Sunday, August 30, 2009

Vaccine Facts - Charts-Ineffective-Harmful-...

HISTORICAL FACTS EXPOSING THE DANGERS AND INEFFECTIVENESS OF VACCINES
http://www.vaccinationdebate.com/web2.html

- In 1871-2, England, with 98% of the population aged between 2 and 50 vaccinated against smallpox, it experienced its worst ever smallpox outbreak with 45,000 deaths. During the same period in Germany, with a vaccination rate of 96%, there were over 125,000 deaths from smallpox. (The Hadwen Documents)

- In Germany, compulsory mass vaccination against diphtheria commenced in 1940 and by 1945 diphtheria cases were up from 40,000 to 250,000. (Don't Get Stuck, Hannah Allen)

- In the USA in 1960, two virologists discovered that both polio vaccines were contaminated with the SV 40 virus which causes cancer in animals as well as changes in human cell tissue cultures. Millions of children had been injected with these vaccines. (Med Jnl of Australia 17/3/1973 p555)

- In 1967, Ghana was declared measles free by the World Health Organisation after 96% of its population was vaccinated. In 1972, Ghana experienced one of its worst measles outbreaks with its highest ever mortality rate. (Dr H Albonico, MMR Vaccine Campaign in Switzerland, March 1990)

- In the UK between 1970 and 1990, over 200,000 cases of whooping cough occurred in fully vaccinated children. (Community Disease Surveillance Centre, UK)

- In the 1970's a tuberculosis vaccine trial in India involving 260,000 people revealed that more cases of TB occurred in the vaccinated than the unvaccinated. (The Lancet 12/1/80 p73)

- In 1977, Dr Jonas Salk who developed the first polio vaccine, testified along with other scientists, that mass inoculation against polio was the cause of most polio cases throughout the USA since 1961. (Science 4/4/77 "Abstracts" )

- In 1978, a survey of 30 States in the US revealed that more than half of the children who contracted measles had been adequately vaccinated. (The People's Doctor, Dr R Mendelsohn)

- In 1979, Sweden abandoned the whooping cough vaccine due to its ineffectiveness. Out of 5,140 cases in 1978, it was found that 84% had been vaccinated three times! (BMJ 283:696-697, 1981)

-The February 1981 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association found that 90% of obstetricians and 66% of pediatricians refused to take the rubella vaccine.

- In the USA, the cost of a single DPT shot had risen from 11 cents in 1982 to $11.40 in 1987. The manufacturers of the vaccine were putting aside $8 per shot to cover legal costs and damages they were paying out to parents of brain damaged children and children who died after vaccination. (The Vine, Issue 7, January 1994, Nambour, Qld)

- In Oman between 1988 and 1989, a polio outbreak occurred amongst thousands of fully vaccinated children. The region with the highest attack rate had the highest vaccine coverage. The region with the lowest attack rate had the lowest vaccine coverage. (The Lancet, 21/9/91)

- In 1990, a UK survey involving 598 doctors revealed that over 50% of them refused to have the Hepatitis B vaccine despite belonging to the high risk group urged to be vaccinated. (British Med Jnl, 27/1/1990)

- In 1990, the Journal of the American Medical Association had an article on measles which stated " Although more than 95% of school-aged children in the US are vaccinated against measles, large measles outbreaks continue to occur in schools and most cases in this setting occur among previously vaccinated children." (JAMA, 21/11/90)

- In the USA, from July 1990 to November 1993, the US Food and Drug Administration counted a total of 54,072 adverse reactions following vaccination. The FDA admitted that this number represented only 10% of the real total, because most doctors were refusing to report vaccine injuries. In other words, adverse reactions for this period exceeded half a million! (National Vaccine Information Centre, March 2, 1994)

- In the New England Journal of Medicine July 1994 issue a study found that over 80% of children under 5 years of age who had contracted whooping cough had been fully vaccinated.

- On November 2nd, 2000, the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS) announced that its members voted at their 57th annual meeting in St Louis to pass a resolution calling for an end to mandatory childhood vaccines. The resolution passed without a single "no" vote. (Report by Michael Devitt)

 

GRAPHICAL EVIDENCE SHOWS VACCINES DIDN'T SAVE US

HISTORICAL FACTS EXPOSING THE DANGERS AND INEFFECTIVENESS OF VACCINES

DOCTORS AND SCIENTISTS CONDEMN VACCINATION

WHY VACCINES ARE INEFFECTIVE

WHY VACCINES ARE HARMFUL

WHY VACCINATION CONTINUES

THE BENEFICIAL NATURE OF CHILDHOOD INFECTION

HEALTH - THE ONLY IMMUNITY

THE HOPEWOOD CHILDREN - AUSTRALIA'S HEALTHIEST KIDS



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Friday, August 14, 2009

2009 Swine Flue & 1919 Flu Epidemic Cured With Homeopathy For Many

Doctors in Mexico City Cured 2009 Swine Flu with Homeopathy

Friday, August 14, 2009 by: Paul Fassa, citizen journalist
See all articles by this author
Email this author
http://www.naturalnews.com/026839_homeopathy_homeopathic_doctors.html

