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News this week of the possible link between cell phones and cancer has been all the buzz across the global media landscape. The findings, reported by the World Health Organization found a possible link that radiation from cell phones may be carcinogenic. This is, of course, non conclusive. In a word where there are almost as many cell phones as there are people (Washington Post’s Post Tech put the number at move than five billion) cell phones are not juts ubiquitous, they have also become an essential part of daily life for many.

According to the Washington Post,

Cellphones are “possibly carcinogenic” to humans, according to the panel organized by the World Health Organization. But an exhaustive, eight-day review of hundreds of studies concluded that the existing evidence is insufficient to know for sure. And because cellphones are so popular, further research is urgently needed, the experts said.

The phrasing “possibly carcinogenic” is on a Likert-type scale ranging from carcinogenic to probably not carcinogenic, and is considered the third-highest rating…just below “probably carcinogenic”.

Can anyone out the WHO and public health institutions tell the difference between “probably carcinogenic”  and “possibly carcinogenic”?  in media and communication studies, there is much research on how people ‘read’ the news and other mediated information. I do wonder, when you heard of this, what first came to mind? How many articles did you read on this topic? Did you jump to the conclusion that a “possible” link means one is eminent? Did the media/news sources help you come to that conclusion?

Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/cell-phones-possibly-carcinogenic-who-says/2011/05/31/AGRktZFH_story.html?hpid=z1

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A new study being reported on by The New York Times, Los Angeles Times and others found that there is a possibly and plausible link between drinking coffee a lower risk of prostate cancer, particularly lethal prostate cancer.

The study conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health
 and published in The Journal of the National Cancer Institute, followed close to 48,000 men is among the first to link coffee drinking to lower prostate cancer risk. The Los Angeles Times reported that

“the study found that those who drank more than six cups of coffee per day had a 60% reduced risk of developing lethal prostate cancer compared with nondrinkers.”

Coffee, however, can be detrimental for those with benign prostate cancer.

What does this study mean for prostate cancer prevention? What do you think is the next step for prostate cancer prevention? What more research could be done to better understand the biological risk factors for prostate cancer? How can men at risk for lethal prostate cancer be educated on the health benefits of coffee? What about men for whom drinking coffee is a risk factor for benign prostate cancer? How would a health communication/health education prevention intervention include both groups, with competing messages?

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ucsf.edu network pattern

Today’s post was suppose to be about HPV and the spreading of the virus via oral sex…and whether this link could lead to the end of oral sex. I wanted to address HPV after seeing this story on Dominica News Online, with a link to the complete article on Jamaica Observer.

Instead, midway through reading the article, I came across this paragraph:

“Thirty-seven-year-old Wayne W, who has been married for nine years, said he has never cheated on his wife. However, there are times when he is so stressed that he will visit his girlfriend, who is also married, and they will have guilt free oral sex.”

While I am happy to see an article address HPV, especially among men and the importance of men to take an active role in understanding the virus and how it can cause various forms of cancer, my concern for the moment has to be on this relationship.

STD prevention messages keep pushing the “Be Faithful” approach with public health experts’ conceptualization of being faithful as a 1-1 relationship. However, for many people, including in the relationship described above, partners are saying that they are faithful…to their wife, their girlfriend and whoever else they are having oral or vaginal or other sexual relationships with.

I’m always intrigued by what gets someone “so stressed”  that the only way to get relief is to be with someone other than your wife or central partner. A previous article on Jamaica Observer referred to this pattern as a mental illness. Is it?

Much has been written about sexual network pattern and HIV transmission in Southern Africa. In fact, there is major debate about whether this behavior greatly increases the spread on HIV. Across the Caribbean, we see similar sexual network patters. What we do not see/hear about are behavioral research on why this pattern exists and how it is operationalized within out culture. STD transmission is very complex, and extrapolating what happens in one context to another is rarely advised. What I would like to see is more focus on understanding what facilitates these network patters across the region. Are there patterns a matter of proximity? What role does migration play in sexual networks?  What can be done to mitigate the participation in multiple and concurrent partnerships?

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I am a huge fan of the research around using video games for health behavior and social change and this week marked the 7th annual Games For Health conference. The conference is part of the Games Beyond Entertainment Week, which included the Serious Games Festival and Virtual Worlds and Health Day.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Pioneering Ideas blog did a wonderful series on posts on the week’s events. In one post with panelist Dan Baden, M.D., director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Division of Public Health Practice, done for NewPublic Health, one of the questions focused on the ability of games to deliver health messages:

“NPH: What is the critical mass that you need in order for the games to be able to deliver public health messages?

“Baden: I think that they can be used to deliver public health messages at any size. But actually the number of people involved in games is enormous. The organizer of the conference was speaking in the same panel as I was in earlier today and was saying that of all demographic groups, only males over age 55 indicate that they watch more TV than use the computer. All the other demographic groups say they use the computer for multiple purposes and more than they watch TV. And the largest group of people to use what are called “‘casual games” is women between the age-mid 20s to mid 50s. There are lots of people that are doing this right now.”

Do you know anyone currently doing research using the concepts of serious games or games for health or other forms on interactive media? What about any developers in the Caribbean or of Caribbean origin? Share your thoughts on what issues are best addressed and which ones may not be good for games or simulation type interventions.

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Image courtesy: http://fandom4saa.wordpress.com/An article in the UK’s Daily Mail is reporting on the alleged rape and attack of two British Charity workers on St. Lucia. This news also comes on the heels of investigations into reports of rapes and sexual assault from U.S. Peace Corps volunteers. When incidents such as these happen, countries are quick to protect their political and financial interest. Often, one of the first questions asked is ‘how will this affect tourism in the short term and in the long run?’

However, more questions needs to be asked of the culture in which women–whether nationals or foreigners–are victims of rape and sexual assault. And, we need to focus more on understanding why young men commit such crimes. Over the years, I’ve seen a rise in wanting to blame ‘society’ and ‘media’ without really knowing what implications these terms have on male socialization. Much have been written about hyper-sexualization of Caribbean men.

Our region has among the highest rates of sexual assault in the region. I’m sure any reported number is lower than actual happenings simply because many of these incidents go unreported. According to a Kaieteur News Online article on a UNIFEM report released last year,

“Sexual violence against women is high across the Caribbean, with all CARICOM countries showing higher than the global average per capita rates. This is according to United Nation Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM).”UNIFEM disclosed that crisis centres report significant under-reporting of all forms of sexual violence as victims lack confidence in the administration of justice. “Women victims did not expect police sympathy and would only report with great reluctance.””

What is the best way to go about gathering data on the determinants on rape and sexual assault across the region? Considering that many cases are not reported, what can be done to inform and educate women-and men-about the impact of such abuses on the individual, family and community lives as well as on the population level? What types of interventions (structural?) might be implemented to decrease the prevalence and incidence of sexual assault and rape in our society?