http://www.bettycjung.net/Whatsnew.htm

What's New Page
aka Que Pasa Page
Bookmark Betty C. Jung's Web site!
Bookmark this site!

If you get on a page you want to return to, bookmark it!

Consumer Health Info Index

FYI - How the Electronic Mailing Lists Are Doing...

WhatTotal Subscribers, as of June 7, 2008
Public Health E-news
Recommended by Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health.
518
Public Health Jobs
Recommended by University of Michigan's SPH Career Services.
1,045

Where Am I From?


Powered by IP2Location.com

Site Search Engine and Site Index

Google
 
Web www.bettycjung.net

Add this code to your Web site to link to my Web site

And this icon will show up:

Betty C. Jung's Web site

or a simple link to www.bettycjung.net

July - September 2008

Newsworthy Stuff

  • July 24, 2008 - What can $10 buy? Well, if you're talking about gas, not much, especially at $4.00 a gallon. And, if you have a gas guzzler, even less. But, when it comes to prevention, $10 can buy a lot.

    Public Health agencies are beginning to look at ROI - the return on investment. Public health practitioners don't usually think in such terms, because after all, Public Health usually serves as a Safety Net, providing services to those who cannot afford it and would fall through the cracks. In this context, Public Health should receive limitless funding to meet needs not met by other sectors of society.

    The reality is - there is only just so much money devoted to Public Health, and we must adopt a lean and mean approach, funding only those community programs that has been found to work (evidence-based), while trying to stretch whatever funding there is to the max. And, over the years, between these two competing goals, we are faced with what funders want, and they want to get their money's worth. GPRA - the Government Performance Results Act of 1993 demands as much.

    According to the newly issued Healthyamericans.org's report, "Prevention for a Healthier America: Investments in Disease Prevention Yield Significant Savings, Stronger Communities", spending "an investment of $10 per person per year in proven community-based programs to increase physical activity, improve nutrition, and prevent smoking and other tobacco use could save the country more than $16 billion annually within five years. This is a return of $5.60 for every $1." (Source: http://healthyamericans.org/reports/prevention08/)

    This report actually shows the return on a $10 investment per person per year for each state. For example, take Mississippi, after 1-2 years, the state would save over $24,000,000 from implementing prevention-based community interventions addressing health behaviors! I chose Mississippi because this state has always been the first state designated as the state with the highest obesity rate each time a new obesity category is added on the BRFSS obesity maps. Yes, for the first time, the cost savings have been quantified in such a way that it is easy to understand that an ounce of prevention is indeed worth a pound of cure (thanks to Ben Franklin for this insightful thought). You can find a link to this report on my Cardiovascular Index and Chronic Disease Page

  • July 22, 2008 - Health at 50 and Beyond As we get older, things change, especially our health. Anyone who is 50 can tell you that one cannot take things for granted, especially one's health. Of course, if you have been living a healthy lifestyle all along, getting old is not such a big deal. Nevertheless, health at 50 does require one to focus on staying healthy for as long as possible, and being vigilant about it (on a daily basis).

    It means maintaining the health that we have, and managing the chronic diseases that are slowly creeping into one's daily life. Maybe we can follow what's best practice for information technology - "...70% should be spent on maintenance, 25% on planned projects and only 5% on unanticipated demands..." (Source: http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=321645&source=NLT_AM&nlid=1)

    It means taking preventive measures, from seeing your doctor for annual physicals, periodic screenings (e.g., sexually transmitted diseases for the same reasons we give teens), getting all your shots (just like the kids) to getting timely treatment for whatever ails you.

    AHRQ and AARP have come out with a preventive health to-do timeline for those over 50, along with checklists, one for men and one for women to stay on track. You can find a link to these resources on my Senior Health Page . (And, remember, it was cool being a senior in high school, so why not a senior in life?)