Key concepts: Homeopathy, Homeopathic and Doctors
View on NaturalPedia: Homeopathy, Homeopathic and Doctors

(NaturalNews) Homeopathy had an amazingly high cure rate in the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic in the USA. Just recently, during the 2009 Mexican Flu outbreak, a small group of Mexico City homeopathic doctors have revealed that homeopathy is up to the task again. This is good news considering that many over the counter and prescribed pharmaceutical flu remedies not only hazard negative side effects, but they may also not really cure current flu strains.

Pharmaceutical Flu Remedies Efficacy Questioned

Recombinomics, a viral/vaccination research and tracking group`s website, this July 8, 2009 commentary, reports: "... resistant Novel H1N1 in Saskatchewan Raises Concerns". "This new influenza . . . has been combined with two genes from the H1N1 seasonal flu," said Dr. Frank Plummer, scientific director-general of the national microbiology laboratory in Winnipeg. Dr. Plummer noted that this mutation may make it almost impossible for current pharmaceutical flu remedies to cope with this new strain of Swine Flu. You can view that commentary here: http://www.recombinomics.com/News/0...

The New York Times reported in a January 8th, 2009 article titled "Major Flu Strain Found Resistant to Leading Drug, Puzzling Scientists". The article goes on to explain how throat swabs for common flu infected patients showed a higher rate of resistance to pharmaceutical flu remedies this year than last year. Read it yourself here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/09/h...

Despite all this, the government wants you to believe that only the flu remedies of Big Pharma are appropriate for curing Swine Flu. They want you to believe this so much, the FDA recently posted warnings, with enforcement penalties, to curb anyone from saying there is any other natural product that can cure H1N1 (Swine Flu).
Details on the FDA ruling here: http://www.naturalnews.com/026473_t...

Homeopathy Flu Therapy Is Not Affected by Viral Mutations

Homeopathy does not depend on one drug or feature particular drugs for curing any type of flu. Homeopathy is a non allopathic healing method that was once the mainstream medicine of the 19th century. Because different remedies and combinations and strengths are prescribed according to exact symptomatic readings, homeopaths can successfully adapt treatments to handle viral mutations. Homeopathy was enjoyed by many until certain moneyed interests almost pushed it out of existence. Now there is somewhat of a resurgence of its use.

In an article posted on the website Homeopathy for Everyone, four Mexican Homeopathic doctors posted their first hand observations on the 2009 Mexican flu, and revealed the exact protocol they used to cure those afflicted under their care. The doctors who reported these findings from Mexico City, in May of 2009 are: Est. Luis Jamil Bonilla Galicia, Dr. Oscar Alberto Legaria Garcia, Dr. Emmanuel Alvarez Lorenzo, and Dr. Fernando Dareo Francois Flores.

These doctors included historically documented observations regarding the 1918 flu pandemic. For historical references they used "... the thesis written by Dr. Manuel Mazari to obtain his qualification at the Escuela Libre de Homeopata de Mexico: "Short Study of the Last Influenza Epidemic in Mexico City (1918)",as well as reports published by the Ministry of Health, news published in the media in general, and some clinical cases mentioned by homeopathic physicians"

Not surprisingly, the symptoms of the 1918 flu and the so called `swine flu` of 2009 are very similar. It`s interesting to note both pandemics started in the spring, in the month of April, and not in the official flu season which is autumn. Two additional symptoms, one of which is an emotional aspect that is part of homeopathy diagnosis, are noted by this study: "fear of death" and a "high fever" at the onset of the infection.

Mainstream, medical, literature, sources conclude:"...that this virus {A(H1N1) influenza virus} was the causative agent of the influenza epidemics in (1918 -1919), (1933-1935), (1946-1947), (1977-1978)."
The basic purpose of the Mexican Homeopaths` study was to identify common symptoms of the 2009 swine flu in order to outline a specific homeopathic based prevention and treatment model that could be used by homeopathic doctors around the world.

NOTE: The following is copied directly from their report, and some of it is beyond lay understanding. The formulaic remedy details of their report should be put into a homeopath`s hands.

"Recommendations for the Prevention and Control of the Influenza A (H1N1)"

General hygienic actions of each person during an epidemic.


