Apt parenting is at the very core of our social construct, and the paternal role is a vital linkage in this fabric. Beyond the mere biological need to reproduce, we unequivocally understand that the father figure has nothing less than an obligation to protect, nurture, guide, and edify their young into capable independence. And, this...Continue reading
Category: Public Policy
False Positive or False Negative: Which would you prefer?
CHECK THIS POST OUT ON SCRIBD The following post is paraphrased from one of my recent guest lectures. It sparked enormous debate and I was very pleased to see college students taking the initiative to discuss their health among peers. Although the topic was testicular cancer and testicular self-examination, I told the females in the...Continue reading
BREAKING NEWS: Creation of a Federal Office of Men’s Health
TAMH is pleased to announce that the Indian Health Service (IHS) will welcome a new initiative into its effort, the Office of Indian Men’s Health. The novel Office was included within each version of the two congressional houses’ Indian Health Care Improvement Act (IHCIA), H.R. 2708 and S. 1790. The IHCIA was reauthorized permanently and...Continue reading
Health Reform Unraveled: A Health Professional’s Perspective
Last week, Congress passed arguably the most comprehensive health legislation since Medicare. After over a year of passionate debate (and nearly a 100 years in the making), the bill was signed into law. Though not a perfect bill, far from it for many, the legislation establishes a fundamental social precedent where we as a society...Continue reading
An Informed Decision
Richard J. Ablin, research professor of immunobiology at the University of Arizona College of Medicine, has been studying prostate cancer for over 40 years. After discovering the Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA), an enzyme made by the prostate, and subsequent approval by the Food and Drug Administration in 1994, the PSA test is the most commonly used...
Men’s Health Caucus in the American Public Health Association
On February 24, 2010, Dr. Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association (APHA), announced the Association’s support for the Men’s Health Caucus, which will draw awareness to an emerging and cross-cutting public health concern. Scott Williams, Chair of the newly formed Caucus and Vice President of Men’s Health Network (MHN), explained that...Continue reading
Beyond Health Care
Health reform has been a topic of great importance here in Washington for the past few months since discussions and debates have intensified in June, 2009. Health reform, however, has primarily focused on one aspect of health – health care. In the broader sense, though, health encompasses a wider reach. For example, health professionals are...
The Business Case for an Office of Men’s Health
Below is an excerpt from a forthcoming study that I authored, which investigates the federal costs associated with excess disease burden in men in an attempt to substantiate the need for a federal Office of Men’s Health. Despite the increased risk of disease and injury, the health of men is oft an overlooked subject. Men...Continue reading
HPV Not Your Problem? Think Of Yourself As A Disease Reservoir
We, as a species, seem to spend a great deal of time blaming others for our problems and nowhere is this truer than when referring to health. Whether it is patients blaming doctors, doctors blaming government, government blaming insurance companies, the finger is always pointed at someone else. This is something that needs to change. ...Continue reading
The House Bill in a Nutshell
We’ve had a few requests here at TAMH to give a brief overview of the recently passed House health reform bill, and I thought that the APHA Conference would be a good backdrop to also talk about some of the public health provisions in the language. From insurance coverage to market innovation and chronic disease...Continue reading