  • July 21, 2008 - We are one heavy nation


    Graphic Source: http://www.cdc.gov/Features/dsObesity/
    Based on BRFSS data, the entire country has failed to meet the Health People 2010 goal of 15% adult obesity. Not one state had less than 15%. This is not good news. Actually, it's pretty bad news. As a nation we are being bogged down by the fat we are carrying around. Think of this as the canary in the coal mine, and the canary is keeling over. (See my August 29, 2007 entry - "F as in Fat" )
    PS -I know it's not a canary, but you get the idea...
    haha graphic

    Geographically, 59% of U.S. states had populations in which one in four citizens are obese. The South ranked first (27.3%) and the West (23.1%) last. The 3 states with more than 30% adult obesity are Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee. Colorado did the best, only 18.7%.

    The 2007 BRFSS data show that 25.6% of Americans are obese (26.4% of men and 24.8% of women). Non-Hispanic black women (29.0%) and non-Hispanic black men (32.1%) had the highest prevalence by gender and race/ethnicity. Read the entire CDC write-up .

  • July 19, 2008 - Job Search Box Now Available Everyone is looking for a job these days. One of the more popular services provided on this Web site are job-related resources, which includes a free Public Health Jobs E-list newsletter that now goes out on a daily basis. I also have a number of pages devoted to job searching, careers, etc. I have now also added a very easy, user-friendly job search box on all my Job-related pages that looks like this. All you do is type in a job title in the "what" box, and a geographic location in the "where" box. Generally, a broader term works best, like program, data, epidemiologist, service, etc. For location, type in a state instead of a specific town or city.

    If you want to see what's available for any particular job title, leave "where" empty. If you want to see everything available for a location, type in a location in "where" and leave the "what" box empty.

    what where
    job title, keywords or company
    city, state or zip jobs by job search

    To see all the job-related pages, check my Job Search Index Page

  • July 18, 2008 - PHENOM Blog Now Available PHENOM is an online Public Health mentoring program. The PHENOM Directory includes brief biosketches of 56 public health professionals who have volunteered to make themselves available to you for online contact.

    If you don't know which mentor to contact, you can post a question on the PHENOM Directory page and mentor responses will then be posted on the newly created PHENOM Blog . Read what mentors suggest to a posted question, and feel free to post your questions for them to answer.

  • July 18, 2008 - What's Your Virtual Age? We all know that our age is based on the day we were born. However, as you get older you will notice that not everyone "looks their age." How many times have you said to yourself, once someone has revealed their age, "Wow, he doesn't look his age" or "I can't believe he's that young," etc., etc. Although genetics does play a part in, say, how long you will live, we know that our health behaviors also have a great impact on how we age and look.

    Here is a nifty Virtual Age Calculator (Click on link and choose Run) that you can use to calculate your virtual age. You will start off entering your actual age. In the end, it will give you your virtual age, average life expectancy and your life expectancy. The lower your virtual age (especially if it's lower than your actual age), the better.

    There are 35 factors used to come up with your virtual age. Notice how each factor (as you enter data for each) impacts your eventual virtual age and your life expectancy. Take heart! If you have been leading a healthy life, your virtual age will show it. If not, at least you can now see which factors are taking years off of your life, many of which you can change.

    If the above link does not work, you can find a link to this calculator on my Wellness Information Index Page , under Chapter 14 - The Challenger of Aging.

  • July 17, 2008 - Hmmm...that sounds so familiar; What the name of that song? If this has happened to you while watching a commercial, now you can find out the tune with "What's That Song Blog." You can find a link to this Webpage on my Favorite Music Page .

  • July 13, 2008 - Cybersquatters strike again!!! Be careful how you type my Web address. www.bettyjung.net is a bogus site and is NOT affiliated to this site. Here is the information: 
    Whois Server Version 2.0

Domain names in the .com and .net domains can now be registered
with many different competing registrars. Go to http://www.internic.net
for detailed information.

