My Semester in a Nutshell

From: lawschoolninjabook.com

Oh man this semester went by super fast.  This was definitely an interesting class – nothing like the other ones I am taking this semester.  A lot of the things that we worked with on Elms were things that I have never fiddled with before so that was definitely fun to learn about.

When comparing my actions at the beginning of the semester to the present I have to say I think things have mostly remained the same.  The one exception to this would be my phone usage.  When the semester started I was texting more or less every minute, but now I don’t text as much, as I am starting to find it somewhat annoying.  Also, I upgraded to a smart phone so I am now able to do all sorts of fun things on my phone instead of the regular texting, and calling.  I still think this digital world is potentially danger to us in the future, because we as Americans in particular do not know how to control ourselves, we live a life of overindulgence. We therefore allow ourselves to become engrossed in our consumerist culture. 

A definite positive of digital information is the ability to find information so very quickly.  As soon as new happens it can be at your finger tips, whether via Twitter or Facebook of some other medium.  In cases of emergencies this is very beneficial, but could also be seen as detrimental depending on which angle you’re looking at it from.  For example if you’re the journalist who spends legitimate time working on a story I’m assuming you wouldn’t appreciate having the entire thing shoved into a 120-character box.    

Another positive to digital information is the lengths to which it is able to reach.  A newspaper can only reach so many people, because not everyone is going to take the time out of their day to read the news paper; plopping down and looking at a computer though - that’s a completely different story.  Combined with cell phones, which it seems as though everyone has one of today you are just about ready to conquer the world. 

To my peers who were not in this class:  I would definitely suggest experimenting with different forms of technology.  I think it’s fairly easy to become complacent in the things that you use on the Internet but there’s so much else out there! Expand your minds and the knowledge comes afterward!  I think since participating in this class I’m much more prone to working with new technology; even though I was before as well, now there is also a layer of curiosity that exists when I see something new out.

I think one of the things that interested me most during this semester was the talk about privacy and technology.  This is something that hear about ALL the time being college students, and yet I still managed to learn some new things, and in turn learn some new ways to safe guard my self from the outright dangers of being online or using other sources of digital technology.  Those are always some things to remember for the future. 

Funny tweet video: http://www.collegehumor.com/video:1909386

Technology's Future in Public Health

A big part of Public Health is information distribution, because you have to ensure that people have knowledge in order for them to change their actions or their views on certain aspects of life. Without this knowledge people will remain stuck in the same bubble that they have been in for all of their lives perpetuating the same issues. You can see the issue that would have been faced with information distribution in rural areas for example - things are so spread out that people in the past (and still today) have had issues getting to a doctor or hospital when necessary, so how could they have been expected to access this information.


During my interview with Dr. Kenneth Beck of the University of Maryland's School of Public Health I found that the increased flow of information is one of the ways in which he believes technology has best influenced the area of public health. Information can now be spread via cell phones (which many people in even third world countries now possess) and Internet, such as the "Text4Baby" service, getting out information when it is needed, and not after. Social networking sites (for example Twitter and Facebook) are also make the spread of this information much quicker, concise and much more efficient. Whereas in previous times one had to for example wait on a newspaper to find out the latest news, it now spreads via the internet alerting everyone to the latest outbreak of food poisoning for example. But something akin to gossiping and spreading rumors with the use of technology such as the Internet there is also the risk of spreading misinformation. We constantly see websites that have not been verified or researched themselves, as well as websites holding information that is no longer relevant. This is one of the risks we take when we seek to spread knowledge through these sources, which cannot necessarily be readily controlled by anyone.

In regards to incorrect information, websites like Wikipedia often pop into the conversation because viewers edit them and essentially anyone can change what is seen even though it will later be edited and checked for references. But in this time where the wrong information remains, say in regards to someone having AIDS or another disease that information may be the determining factor in how they go about dealing with their [potential] condition.

In the future I only see the bounds reached in the field of Public Health abounding - information is spreading, and for this reason people are becoming more adept at keeping themselves healthier. Whereas today we have many people pre-diagnosing what could be diseases or conditions in their own bodies, I think that with moves made by Public Health Scientists they will soon be diagnosing the mere factors that lead to the symptoms in an effort to prevent the disease altogether. Primary Prevention will abound, much more so than Secondary prevention, which we are all so good at today. I think the extended use of technology and the web will allow for some of the strain to be removed from doctors, and hospitals.