1.- Hand washing after coughing and sneezing.
2.- Cover the mouth with a disposable handkerchief when coughing or sneezing.
3.- If there is no handkerchief available the inner side of the elbow can be used.
4.- Avoid crowded places.
5.- Avoid greeting ill persons by hand or kissing.
6.- Avoid spitting on the ground and other surfaces.
7.- Throw handkerchiefs away in closed plastic bags.
8.- Don`t share glasses, plates, cutlery, food or drinks.
9.- Follow the recommendations as given by the physician and don`t self-medicate.
10.- Ventilate your working place and house, and permit sun to enter.
11.- Drink much and eat foods rich in vitamin C.
12.- Avoid sudden change of temperature.
13.- Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands.

PROPHYLAXIS (meaning preventive)

1. Homeopathic remedies
a. BAPTISIA TINCTOREA
b. INFLUENZINUM
c. ARSENICUM ALBUM

From the Mexico City Doctors Report

"In homeopathy there are no specific medicines for a particular nosological picture (for which the most common symptoms are taken into account). But in epidemics, due to the common causative agent, susceptibility of the population in this particular moment, and the repetition of symptoms, a group of the most useful remedies can be deduced. The remedies determined in this way are called the Genius Epidemicus. They consist of a group of medicines with symptoms most similar to those presented by most patients suffering this flu."

"For homeopathic treatment is it necessary to take into account the degree of reaction of the patient and the symptoms with which the disease manifests itself. We considered this and the symptoms observed during the last epidemic (1918) to find the similar remedy."

Homepathic Remedies Listed by the Mexican Doctors and Directly Copied Here Which They Successfully Employed Against the 2009 Mexican Flu

Aconitum napellus, Actea racemosa, Allium cepa, Ammonium phosphoricum, Antimonium tartaricum, Arnica montana, Arsenicum album, Baptisia tinctoria, Belladonna atropa, Bryonia alba, Camphora, Carbo vegetabilis, Carbolic acid, Causticum, Chamomilla, China officinalis, Drosera rotundifolia, Eupatorium perfoliatum, Euphrasia, Ferrum phosphoricum, Gelsemium sempervirens, Glonoinum, Hepatica triloba, Hyosciamus niger, Influenzinum (corresponding to the epidemic), Ipecauanha, Lachesis trigonocephalus, Lycopodium clavatum, Mercurius vivus, Natrum sulphuricum, Nux vomica, Opium, Phosphorus, Phytolacca decandra, Pulsatilla, Pyrogenium, Rhus toxicodendron, Sticta pulmonaria, Sepia officinalis, Sulphur.

Most Used Remedies in Hemorrhagic Influenza

Arnica montana, Arsenicum album, Baptisia tinctoria, Belladonna atropa, Bryonia alba, Camphora, Carbo vegetabilis, Chamomilla, China officinalis, Ferrum phosphoricum, Influenzinum (corresponding to the epidemic), Ipecacuanha, Lachesis trigonocephalus, Mercurius vivus, Phosphorus, Sepia officinalis, Sulphur.

Nosodes

Influenzinum (corresponding to the epidemic), Pyrogenium, Anthracinum.

That Ends the Doctors` Report. Here`s More General Information on Homeopathy

Classic homeopathy is a healing methodology that is based on the wisdom of treating a specific individual and their specific symptoms (including body, mind, emotions, and environment), as opposed to the allopathic model which bases treatment on agreed upon disease symptoms and averages.

It is also important to note that homeopathy is primarily an energetic and vibrational medicine. Simplistically speaking, homeopathic remedies are created by diluting a physical substance into a distilled water and alcohol and creating a vibrational or energetic substance by shaking it rapidly with machinery. This is how a nosode is created. Therefore, even a toxic physical substance prepared in a nosode will not retain any toxicity that will be transferred into the body.

And the nosode is taken orally, thereby not bypassing the initial stage of the immune system. Inoculations do bypass this important first phase of the immune system by ignoring the mucous membranes in the mouth and throat and going directly into the bloodstream. Homeopathic remedies are applied by a counterintuitive method. A homeopathic doctor is skilled in matching the individual`s current symptom picture with exact remedies that produce those exact same symptoms. This is actual immunization. Keep in mind when an individual`s symptoms change, new homeopathic remedies are prescribed to replace the previous homeopathic recommendations. This process continues until there are no more symptoms.

However, when there is an epidemic or pandemic disease, a homeopathic doctor can use the `common` symptoms widely reported by the public as an individual body and prescribe homeopathic remedies accordingly.

Homeopathy and the 1918 Flu

WW I was the first time that USA military personnel were ordered to receive vaccinations. There was and is a strong suspicion that mandated vaccinations used on troops actually created the initial infections for this pandemic. It`s recorded that many died after being vaccinated, while most who did not receive vaccinations survived.