   Domain Name: BETTYJUNG.NET
   Registrar: COMPANA, LLC
   Whois Server: whois.budgetnames.com
   Referral URL: http://www.budgetnames.com
   Name Server: NS1.HITFARM.COM
   Name Server: NS2.HITFARM.COM
   Status: clientDeleteProhibited
   Status: clientTransferProhibited
   Status: clientUpdateProhibited
   Updated Date: 01-feb-2008
   Creation Date: 31-jan-2006
   Expiration Date: 31-jan-2009
  • July 12, 2008 - Excellence in Public Health Practice What should Public Health accomplish? Well, the CDC is spearheading an initiative, the National Public Health Performance Standards Program, to assist state and local public health agencies in the delivery of the ten essential services of Public Health. The approach is "performance assessment and systems improvement." Given the changing climate within what Public Health must function in, and the complexity within which all partners (government and non-government) must collaborate to develop solutions, this initiative is extremely worthwhile. Find out more about this initiative on my Public Health Practice Page .

  • July 11, 2008 - Are you misoneistic? Many people are these days. Older people tend to be this way, but I have seen a lot of adolescents adopting this attitude as well. Perhaps, it's just the world we live in, or the pace of living we are expected to maintain that makes us more prone to be this way.

    We see Society today to be less rigid in its expectations of its citizenry. At the same time, there is a growing backlash to the laxity and blurring of boundaries (e.g., do I really want to hear you breaking up with your significant other on a cell phone?) with outbursts making headlines. Add to this the tenuousness of today's dying economy that's hoping to be rescusitated and you got yourself a fraternity of misoneists.

    Oh, you don't know what I'm talking about??? Well, !!! Misoneism is the "hatred or dislike of what is new or represents change." (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/misoneistic)

  • July 10, 2008 Heys, Kids - Break a Sweat!!

    It's truly a sad state of health affairs that pediatricians are resorting to statins for overweight kids (http://www.pediatrics.org/cgi/content/full/122/1/198). Oh, give me a break! How about suggesting lowering intake of saturated fat, trans fat and cholesterol, which are known to raise LDL (http://hp2010.nhlbihin.net/cholmonth/q_a.htm), instead of having kids popping pills?

    Though I didn't check every single author listed, but I can tell you that at least 3 of the authors I did check did have some affiliation (as an advisor/consultant) with at least one of the three pharmaceutical companies that manufacture statins. Such affiliations should be disclosed and held suspect. Such affiliations should make you extra skeptical of the recommendations being made for statin use with children!!!!

    Taking pills is not the answer for overweight kids, but good nutrition and regular exercise are the way to go. It is more important to raise HDL (through aerobic exercise) than it is to lower LDL with drugs that are known to have many side effects already. For starters, everyone should just stop drinking soda and get up off their ... and move!

    		What happened to the time when kids were playing outside all day??? Have we become a nation that's forgotten what it is like to experience the great outdoors? Will kids only exercise with gimmick-driven motivators like WII Fit (good idea, but what happens when the novelty wears off)? Have schools cut back on recess for fear of getting sued? Has physical exercise been relegated to after-school extra-curricular sports activities that those who need it most do not participate in? Physical activity should be part of the regular curriculum. ALL kids should learn that being active is part of normal living.

    		Perhaps, this is the beginning of the end for civilization when kids today may never make it to being adults. American Family Physician reports: 13.9% of 2 to 5 years olds; 18.8% of 6 to 11 year olds and 17.4% of 12 to 19 year olds are overweight. (7/1/2008, p. 56). One study reports that kids today may not outlive their parents because they are overweight (Generation X risk dying before parents; http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1647514/posts). Get moving, People!!! And, take the kids out to see "Wall-E".

  • July 9, 2008 - Online Disease Surveillance


    Graphic Source: http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9107758&source=NLT_PM&nlid=8
    		As reported in Computerworld, HealthMap is a free data mining tool that makes the most of what the Internet can offer. The project is funded by grants from the National Library of Medicine, the National Institutes of Health, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and a $450,000 research grant from Google.org.

    Health Map offers an up-to-the-minute global picture of disease outbreaks as they are reported on the Net in a variety of venues, using a variety of online software tools.
    The graphic does not do justice to the interactivity of the Webpage. You have to try it out yourself to see what it can do.

    Get a quick geographic distribution of a particular disease by selecting it from a menu bar on the left. You can quickly map over 90 types of diseases that have been reported within the last 30 days. Pick and choose what you want to map, and then click on the marker icon for more information regarding the reporting source. For example, I was shocked to see that reports for Salmonella was primarily located in the U.S. When I zoomed into North America, I found that many states were affected, and that the reports came from many different sources!