I also see one of the problems of finding patient's medical records being relieved as the use of electronic systems expands; improving the "quality and timeliness of care" ("Most Doctors Aren't Using Electronic Health Records"). I think that the improvement of the timeliness in particular will induce more people to actually go to their doctors office, because they will know that it will not mean spending an entire work day waiting on a rushed and flustered doctor to finally come and see them - thusly increasing the likelihood of their conditions being identified earlier than before.

Credit: Crave UK
The real-time diagnosis of diseases/condition in patients will also increase in the future as scientists are able to establish more tools such as the cell-phone microscope that is able to diagnose Malaria, TB and Sickle Cell.

As far as teaching in this field, students are already coming in with a varied knowledge of the technology used to spread this information; but that knowledge would need to be expanded. For the use of remote teaching groups of people about certain health topics when those people are too far out (in a rural area perhaps) to get to where the "lesson" is being taught.

The future of Public Health is endless with help from technology. I think that some day soon we will make our way up to the top of the healthiest countries if we put some effort into it along with the technology.

Interview with Dr. Beck: (First part of interview was distorted).
http://audioboo.fm/boos/232752-dr-kenneth-beck


Lohr, Steve. "Most Doctor's Arent Using Electronic Health Records." New York Times 19 June 2008, Print.

"Public Health and Technology." Public Health Institute. Public Health Organization, 2009. Web. 7 Dec 2010. .

Cell phones work to bridge to gap in women's health

Can you guess one of the most crucial issues in the provision of medical care to members of some villages in Tanzania? Maybe you'd say doctors, knowledge etc etc, but would you have guessed a $3.50 bus ticket? Well this is one of the more prominent issues that has caused for the lack of health services to some women and children. But with the help of a new $15 mobile phone developed by Vodafone that allows for a text message to be sent to the hospital, where upon money is wired back to the village for the bus ticket for the patients. Just as with Text4Baby, the usage of cell phones, which can be rendered inexpensive, is assisting in the spreading of health services and health knowledge to those who would otherwise go without.   

Read more on the hopes of this program to lower infant and maternal mortality rates.  

Forgot How Old your baby should be to get his first shots? We didn't.

http://bit.ly/9k8gcg

Sometimes I just need a reminder.  Actually I need constant reminders.  It's so easy to forget to do assignments or make it to appointments on time, so I am often setting up reminders for myself up in my phone, or getting reminder emails from my professors that may in part have saved my grade. Expecting mothers may need a little help to; in fact I would imagine that I would need A LOT of help.  And now they can get it.  "Text for Baby" - a completely free, and completely mobile info service founded by Johnson & Johnson is becoming popular already with 100, 000 mothers regitered for the messages coming to their cell phones with help for them through out the 9 [on average] months of their pregnancy plus the year following the birth of their beautiful child.  Mothers or expectant mothers will be provided with a great deal of valuable information like "immunizations, nutrition, oral health and child development as well as toll-free numbers for health services" ("WowElle").

The real plus to a program like this is that so many people have cell phones now.  Even if other types of technology are still expensive beyond reason, cell phones can still be seen popping up in lower income areas, perhaps because they are more of a necessity to life in the 21st century than a mere novelty.  Because of their presence EVERYWHERE mobile phones are being used more and more in the health sphere and as a public health student I can say I am quite glad; information is just looking to be spread and now there is a form of technology in most women's hands at most times of the day so that knowledge can be rendered asap!  So now thanks to this service mother's can have a connect to these tidbits which may include the answer to just the question they were waiting to ask.

Check out the articles on "Text for Baby" here and here.

"The free, groundbreaking text4baby program in US plans to reach one million moms." WowElle.      WowElle, 11 Nov 2010. Web. 11 Nov 2010. <http://wowelle.com/2010/11/10/the-free-groundbreaking-text4baby-program-in-us-plans-to-reach-one-million-moms/>.

Going Abroad with Technology

Today my JOUR289I class diverged from the norm - instead of holding a regular class a panel of journalists from about ten different Middle Eastern countries (including Tunsia, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and  Morocco to name a few) was held in our classroom.  It was a lot of fun watching and listening to the discourse from the eleven very friendly and open people as they spoke to us, some in English but mostly in Arabic (two translators were present) in regards to the journalistic occurrences in their country. It surprised me (although it shouldn't have) just how different their worlds are from how the United States news manages to portray them.  The U.S manages to portray them as all being the same, but from the discussion held in the room it became very evident just how different they all are.  I am sad to admit that I did have an image of all Middle Eastern countries as being unable to express their thoughts and views on close to anything, but I am glad that through this forum that that belief was expelled.