Those factors did not affect or alter what homeopaths managed to put together during this pandemic. Understanding symptoms which have been closely scrutinized and categorized are the determining factors for administering classic homeopathic remedies, including the follow up remedies for complete recovery as symptoms change.

Undisclosed to the public at large, despite the strange and unusually virulent flu strain resulting in the "White Plague", the cure rate of homeopathy during the 1918 so called Spanish Flu has been reported as 98%.

Sources:

An Important Article Recommending Over the Counter Homeopathic Remedies
http://www.examiner.com/x-11705-NY-...

The Mexico City homeopathic doctors` 2009 Mexican complete report http://www.hpathy.com/papersnew/gal...

Homeopathy for Everyone http://www.hpathy.com/

Observations of Mexican Flu 2009
http://www.hpathy.com/papersnew/gal...

Homeopathy and the Flu
http://www.cure-guide.com/Flu/Homeo...

Website for general flu information and homeopathy
http://flusolution.net/

Important for Swine Flu Epidemic: Homeopathy Successfully Treated Flu Epidemic of 1918 http://www.naturalnews.com/026148.html

About the author

Paul Fassa has managed to survive the normal American diet and his youthful folly by studying real, not medical mafia, health matters informally with his wife over several years, and incorporating them into his lifestyle as a vegetarian.


He also practices Chi-Lel Chi Gong, and he is trained as a polarity therapy practitioner. He is dedicated to warning others of the corruption of food and medicine in our time, and guiding others in a better direction for health.

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Thursday, August 13, 2009

Boycott Whole Food - CEO Mackey Campaigns To Defeat Single Payer Health Insurance

Boycott Whole Foods

John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods,
has just launched a campaign to defeat a single payer national health insurance system.

today, Single Payer Action is calling on all American citizens to boycott Whole Foods.

Why?
Because Mackey has launched a public campaign to defeat single payer national health insurance.

This despite the bottom line reality that single payer is the only way to both control health care costs and cover everyone.

the problem with Mackey’s campaign is that it results in the deaths of 60 Americans every day due to lack of health insurance.

buy [from]
Your local health food co-op.
Farmers’ markets.
Community supported agriculture.

join the Single Payer Action Boycott of Whole Foods.

Don’t cross the picket lines.


Don’t spend another penny at Whole Foods until John Mackey and his right wing friends are defeated.

And single payer is enacted.


Onward to single payer.
+++

Boycott Whole Foods

by Russell Mokhiber

John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods, is a right wing libertarian.

He’s a union buster.

He believes that corporations should not be criminally prosecuted for their crimes.

He has just launched a campaign to defeat a single payer national health insurance system.

And he’s the CEO of Whole Foods.

Primo hangout of liberal Democratic yuppies.

“We are all responsible for our own lives and our own health,” Mackey wrote yesterday in the Wall Street Journal. “We should take that responsibility very seriously and use our freedom to make wise lifestyle choices that will protect our health. Doing so will enrich our lives and will help create a vibrant and sustainable American society.”

Yes it will, John Mackey.

Yes it will.

I do take that responsibility very seriously.

I try to eat well.

And exercise regularly.

I also take my responsibility as a citizen seriously.

After all, Mr. Mackey, we are all responsible for our own civic lives and our own civic health.

We should take that responsibility very seriously and use our freedom and make wise civic and consumer choices that will protect our nation’s health.

Doing so will enrich our civic lives and help create a vibrant and sustainable American society.

That’s why, today, Single Payer Action is calling on all American citizens to boycott Whole Foods.

Why?

Because Mackey has launched a public campaign to defeat single payer national health insurance.

This despite the bottom line reality that single payer is the only way to both control health care costs and cover everyone.

As Dr. Marcia Angell says in today’s New York Times, “if you keep health care in the hands of for-profit companies, you can increase coverage by putting more money into the system, or control costs by decreasing coverage. But you cannot do both unless you change the basic structure of the system.”

Mackey leads his Wall Street Journal diatribe against national health insurance with a quote from one of his heroines – Margaret Thatcher: “The problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people’s money.”

And the problem with Mackey’s campaign is that it results in the deaths of 60 Americans every day due to lack of health insurance.

Mackey is responsible for these deaths as much as anyone.

And we are responsible for putting money into his Whole Food bank account so that he can continue his campaign without resistance.

I know that this boycott of Whole Foods will upset many liberal Democrats.

Where will they buy their organic wines?

And cheeses?

And tofu?

There are options.

Your local health food co-op.

Farmers’ markets.

Community supported agriculture.

Other corporate chains like Trader Joe’s.

So, please, join the Single Payer Action Boycott of Whole Foods.

Don’t cross the picket lines.

Don’t spend another penny at Whole Foods until John Mackey and his right wing friends are defeated.