    You can find a link to this Web site on my Public Health Software and Mapping Page and Public Health Data Search Engines . Get a glimpse of the potential for online epidemiologic surveillance!

  • July 8, 2008 - The Fox Guarding The Henhouse


    Graphic Source: http://blogs.zdnet.com/security/?p=1445&tag=nl.e539
    		Zdnet's "Approximately 800 vulnerabilities discovered in antivirus products" makes me wonder if we are not just wasting our money on products that were meant to protect us, but instead leave us open to more attacks. Almost like owning a bank, and the security guards are letting the robbers in. The film,"The Net" dealt with this scenario back in 1995!

    The graph is for results from the first quarter of 2008. What I found most interesting is the fact that free antivirus programs were less vulnerable than the paid-till-you-cry ones. Go figure.

  • July 8, 2008 - The Good Death

    Graphic Source: http://newoldage.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/07/08/how-many-of-you-expect-to-die/index.html?hp

    		Inevitably we all will die, which is a fact of life. But, hardly anybody I know spend much time thinking about it, much less preparing for it. I recently enjoyed Dr. Pauline Chen's Final Exam (exquisite book) that looks at how physicians deal (and don't deal) with the deaths of their patients. She talks about the good death that I interpret as a graceful way of saying good-bye to Life.

    Today, I read an article about Dr. Joann Lynn's take on death (‘How Many of You Expect to Die?’ ) with the use of graphics to visualize the most common ways people die these days.

    If you had your druthers, which way would you choose? Would you choose to go fast, or deteriorate over a course of years, requiring the undivided attention of caregivers that may not necessarily be family?

    This is not as morbid as it may seem. Though seemingly unpleasant as all this might be, discussing these issues will help to make it better for everyone. Regardless of how we go (and we all will go), I think no one can dispute that a good death is what we all want. If there are currently no means with which we can die a good death, then what do we need to do to make this happen?

    Though hospice care is an option, can we really expect the health care system, as dysfunctional as it is, to provide for this as well? Something to think about.

  • July 7, 2008 - Annual Statistics Incredibly, we are now into the second half of 2008 already! I am happy to report that PHENOM Visitor Statistics and Web site Visitor Statistics are now available. It was quite a challenge to try and convert my tracking statistics into an accessible format. The addition of little country flag graphics made it difficult. Though not perfect, this is the best for now, until I figure out a more perfect way to do this. Enjoy!

  • June 29, 2008 - The Dot-org Die-offs Seven years ago this month, when the Dotcoms started dying off in 2001, it made big news (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2001/06/07/BU182692.DTL&type=printable). As a result, I lost many free services I used for my Web site. It was a lot of work to migrate the various services to the surviving free services. See a summary of these "moving" experiences on my FAQ Page . Eventually I had to make the decision as to what services were truly essential and ended up paying for the essential services. Fortunately, by that time, prices became less prohibitive.

    Since the beginning of the year, as I conducted maintenance activities, I have noticed subtle changes in the Web presence of many sites. For example, many public sites have been shutting down their sites on the weekends, most likely to save money. I just happen to have accidentally come across this phenomenon because the weekends is when I run Xenu to check for dead links. Once I have a list of the supposedly dead links, I would then go through the Webpages and check the links, only to find that many are still active. So, if you come across a broken link, please let me know about them so I can fix them (name of the link, and the Webpage the link appears). Keep in mind that they may not be really dead, but only "hibernating". Be assured that this site is available 24/7 (unless, of course, the server goes down either on your end, my end, or both, or, if either you or I loses electricity.)

    The second trend is the disappearance of non-profit Web sites. This seems inevitable, given the state of the economy. When people are losing their jobs, they really don't have any money to give to causes, regardless of how worthy they may be. This is really a shame, when Public Health is pretty much a collaborative effort of government on many levels, working together with non-profit organizations and private industries to find solutions for public health problems. The impact of dot-org die-offs is yet to be determined, but it's not a good turn of events.

