have women be able to control their childbirth to this degree, but on the other hand, a C-section is a pretty major operation. Plus, childbirth is a natural process that sometimes becomes a medical emergency, but certainly isn't always. I lean towards the view that it's best to avoid getting a C-section unless it's absolutely necessary, but I can understand why some women may feel differently.

Obama Administration Abandons Stricter Air-Quality Rules - John M. Broder
Depressing, but on the bright side - at least Obama isn't actively trying to dismantle the EPA.

Fewer Americans Are Smoking, And Those Who Do Puff Less - Timothy W. Martin
Some good news and bad news in this article. Especially relevant to Iowans since we just lost millions in state anti-tobacco funding.

Texas wildfires destroy more than 700 homes in two days - CNN Wire Staff
Really terrifying stuff. I have some friends in Austin; hopefully the fires stop soon. I'm a little surprised about how long its taken for these fires to get national attention (although the Southern drought in general didn't get very much national attention this summer either, I thought).

And to end this post: I thought this youtube video was pretty funny.

Kale and Rabies

This year is certainly starting off busy! There's always something happening on campus or in town. This weekend, I went to the New Pioneer co-op's Kale Fest, had a blast at the Old Capital City Roller Girls' Roll Out Party (a fun event hosted by the local roller derby team), and played the board game Arkham Horror for the first time with some friends (the verdict: fun but very time-consuming!).

The only time I really eat kale is when it's in kale chip form (a delicious and easy snack recipe my coworker introduced me to), but kale fest was quite interesting and featured some unexpected recipes (like "kale kupkakes," below). Dr. Terry Wahls came and spoke about how she reversed many of the effects of her multiple sclerosis by changing her diet to include more mitochondria-supportive foods. I'm usually fairly skeptical of first-hand accounts like this, but her story was fascinating and had an important take-home message: healthy food can have a powerfully positive affect on your life. Many people in public health are trying to come up with ways to not only increase knowledge about the benefits of healthy foods and how to prepare them, but also increase access and affordability. There are a number of barriers to getting healthy foods, including cost or living in a food desert.

Other eventful things this week include that the first MPH Professional Development seminar happened. Maj. Loren Adams spoke about his practicum in Afghanistan, which involved setting up a rabies prevention program. He worked with local veterinarians to vaccinate 1,500 dogs against rabies and educated children about how to prevent been bitten by dogs. His presentation was incredibly interesting and he talked about how he hoped it would keep going now that he's gone and that ideally a neutering component would be added (although it sounds like much of Afghanistan lacks a lot of the infrastructure to put that aspect into place right now). His talk was definitely great way to kick off the MPH seminars.

Anyway, here are some articles I read in the past week that you might find interesting:

Uninsured Largely Unaware of Benefits Coming from Overhaul - Julie Rovner
I would love to see what kind of campaign some health communication experts would come up with to help remedy this.

Vaccine Cleared Again as Autism Culprit - Gardiner Harris
Not surprising, but still good to be reminded that vaccines have no link to autism.
On a related note, This American Life had a great (and by great, I mean mostly horribly depressing) story on the harms of not vaccinating about three years ago called Ruining It for the Rest of Us. (Full disclaimer: I'm absolutely obsessed with This American Life.)

Size Advocacy: An Inclusive Vision of Justice - Leah Krandel
Leah went to Grinnell with me. I'm very interested in fat discrimination and I thought her article was thought-provoking.

If you're in school, I hope you also had a good first week of classes!

Beginning of the School Year

Hello!

This is my very first blog post and hopefully it's at least somewhat interesting to you! I'm just finishing up the first week of classes for my second and final year of the MPH program in the Community and Behavioral Health track. I hope this blog will show one perspective of what life is like for an MPH student living in Iowa City and will generate discussion about certain public health topics.

This week has been very busy, with everyone back on campus and classes already starting full swing. Graduate school means the first week is no longer "syllabus week." This summer was pretty action-packed for me: I moved into a new apartment on IC's Northside, continued to work at the Iowa Cancer Consortium, began a new job as a graduate research assistant in the MPH department, took my first summer class ever (Health Communications with Prof. Campo, which was fascinating), went to England for the first time with my family, and two of my best friends got married. I also just got a food processor, which I am ridiculously excited about. Now I'm getting settled into my new schedule of going to class and being involved in school activities.

One thing you should know about me is that I spend a probably unhealthy amount of time on the internet reading random articles, and these three in particular I thought were pretty interesting (and somewhat related to public health — but isn't everything?):

How America turned poverty into a crime by Barbara Ehrenreich (author of Nickel and Dimed)
Quote from the article: "In what has become a familiar pattern, the government defunds services that might help the poor while ramping up law enforcement. Shut down public housing, then make it a crime to be homeless. Generate no public-sector jobs, then penalize people for falling into debt. The experience of the poor, and especially poor people of color, comes to resemble that of a rat in a cage scrambling to avoid erratically administered electric shocks."

Swapping meat for nuts to lower diabetes risk by Anahad O'Connor
Quote: "Eating just 50 grams a day of processed meat — one hot dog or sausage, for example, or a little more than two strips of bacon — increased the risk [of Type 2 diabetes] 51 percent."

"Cyberloafing" at work boosts productivity, researchers find by David Jamieson
My coworker showed me this one. I'm a big fan of YouTube videos, so this article made me feel like maybe all my viewings of Hot Salsa Dog weren't a total waste of time...

Anyway, that's probably enough for now. I'm looking forward to this school year and to sharing my experiences with you all!

Katie