And single payer is enacted.

Onward to single payer.

Russell Mokhiber is editor of the Washington, D.C.-based Corporate Crime Reporter.  He is also founder of singlepayeraction.org.



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Sunday, August 9, 2009

Making Single Payer Health Insurance The Only Cost Effective Viable Choice For Congress

Watch the video:
Dennis Kucinich-HealthCare Briefing in Washington, DC

In August focus on redoubling effort for single payer health care at the state level.
- it is by far the least expensive and most viable legislation

In September more effort at a national level can be applied to all of congress to pass single payer health care:
- to keep the amendment to the current legislation HR3200 that allows states to have single payer health insurance
- to fully support the single payer bill HR 676 that can replace HR3200 that is so compromised it might not even pass.


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Using Regular Health Tips, Health Reminders, And Awareness Improves Ones Health Dramatically

[Here's a study showing how people who want to improve their health can do so by
- eating more fruits and vegetables,
- eating less saturated fats, and by
- getting more exercise.

To do this they received weekly emails encouraging them to considers specific ways along with periodic email reminders.

Of course these basic 'behavioral techniques' have been turned into a mega 'for-profit' program.

There is no need to turn this into another 'for-profit' enterprise.
This can be done freely by any media group, groups interested in health and individuals on their own.

There is no need to make a big deal of the tips or have grand 'explanations'
- just let people know specific ways they can make things better - their lives, where they live ...

What is important is tips and reminders and awareness and actually choosing to take steps for better health.

One of the tips that can be repeated in many different ways is to keep track of your progress, what you have done and notice if it is helping - if it is keep doing it, if it is not try something else.

Simply sending out on a regular basis, tips that are short, brief, to the point reminders of what individuals can do.
People that want to have better health simply need to be reminded on a regular basis they can have better health and there are plenty of simple things they can do or stop doing that can help them.]
===

  • Americans have a high prevalence of “unhealthy” diets
    • 77% have fewer than five servings of fruits and vegetables each day
    • 77% have a fat intake greater than 30% of calories
  • Americans have a low level of physical activity
    • 51% fail to meet the recommended activity levels
    • 24% are at the “sedentary” level
the majority of Americans eat poorly and fail to exercise enough

daily diet for about three-quarters of the population
consists of more than 30 percent fat,
a percentage that's generally considered too high.

recommended 30 minutes of moderate physical activity most days of the week.


for people who want to improve their diet and physical activity

changing behavior:
small goals tailored for the individual,
reinforcement, and
tracking

regular email reminders appears successful in producing healthier diet and exercise habits

small health-improvement goals for themselves.
Once per week, they received an email containing individualized suggestions on ways to get closer to that goal.

suggestions were simple --
such as walking for 10 minutes each day during lunch,
walking to the store, or
eating three extra fruits per week

In between weekly suggestions, participants also received reminder emails.

Results:
more physically active,
eating more fruits and vegetables, and
reducing their intake of saturated fats and trans fats,
significantly more than those in the control group.

increased their participation in moderate intensity physical activities by almost an hour a week
decreased the amount of time they spent in sedentary activities,
like watching TV and videos, by about two hours a week.

a lasting effect

helping people move more, sit less, and make healthier food choices,

weekly e-mails in their work or home accounts for four months

The e-mails linked to a personal home page with tips for achieving the small-step goals the respondent had selected, educational materials and tracking and simulation tools. Reminder messages were sent between each intervention message.

Before the program began, participants were evaluated on their eating and exercise habits
received immediate feedback.

filled out the online questionnaire twice more,
end of the program and four months later.
+++


Workplace Email Intervention Program Helps People Sit Less and Eat Better

Saturday, August 08, 2009 by: David Gutierrez, staff writer

(NaturalNews) A simple intervention program featuring regular email reminders appears successful in producing healthier diet and exercise habits, according to a study conducted by health insurance firm Kaiser Permanente and funded by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"The takeaway message here for people who want to improve their diet and physical activity, and for employers who want a healthier workforce, is that email intervention programs are a very cost-effective way to get healthy," said lead researcher Barbara Sternfeld. "A tailored email program includes all the things that behavioral scientists have said for years about changing behavior: small goals tailored for the individual, reinforcement, and tracking but delivered in a mass, cost-effective way."

Kaiser researchers conducted a 16-week trial of the A Lifestyle Intervention Via E-mail (ALIVE) program on 787 employees, 351 of them in the email intervention group and 436 in a control group. All participants took a short, online questionnaire at the beginning of the study and received immediate feedback on their diet and exercise habits.