Although there wasn't anything in regards to my topic that came up during the discourse, I still thought I'd share a few points.

I was very surprised at a few of the things which popped up in conversation; I think one of the main surprises was from the female journalist from Saudi Arabia.  As I remember it the question was what rights are afforded to females in the country as far as becoming journalists.  While one woman before her answered that women have virtually taken over the field of journalism in her country, the Saudi Arabian woman informed us that women there have no right to be journalists, are not allowed to attend school for journalism, and are only able to work within the field as freelancers.  Even more than that woman are not allowed to drive - this struck me as the biggest blow.  With no way to get to the story how can they be expected to write it?    The answer to that is of course that they aren't.  Furthermore, they are not allowed to hire a chauffeur until the age of 35 *another gasp* (the woman speaking was obviously much younger than this age btw), and taxis are inconvenient in the area which she works and lives.  Among her colleagues she is the only one with no way to transport herself.  After hearing these comments I had a ridiculous amount of respect for her and her work because I honestly don't know that I would have had the courage to overcome all of these barriers to do my work.  But thankfully from the looks of things the circumstance in the other countries represented are not as dire for women journalists.

On another note I was definitely able to appreciate a comment made by one of the panelists that even though there is some of information (in his country) that they get they are not supposed to pass on to readers/viewers/listeners if it is in regards to something they are not allowed to approach, if he still believes that that information should be given to the people he is able and willing to pass the information on to a colleague in another country nearby where the rules are not the same.  This way that information still spreads.  I think that as journalists this is a respectable action, as sometimes the people need to know information even if those in control don't want them to hear it.

Alot of other noteworthy things were mentioned but I won't recount every little detail.  But all in all today was a very good class.

Emerging Technology




http://basichealthcare.info/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/health-tech.jpg

  I like this picture because although it is more generic and less explanatory, it also encompasses the idea that emerging health care, which is getting better with time, is also capable of doing so with the assistance of technology, which is in this case represented through this laptop. 

Public Health in a Nutshell

www.health.gov/phfunctions/images/pubh_wh2.gif

I've seen this picture numerous times during my tenure as a Community Health major at UMD and I think it does a pretty good job at establishing the bases of what public health is and what it encompasses.  It's more of an explanatory photograph, as you can see from all of the words explaining the different portions, and I think that it does a good job establishing the main points - Research, Institute and Evaluate.

I Own aCell Phone... There is no longer a such thing as Privacy (Was there ever?...)

Young people, namely college students are generally assumed to be more savvy to technological changes, as we seem to be the first ones with the new smartphone, the new macBook, and the new mP3 player etc etc. For this reason it seemed an interesting topic to divulge into whether these same students were equally wary of the technology which we so desperately cling to.

Research has shown that even in our most secure state concerning our privacy we still remain completely insecure. As technology becomes more advanced, every aspect of our lives become more penetrable to others around us. Cell phones have become a necessity to everyday life and technology for cell phones have improved a lot in a short amount of time. While these advances have made possible things like Face Time on the iPhone 4, they have also brought about even more concerns over privacy.  Cell phones have evolved a great deal in the past few years, now many including GPS trackers, which are obviously able to lock and grasp where a person's phone(and therefore generally that person) is located. A person with a simpler phone might for this reason feel as though they are secure from this invasion, having none of the extra bells and whistles of today's smart phone. However, even the most simple of phones has to “communicate their location to a base station in order to carry or receive calls. Therefore, whenever a cell phone is in use, or set to receive calls, it effectively identifies the location of its user every few minutes” (Froomkin 1479). Although this feature can be very useful for example when a person is lost or missing, it can also be very invasive for someone who does not want any person with access to this system (including for example the government, solicitors or perhaps a spouse whom you have left for a very good reason) to know where they were. Each of the students surveyed, including those with only basic cell phones, were highly aware of the ability to track their phone.

Not only are we constantly being tracked on our cell phones, but there is also a lack of distinction in the law in regards to what defines our privacy in regards to our cell phones. There are many thoughts regrading this issue, but no consensus on what we can expect. “Some courts have allowed police to search a suspect’s phone without a search warrant, holding that a person does not have a reasonable expectation of privacy in the phone directory of his cell phone. In contrast, other courts held that it was an invasion of privacy for a wireless company to disclose the content of text messages a police officer sent to coworkers without the officer’s consent (“privacyrights.org”)”. Previously law had to be erected against actions such as wiretapping, perhaps now the same thing will have to occur to protect ones text messages from being viewed by a police officer or other member of the law.