  • June 28, 2008 - Will Hypermiling Be America's New Favorite Pastime? Within the past month there has been a noticeable change in the driving behaviors of those who share the highways with me in my daily round-trip commute of 76 miles. Incredibly, fewer cars are passing me on both the left and right lanes, as I drive the 65 mph speed limit. You know something's in the wind when tractor-trailers are not sitting on your tail and not annoying you with flashing lights, and they're not cutting you off when they pass you. Granted, the speed demons have not completely disappeared off the highways, but they are fewer in number, and those left in the dust can revel in the fact that it's not their money that's going up in smoke.

    This actually is a good behavioral change brought on by the realization that gas is just too expensive to waste. Just like what pedometers have done for physical fitness, so will the mpg (miles per gallon) gauges being touted will do for driving fitness. Drivers can now monitor the impact of their driving in terms of fuel efficiency. You don't actually need these gauges, just watch your tachometer - keep it below 2 (2000 revolutions per minute) as much as you can.

    The latest craze is hypermiling, that first received press attention in August 2006, in the Washington Post. Hypermiling is defined as a method of increasing your car's gas mileage by making skillful changes in the way you drive, allowing you to save gas and thereby have an easier time withstanding the rising oil and gas prices. (http://www.hypermiling.com/) Basically, slow driving may become known as smart driving, and maybe we all can squeeze a few additional mpgs in the process.

  • June 27, 2008 - Can You Live on $7.20/Day? In June 2003, I paid $1.499 a gallon for gas. Today I paid $4.279 per gallon. That's almost triple what I paid just only five years ago. Just yesterday they are predicting it will go to $7.00 a gallon. At that price one of my colleagues said she will no longer be able to afford to drive to work. This got me thinking about how this would affect those who are paid the minimum wage. In 1990, for those age 24-64, 3.3% of men and 8.8% of women are paid the minimum wage. For those age 64-69, 14% of men and 21% of women are paid the minimum wage. The percentages are higher for younger age groups. (http://www.cato.org/pubs/regulation/reg18n1c.html#table1)

    Now, let's look at a worst-case scenario. Minimum wage varies by state. People in Kansas are paid the lowest minimum wage of $2.65/hour, as of January 2008 (http://www.dol.gov/esa/minwage/america.htm). This means Kansans making the minimum wage will have to work close to 3 hours just to pay for one gallon of gas.

    Okay, look at this another way. Let's assume a Kansan working at a minimum wage job, at $2.65/hr, 8 hours a day, would make a total of $21.20 in wages a day. Assume this Kansan drives a Dodge Ram SRT-10 that gets 9 miles/gallon for city driving, (http://www.intellichoice.com/carBuying101/TruckvsFuel). In order to bring home any money at all, this person can work no farther than 9 miles from home (to make the round trip to and from work) because the 18 mile round-trip would cost $14.00 (at $7.00 a gallon) just in gas alone, leaving this person only $7.20 at the end of the work day to pay for everything else (and I didn't even calculate the income taxes that would be deducted). It's hard enough to live on a minimum wage, but who would be able to survive on $7.20 day?

  • June 18, 2008 - Health Care Efficiency Measures There is no end to the way health care quality can be measured. Those involved with health care quality can attest to the healthiness of THEIR thriving industry, but what does it have to say about the Health Care System? Of course, whether all this measuring has really improved health care quality is yet to be decided.

    I, for one, am somewhat skeptical when such issues as the fragmentation of services continue to plague health care, and the number of people without health insurance continues to grow. Those who can afford health insurance continue to pay higher and higher premiums, and God help you if you ever lose your job - a common occurrence these days. Finally, there is the inevitable ballooning of the Medicare population, and THAT issue has yet to be addressed, given that Medicare is predicted to go bankrupt in 2019 (which is only 11 years away) [See my March 29th blog entry ]

    Obviously, current health care quality efforts are not enough to correct whatever is festering within the health care system. Driven by economic factors, it seems the next step is to look at health care efficiency, or, what's the value for the money spent on health care. Ooh - touchy subject, but unfortunately a necessary evil these days, given we all must cut back. Though theoretically this sounds like the way to go, I am a bit nervous about what the health insurance industry will do with this, when it has already denied services in the name of health care quality.