Participants in the intervention group then set small health-improvement goals for themselves. Once per week, they received an email containing individualized suggestions on ways to get closer to that goal. All the suggestions were simple -- such as walking for 10 minutes each day during lunch, walking to the store, or eating three extra fruits per week -- and were tailored to be realistic for each person's life (such as whether they had kids or a busy schedule). Each email contained a link to a Web site where participants could get extra tips, learn more and track their progress.

In between weekly suggestions, participants also received reminder emails.

According a survey completed at the end of the study and another four months later, the people in the email intervention group had increased their exercise level and fruit and vegetable intake and decreased their saturated and trans fat intake significantly more than those in the control group.

Sources for this story include: www.eurekalert.org.
===

Public release date: 19-May-2009
[ Print | E-mail | Share Share ] [ Close Window ]

Contact: Danielle Cass
danielle.x.cass@kp.org
510-267-5354
Kaiser Permanente

Workplace e-mail intervention program helps people sit less and eat better

Tailored e-mails suggest fruit snacks and 10-minute walks

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-05/kp-wei051109.php

May 19, 2009 (OAKLAND, Calif.) – An e-mail intervention program is an effective way to significantly improve diet and physical activity by helping people move more, sit less, and make healthier food choices, according to a Kaiser Permanente Division of Research study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

The study was a randomized controlled trial of the ALIVE (A Lifestyle Intervention Via E-mail) program conducted among 787 Kaiser Permanente Northern California employees at their worksites. Through the ALIVE program, developed by NutritionQuest, (www.nutritionquest.com) weekly e-mails were sent to the 351 employees randomized to the intervention group; the 436 employees in the control group received only immediate e-mail feedback at the start of the intervention indicating whether or not their reported physical activity and diet met national guidelines. The messages to the participants in the intervention group suggested small, practical, individually tailored goals, such as eating fruit for a snack three times a week, walking for 10 minutes a day at lunch time, or walking to the store instead of driving.

At the end of the 16-week trial, the participants in the intervention group were more physically active, eating more fruits and vegetables, and reducing their intake of saturated fats and trans fats, compared to the control group. The biggest changes occurred among those in the intervention group, who did not meet behavioral recommendations at the start of the trial. For example, employees who were not regularly active before receiving the intervention increased their participation in moderate intensity physical activities by almost an hour a week and decreased the amount of time they spent in sedentary activities, like watching TV and videos, by about two hours a week. These changes had a lasting effect four months after the intervention ended, the study found.

"The takeaway message here for people who want to improve their diet and physical activity, and for employers who want a healthier workforce, is that e-mail intervention programs are a very cost-effective way to get healthy," said study lead investigator Barbara Sternfeld, Ph.D., senior research scientist with the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research and the study's lead investigator. "A tailored e-mail program includes all the things that behavioral scientists have said for years about changing behavior: small goals tailored for the individual, reinforcement, and tracking but delivered in a mass, cost-effective way."

Funded by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, this study offers additional support for the effectiveness of the Internet and e-mail to reach large segments of the population to inspire healthier lifestyle choices. It is one of the first studies to send messages directly into individuals' e-mail inboxes, rather than requiring individuals to actively access messages via the World Wide Web.

Given that the majority of Americans eat poorly and fail to exercise enough, effective e-mail programs could be a useful way to improve health, researchers say. According to the CDC, 55 percent don't perform the recommended 30 minutes of moderate physical activity most days of the week. Additionally, the daily diet for about three-quarters of the population consists of more than 30 percent fat, a percentage that's generally considered too high.

Participants received weekly e-mails in their work or home accounts for four months that were tailored to their individual needs and life situation (for example, whether they had small children at home or busy schedules that posed barriers to exercise and diet improvement.) The e-mails linked to a personal home page with tips for achieving the small-step goals the respondent had selected, educational materials and tracking and simulation tools. Reminder messages were sent between each intervention message.

The study cohort was composed of employees who worked in the regional offices of Kaiser Permanente Northern California. The employees worked in administrative, financial, regulatory, technical and professional services and were not involved with direct patient care. They tend to use computers for much of their work. Participation had no bearing on job performance, employment status, or health benefits. The participants' information was kept confidential and did not appear on medical records or employee files.

Before the program began, participants were evaluated on their eating and exercise habits by answering a short, online questionnaire, to which they received immediate feedback. They filled out the online questionnaire twice more, at the end of the program and four months later.

Another paper published in January in the Journal of Medical Internet Research found that the ALIVE e-mail program reduced presenteeism among the trial participants and reduced bodily pain. Presenteeism is lost productivity that occurs when employees come to work but perform below par due to any kind of illness. The study did not look at whether employees used the e-mail program during their lunch hour or during their regular work hour.

"Using e-mail to get people active is a great use of existing technology that is cheap and readily available," said Bob Sallis, MD, a Kaiser Permanente family physician who is the regional exercise champion for Kaiser Permanente's Southern California region and immediate past president of the American College of Sports Medicine. "Anything we can do to increase activity level is going to improve health because we know that exercise is medicine. It's medicine you can take to live a longer and healthier life."