Faults of our own are now resulting in the loss of our privacy. For example the use of cellular phones in public has yet to stop being annoying for those who have to hear the conversation. But And while you are trying to convey your message to whomever you are proceeding to have your conversation with, you have managed to attract other listeners in the public. In what one researcher has identified as the “need-to-listen effect” (Monk, Fellas, Lay) by conversing in public and allowing for one half of a conversation you are in turn attracting the attention of those around you. In doing our survey I found that most of the males were not nearly as concerned with having their conversations overheard as were the females, and therefore did the least [meaning lowering their voices] to prevent this. The reasons behind this can only be speculated towards but perhaps this is due to the fact that females are often taught by society to be not only more careful, but also less trusting because there are people who are interested in taking advantage of you. These lessons that fathers and mothers have taught their daughters in regards to the guys who they date or a choice to walk alone in the dark may have carried over to this area of our survey. Or perhaps males just talk less on their phones. But once again only speculation.

Many people are clueless about the amount of information their cell phone can give away or retain about him or her. Actions that would generally be seen as charitable and giving can sometimes backfire when involving the new states of our technological world. For example, I'm sure most of us have seen ads asking for donations of used cell phones to different groups, whether the phones are going to deployed soldiers or people searching for work who are in need of a phone for example. These phones that we are probably no longer in need of are going toward a very good cause, however these devices could also contain valuable information pointing directly back to you on them. You may think that when you “delete” all of your contacts and text messages and other visible information that you are not longer connected with this phone. But in thinking that you would be wrong. “Similar to computers, choosing to delete information simply creates new space but the data is retained until enough new information is added to write over the old information” (“privacyrights.org”), there is a pretty decent chance that this information that information you think you have gotten ride of is still floating around on your device waiting to be permanently deleted (instructions for doing so should be found in your owners manual).

Cell phones:  Useful (and somewhat necessary) but invasive... But I'm still going to keep using mine...

Here's a link to the survey!

https://spreadsheets0.google.com/viewform?formkey=dDM3YjBHUlIydnVwZ29iRnN2dC1xN1E6MQ

“Fact Sheet 2b: Privacy in the Age of the Smartphone.” privacyrights.org. Privacy Rights Clearinghouse/UCAN, Sept 2010. Web. 13 Oct 2010. <http://privacyrights.org/fs/fs2b-cellprivacy.htm#7>.

Froomkin, A. Michael. “The Death of Privacy?.” Stanford Law Review. 52. 5 (2000): 1461-1543. Print

Monk, Andrew, Evi Fellas, and Eleanor Ley. “Hearing only one side of normal and mobile phone conversations.” Behaviours & Information Technology. 23.5 (2004): 301-305. Print

Can anything remain private once you put it online?

So I love Google. I love all the applications that Google comes out with such as Google Docs, Google Talk, Google Calender andI live my life by my gmail account,  it's the only email address which I regularly check. However, I am not comfortable with the idea of Google Health. Honestly I'm not particularly comfortable with any of my health information being put online. However, as uncomfortable as I am with the idea of Google Health I did except the Terms so that I could see what it entailed. The idea is great. Online health records make so much sense to have, especially for any person with a chronic health issue.

Google Health offers a collective way to view your medical records, set personal health goals, manage prescriptions, immunizations, and insurance. It all looks so good to me, and google even states that “Google uses sophisticated security techniques to help keep your information secure and private, and you always control how it's used. We will never sell your data. You are in control. You choose what you want to share and what you want to keep private“. And yeah somehow I cannot stomach the idea of putting information this personal online, even if it is under the lock of a password, because I have had my email account broken into before, and as this is a by-product of that email account my faith refuses to hold strong. With information such as how many abortions a woman has had, what STIs someone has, I just wouldn't feel safe. Hopefully I'm just unduly fearful, because I can see all health records being on some type of online system in the very near future.  

But, adding to my apprehensions about google Health are the fact that they are not represented as covered entities under HIPAA (The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability) Act of 1996, which lead to the establishment of certain national requirements in regards to a persons health information. With this said, when you agree to use Google Health you are also agreeing to allow Google to distribute your information to other Google services in addition to Google Health.  I can't really stomach anything that distributes my information to other services even if they are under the dame provider.  But then again, I also don't really believe that most of the things that we put online are actually private... Someone can always see what we do to some degree and I don't particularly think that this is any different.  