    Efficiency is viewed now as a domain of performance. Always one to stay on the forefront of health care quality, AHRQ has issued its report, "Health Care Efficiency Measures: Identification, Categorization, and Evaluation." Probably one of the more important things to come out of its systematic review of the literature is a rational framework for looking at health care efficiency. Is the measure important, scientifically sound, feasible and actionable? You can find a link to this important report on my Health Care Quality Standards Page .

  • June 16, 2008 - SafeManuals.Com There was a time when you can buy a household appliance that was self-explanatory. Think portable radio. Add the capability of an alarm clock, that can wake you up with music, and a snooze button, and now we're talking complicated. Just multiply that with the number of other appliances you have around the house, each with its own unique quirk and you've got yourself an electronic nightmare. Well, thank goodness there is a Web site where you can download the user's manual for just about anything electronic. Yes, from watches to computers to cars!!! This is a a true godsend. Perhaps, I can now reset a couple of my watches for daylight savings time.... You can find a link to SafeManuals.com on my Useful Sites for Day-to-Day Activities Page , under Information.

  • June 13, 2008 - Welcome to the Third Quarter of 2008! I know it's not summer yet, but it will be here soon enough. Since today was a little bit cooler than the desert heat earlier this week, I decided to get ready a few weeks earlier. July is when I do mid-year stats for some pages, and that is time consuming. Oh well, welcome!

  • June 11, 2008 - Public Health E-Cards CDC now provides you with the opportunity to let others know you love Public Health! Yes, you can now send E-cards covering a variety of Public Health issues. Show your true colors, and educate others about Public Health while you're at it. You can find a link on my Useful Sites for Day-to-Day Activities Page Send one today.

  • June 1, 2008 -

    Thanks so much for making this milestone possible! Who would have ever guessed when I started this Web site on August 25, 1999 that it would attract these many hits! Come back and visit any time, it will be here!

  • June 1, 2008 - Tarsem Singh is probably now my favorite director. Today I caught his most recent film, The Fall, which was absolutely visually stunning. This is the type of flim you must see on the big screen! I discovered he also directed The Cell, which came out in 2000, which I also enjoyed. Here are trailers for these two films. Enjoy!

January to May 2008 Blog 2007 Blog All other blogs, etc

Site Map Navigation (Revised 6/12/04)

Main Site Map Links to sister sites, main home pages, main index pages, main subject pages, institutional pages
Site Map A Links to academic pages, annotated bibliographies, biostatistics/statistics pages
Site Map B Links to public health pages, SCSU Thesis/Special Project documents and forms, SCSU Public Health Alumni Pages - MPH Accreditation Committee, Scholarship Committee, Service Committee (Mentor, Speaker Programs) pages; MPH Alumni Record - Main, Accomplishments, Presentations, Professional organizations, Programs & Projects, Teaching, Written Works pages
Site Map C Cool & Useful sites, Health Information, Job Search pages
Site Map D Web site documents, Resume, Visitor Pages

Are you interested in keeping up with what's going with on in the world of Public Health? Subscribe now!!! Inaugurated 10/13/2000, E-News goes out on the 15th of every month!
Subscribe to PHE-News
Powered by health.groups.yahoo.com

Check Current Contents

 The Public Health Jobs Electronic Mailing List is doing well. Anticipate approximately weekly listings of approximately 100 jobs arriving in your E-mailbox!
Subscribe to Phjobs
Powered by health.groups.yahoo.com

Check Current Stats

New Pages

Deleted/Changed Pages

Updated Pages

All statistics to be updated can be found on all the Site Map Pages, the Web Site Statistics Page, and the Web Polls Stats Page. This is done monthly, usually near the beginning of each month.

Pages That Are Continuously Updated

Jobs and Documentation

Visitor Pages

And, this page, of course.

What Used to Be New.....

2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000

Counter

Links

Betty's Home Page Site Map

Back to Top

Published on the Web: July 22, 2000; February 16, 2001 R7,135

Comments, suggestions, dead link reports:

© Copyright 1999 - 2008 Betty C. Jung
All rights reserved.