It’s February, and retailers are slamming Valentine’s Day in our faces. Some of us enjoy this holiday dedicated to love and romance (if you want to learn more about Valentine’s Day’s origins, check out the History Channel’s website), while others despise it. But when we’re looking at photos and videos of “the perfect couples” on …
Category Archives: general health literacy
It’s a Lifestyle Change, Not a New Year’s Resolution
It’s January 1, and with the new year comes new resolutions; many of those resolutions will be about weight loss. Unfortunately, only 8% of Americans accomplish their New Year’s resolutions (Prossack, 2018). As someone who always had a resolution to lose weight, I feel like it’s an appropriate time to share my struggles with you …
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More Than a Red Ribbon: AIDS Awareness
December 1 is World AIDS Day, and the entire month is dedicated to AIDS awareness. The first cases of AIDS in the United States were reported in June 1981. Since then, nearly 700,000 people have died from AIDS-related infections in the U.S., and there are about 35,000 new infections each year (KFF, 2021). Many people …
You’re just fake news!: Faulty Logic in Health Information
In the social media universe, the world is black and white. Memes make bold claims about how to easily solve the world’s problems. But when you really stop to think about the claims being made, you may find them riddled with errors in reasoning. The more simplistic and catchy the claim is, the more you …
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What does my candidate think about health care?: Finding health legislation.
‘Tis the season for civic engagement as we head toward the November general election. In September, the U.S. recognized Constitution Day, Citizenship Day, and National Voter Registration Day. Now is the time for everyone to make sure they are registered to vote and they know who is on the ballot for the election. Voting in …
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Death is certain, so don’t ignore it. Plan for it.
Benjamin Franklin once told us the only two certainties in life are death and taxes. Despite death being certain, we ignore it. We try our hardest not to think about it, and we try our hardest to prevent it. We deny its existence until it is inevitable rather than confront the reality and plan for …
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What does it mean to be immunocompromised?
Discussions about COVID-19 and vaccines often mention immunocompromised individuals’ risk for serious infection and whether those individuals will need vaccine boosters. But what does it mean to be immunocompromised? Last month’s blog post explored the basics of immunity, so you might want to check that out if you need a reminder of B-cells, antibodies, macrophages, …
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B-cells, T-cells, and macrophages, oh my!: Understanding immunity
Now that a large number of people are at least partially vaccinated in the U.S. and COVID is on a downswing, the question has turned from whether vaccines work to how long they work and how well they will continue to work against variants. There are also questions about natural immunity and how long it …
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No, HIPAA Doesn’t Cover That: HIPAA, Vaccination Proof, and Vaccination Mandates
Since the COVID-19 vaccines became a reality in late 2020, the media have been discussing vaccine cards and vaccine passports. Now that obtaining the vaccine is theoretically possible for nearly every American adult who wants it (I say theoretically because there are structural barriers in place for many Americans that make it difficult for them …
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Mental Health Matters
May is Mental Health Awareness Month. Mental health is just as important as physical health, but it’s often overlooked in American society. For starters, when we hear “mental illness,” many of us automatically think someone must “be crazy” and have severe mental health issues. But this is not the case. The American Psychiatric Association (APA, …
Christina J. Steffy 