But maybe I'm just a conspiracy theorist.  Do you trust services which list your personal health information online?  


photograph from: http://cybernetnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/google-health-2.jpg

Scholarly Sources

Many sources can be counted as reliable. For my resources I mainly choose to focus on scholarly journal articles.  These are counted as reliable because they are peer-reviewed by experts in the field in question to increase their validity.  These articles go through a rigorous review process that can sometimes take years (much to the assured frustration of the author I am sure) and always present thorough background and sources as to where they received their facts from.  A few examples of scholarly journals are "Health Education Research", "Applied and Preventative Psychology" and "American Journal of Public Health".

Trusting the News you read

Continuing with the theme from last post, there is the issue of news articles.  Many news sources, such as CNN for example are deemed as reliable primary sources for different reasons including the fact that they generally make an effort to include both sides to a story, relieving their news of biases as well as posting sources and lastly providing direct information from professionals in the chosen field.  Other sites are not reliable in the least.  For example, the Onion "America's Finest News Source" is a humorous newspaper.  But if you are anything like me, when I heard of this newspaper my freshman year in college you may not recognize this, and instead be very surprised at its content.  However, after reading further you will notice the unbelievability of such a source that has articles such as "CDC Powerless to Stop Spread of Virulent Mayonnaise-Borne Pathogen" a pathogen which "thrives in the delicious, creamy environment of mixed egg yolks, vegetable oil, and vinegar, was recorded by the CDC just three weeks ago and may be the strongest and most infectious contagion ever detected in mayonnaise or a mayonnaise-related substance."  It's a funny article once you read it, but definitely not for the use as any respectable source.

Unreliable... But Somewhat Useful Sources

I'm sure that most people have wished that they were able to reliably use Wikipedia at one time or another in their life, it's quick, it's easy and it's there. But I am sure that just as many people have been told not to site Wikepedia in a paper because it's not reliable. Although I do believe that Wikepedia is becoming more reliable, because of the methods used for source-checking, it still remains that anyone can edit Wikepedia. The same can be said about the website Helium, which maintains an editing and posting process similar to Wikepedia, where the entire world is essentially the editors of the posts.   

Picture credits justinrussell

For example, on the “Most reliable forms of birth control” page a user notes that “condoms are up to 97 percent effective. Problems can occur only if the condom slips or if it tears during the intercourse” (Farrah), and while this may be true in regards to condom effectiveness, these are not the ONLY ways problems can occur. Other problems with condom usage are the improper application of the condom, because as stated by the CDC , (which is a government agency, that checks and updates their data on a regular basis by qualified workers) “if condoms are not used correctly, the protective effect may be diminished even when they are used consistently” ("Centers for Disease Control and Prevention"). This needs to be noted because the improper application of condoms is indeed a problem, especially with younger people and new “users”.

In my personal opinion I still believe that websites such as these are valuable, BUT as a beginning start.  These should not be used as primary sources, but they should be used to help a person to learn which direction to look in.  But as these sources are not always reliable because of their open-access, their facts should ALWAYS be checked.  

Farrah, Ville. "Most reliable forms of birth control ."Helium. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Sep 2010. <http://www.helium.com/items/1944825-most-effective-contraceptives-best-contraceptives-safest-contraceptives-contraception-info>.

"Male Latex Condoms and Sexually Transmitted Diseases". Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  CDC, February 8, 2010. Web. 25 Sep 2010. <http://www.cdc.gov/condomeffectiveness/latex.htm>.

The Internet and My Health

Too much of any good thing is said to still be bad.  The internet is no exception to this rule.  Although new, advancing technology is present to make our lives simpler, faster and more efficient, they do not fail at creating their own share of problems.  On that note there are a great deal of conflicting studies on the web based on whether the use of the internet has a positive or negative effect on well-being.  However, a meta-analysis published in November 2009 by Chiungjung Huang worked to compartmentalize many of these conflicting studies and has found that there is only a minimally negative effect on personal well being (Huang).   But even within this study there were short comings, including the fact that the purpose of the internet use, the gender of the participant etc.

With those short comings in mind, come in to play a report by researchers from the year 2010, upon which an article can be found in Time magazine stating that their is a positive link between internet use and well-being, namely in certain groups - including women.  No positive reasoning can be placed on why this occurs, but it is theorized that perhaps this is due to the fact that women tend to be the center of their family's social network, and online they are able to more easily connect with those family members and maintain ties, and organize their lives.  Possible.