###

This study was a collaboration between Kaiser Permanente and NutritionQuest (www.nutritionquest.com), and is part of an ongoing body of research by Kaiser Permanente that looks at using technology – mobile phones, wireless PDAs, the Internet, etc. – to help individuals manage their weight, get more physically active and make healthy food choices.

Kaiser Permanente also offers its 164,000 employees and 8.6 million members free online Healthy Lifestyle programs to spur healthy lifestyle choices to prevent disease and improve health through customized online tools for weight management at www.kp.org that links with Kaiser Permanente HealthConnect™, the world's largest civilian electronic health record.

Additional researchers on the Kaiser Permanente study include: Charles P. Quesenberry Jr., Ph.D., Gail Husson, MPH, and Melissa Nelson, MA, MPH, of the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research; Torin J. Block, BA, Clifford Block, Ph.D., Jean C. Norris, DrPH and Gladys Block, Ph.D., of NutritionQuest of Berkeley, Calif.

About the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research (http://www.dor.kaiser.org/)

The Kaiser Permanente Division of Research conducts, publishes, and disseminates epidemiologic and health services research to improve the health and medical care of Kaiser Permanente members and the society at large. It seeks to understand the determinants of illness and well-being and to improve the quality and cost-effectiveness of health care. Currently, DOR's 400-plus staff is working on more than 250 epidemiological and health services research projects.

About Kaiser Permanente Research

Kaiser Permanente's eight research centers comprise one of the largest research programs in the United States and engage in work designed to improve the health of individuals everywhere. KP HealthConnect™ , Kaiser Permanente's electronic health record, and other resources provide population data for research, and in turn, research findings are fed into KP HealthConnect™ to arm physicians with research and clinical data. Kaiser Permanente's research program works with national and local health agencies and community organizations to share and widely disseminate its research data. Kaiser Permanente's research program is funded in part by Kaiser Permanente's Community Benefit division, which in 2007 directed an estimated $1 billion in health services, technology, and funding toward total community health.

About Kaiser Permanente

Kaiser Permanente is committed to helping shape the future of health care. We are recognized as one of America's leading health care providers and not-for-profit health plans. Founded in 1945, our mission is to provide high-quality, affordable health care services to improve the health of our members and the communities we serve. We currently serve 8.6 million members in nine states and the District of Columbia. Care for members and patients is focused on their total health and guided by their personal physicians, specialists and team of caregivers. Our expert and caring medical teams are empowered and supported by industry-leading technology advances and tools for health promotion, disease prevention, state-of-the art care delivery and world-class chronic disease management. Kaiser Permanente is dedicated to care innovations, clinical research, health education and the support of community health. For more information, go to: www.kp.org/newscenter.

www.kaiserpermanente.org
===

Project ALIVE (A Lifestyle Intervention Via Email)

http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/study/NCT00607009
This study has been completed.
First Received: January 22, 2008   Last Updated: February 4, 2008   History of Changes
Sponsors and Collaborators: Kaiser Permanente
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Information provided by: Kaiser Permanente
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT00607009
  Purpose

The objective of this study is to test the effectiveness of an email-based diet and physical activity intervention on increasing physical activity and fruit and vegetable consumption and decreasing intake of saturated and trans fats and added sugars.


Condition Intervention
Inactivity
Behavioral: ALIVE

Study Type: Interventional
Study Design: Prevention, Randomized, Open Label, Placebo Control, Parallel Assignment, Efficacy Study
Official Title: Email-Based Diet and Activity Promotion in Worksites

Resource links provided by NLM:


Further study details as provided by Kaiser Permanente:

Primary Outcome Measures:
  • change in physical activity [ Time Frame: 4 months ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]

Secondary Outcome Measures:
  • change in fruits and vegetables [ Time Frame: 4 months ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
  • health-related quality of life [ Time Frame: 4 months ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
  • presentism [ Time Frame: 4 months ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
  • stage of change [ Time Frame: 4 months ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
  • self efficacy [ Time Frame: 4 months ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]

Enrollment: 797
Study Start Date: July 2006
Study Completion Date: May 2007
Primary Completion Date: May 2007 (Final data collection date for primary outcome measure)
Arms Assigned Interventions
1: Experimental
received emails
Behavioral: ALIVE
email-based behavioral program
2: Placebo Comparator
no contact
Behavioral: ALIVE
email-based behavioral program

  Eligibility

Ages Eligible for Study:   21 Years to 65 Years
Genders Eligible for Study:   Both
Accepts Healthy Volunteers:   Yes
Criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