But as said before, "too much of a good thing....", through the use of the internet it could be very easily to become overly dependent on impersonal ties to people rather than face-to-fave, or voice-to-voice which diminishes social skills in the "real world".  Let's just remember to keep a healthy balance ladies and gents.  Every once in a while lets close Facebook and walk across the street to see Sally.  It's good for you, and I'm sure it'll make you happy too.


Huang, Chiungjung. "Internet Use and Psychological Well-being: A Meta-Analysis."CYBERPSYCHOLOGY & BEHAVIOR. 12.0 (2009): 1-9. Print.

Kelly, Tara. "Is the Internet the Secret to Happiness? ." TIME05/14/2010: n. pag. Web. 20 Sep 2010. <http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1989244,00.html>.

The Come Up of Women's Health

The women's health movement began with the concern for health in general.  In previous years the health of women (as well as men) was very poor.  100+ years ago in 1900 the top causes of death were perpetuated by viruses and bacterias.  These causes of death included 1) pneumonia and flu, 2) tuberculosis, and 3) Diarrhea, enteritis, and ulceration of the intestines to name a few.  Contrasted with the top three causes of death in todays society [1) heart disease, 2) cancer, 3) stroke] we are able to see a common trend in that the causes of death of the days of old were largely due to forces which were not to be controlled by the average persons actions but by changes in the state of sanitation and of a knowledge of what was harmful, including germs that cause the flu; whereas today the top three killers are behaviorally related - ranging from root causes such as eating habits, smoking, and lack of exercise.  
  
Women were doubly burdened in facing the often life-threatening charge of carrying and giving birth to children.  These births which took place in homes assisted by midwives and sans the miracle medicines of today were of course filled with pain, and stressful to say the least.   These leading causes of death were very likely to afflict either the mother or the child, or both; decreasing the pregnancy survival rate.   And we must keep in mind that the norm of today, with the mother and father and 2.5 children was not the norm of yesteryear, instead on average women produced families of 7 children in the year 1800, sadly only increasing your chances of not making it through the ordeal.  


With women being the carriers of the future generations it would be expected that they would receive more attention and recognition for their contributions and afforded the health care needed, right?  Wrong?  Women's health was often disregarded and more attention given to males who were treated as the "health model", upon which all things health and medicine related were based.  

But with the Women's Health movement which erupted in the 1960s, women finally began to achieve the rights that they should have always been entitled to.  During this time period contraceptives also gained great popularity, changing the lives of women all around.  With the use of these drugs women were finally given an alternative for their lives other than simply bearing children, and running a household, while waiting for the return of their husband from his days work.  With the inventions of Cesarean sections, drugs such as anesthesia and several different types of contraceptions the number of pregnancies per woman has decreased and the nature of giving birth have both been altered - to a no longer life threatening experience.  


With labor no longer life threatening, women's lives began to extend.  Women now live longer than men by several years in every race, for many speculated reasons, including essentially the better behaviors of women, and women's higher likelihood of visiting a doctor (where conditions would be diagnosed before becoming fatal).    


Women's health has been constantly changing through history and will continue to do so in the future.

If You Want the Good, You Also Get the Bad

My first blog post! How exciting! As you have probably guessed, I intend to write abut women's health and technologies impacts on it, particularly how it is advancing our health status.  For the past three years I have been working towards a dual degree in English Literature and Community Health at the University of Maryland College Park. My work in the Community Health area has sparked my interest in this topic of women's health (including maternal and child health).  Representing only one of my interests, women's health is accompanied by minority health disparities, as well as drug abuse, both of which I hope I am able to expand more on within this blog.

I believe that women's health is a fitting topic for this blog because I believe that women presently have a higher life expectancy than men in part due to the technology of the day, as well as the fact that women are more likely to be tested using emerging technologies (i.e. mammograms) prior to their ailments becoming particularly life-threatening. My goal for this blog is to highlight these new technologies that are affecting lives in our generation, not only in the positive ways but also the adverse reactions that can be seen. 

Technology is a blessing as well as a curse, often times we use it in our attempts to heal, and we may only come up making the situation worst. These aspects are often given little attention, but I believe that they should be highlighted, so that women can be even more informed. Not only must the adverse reactions be acknowledges, but also the hysteria that can be caused by technology, such as news sources, and pre-screening devices. Often times with these new technologies unneeded attention is paid to the smaller aspects of our health, causing what often times proves itself to be unnecessary stress and pain. But, it's better safe than sorry. Right? That's my question for you.

With that I will end my first post, and I look forward to the upcoming semester and everything that I will get to learn, and I hope that you will enjoy reading about it, and learn something yourselves.