  • regional Northern California KP employees

Exclusion Criteria:

  • none
  Contacts and Locations
Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00607009

Sponsors and Collaborators
Kaiser Permanente
Investigators
Principal Investigator: Barbara Sternfeld, PhD Kaiser Permanente
  More Information
No publications provided by Kaiser Permanente

Additional publications automatically indexed to this study by National Clinical Trials Identifier (NCT ID):
Responsible Party: Division of Research, Kaiser Permanente ( Barbara Sternfeld, PhD, Senior Research Scientist )
Study ID Numbers: CN-04BSter-02-H, 5R01DP000095-03
Study First Received: January 22, 2008
Last Updated: February 4, 2008
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT00607009     History of Changes
Health Authority: United States: Federal Government

ClinicalTrials.gov processed this record on August 07, 2009
===


This is the html version of the file http://www.nutritionquest.com/products/ALIVE_program_overview.ppt.
Google automatically generates html versions of documents as we crawl the web.

The link to the html is here.

A Lifestyle Intervention Via Email

Block Dietary Data Systems. www.nutritionquest.com 

  • An intervention to improve
    • Nutrition
    • Physical Activity
 
  • Developed by Block Dietary Data Systems*
    • In collaboration with Kaiser Permanente of Northern California Division of Research
 

* Information about the developers of Alive may be found at the end of this presentation

Block Dietary Data Systems. www.nutritionquest.com 

Background 

  • Americans have a high prevalence of “unhealthy” diets
    • 77% have fewer than five servings of fruits and vegetables each day
    • 77% have a fat intake greater than 30% of calories
  • Americans have a low level of physical activity
    • 51% fail to meet the recommended activity levels
    • 24% are at the “sedentary” level

Block Dietary Data Systems. www.nutritionquest.com 

Overview 

  • 12 weekly or bi-weekly messages
  • Extensively tailored to individual characteristics
  • Based on established learning and behavior-change theories and principles
  • Available for groups reachable by email
    • Employees, group/organization members, HMO clients
  • Requires minimal organizational effort or expertise
  • Proven effective in a randomized controlled trial

Block Dietary Data Systems. www.nutritionquest.com 

Behavioral Goals 

  • Increase physical activity
  • Decrease saturated and trans fats, decrease added sugars, increase good fats and carbs
  • Increase fruit and vegetable intake
 
  • Not a weight loss program
 
  • Can be adapted to other intervention outcomes

Block Dietary Data Systems. www.nutritionquest.com 

Behavior Change Principles 

  • Maximizing individual relevance--through assessments, feedback and tailoring
  • Tailoring to stage-of-change, individual diet habits, exercise preferences
  • Goal setting
  • Small-steps toward new habits
  • Continued feedback and reinforcement
  • Increasing salience and motivation through health information, tips and reminders
  • Encouraging social support

Block Dietary Data Systems. www.nutritionquest.com 

Proven Effective 

  • Randomized controlled trial
  • Funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
  • 797 employees of Kaiser Permanente of Northern California
  • Statistically significant increases
    • Physical activity, fruits and vegetables
  • Statistically significant decreases
    • Saturated fat, trans fats

Block Dietary Data Systems. www.nutritionquest.com 

Proven Effective 

  • Randomized controlled trial results paper in preparation
 
  • Results reported in June 2007 in Oslo at the International Society of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity
 
  • The Trial website contains much more information about Alive!, and about the randomized trial:

Block Dietary Data Systems. www.nutritionquest.com 

Components 

  • Weekly messages contain
    • Suggested goals to try for the week, tailored to each individual
    • Tips for achieving the selected goals
    • Tips for overcoming barriers
    • Health information, information on nutrition and physical activity
    • Interactive tool to explore effects of specific changes
    • Links to other health/nutrition sites
    • Links to track diet and physical activity
    • More!

Block Dietary Data Systems. www.nutritionquest.com 

Some “Health Notes” Topics 

  • Carbs and the Glycemic Index
  • Fruits, Veggies and Cancer
  • Physical Activity and Breast Cancer
  • Diet and Cognitive Function
  • Mood, Stress and Physical Activity
  • Components of Fitness
  • Trends in Physical Activity Programs
  • “Good” Fats, “Bad” Fats
  • and many others

Block Dietary Data Systems. www.nutritionquest.com 

How it works 

  • Licensing agreement with Block Dietary Data Systems (BDDS)
  • Organization/company promotes program to employees or membership
    • Inform them that it’s approved
    • BDDS can provide some promotional material
  • BDDS sends invitation email to organization’s HR or other official
  • Organization’s official forwards email to employee/membership list

Block Dietary Data Systems. www.nutritionquest.com 

How the process begins 

  • Email is sent by the organization or company
    • Batch email, to organization’s target group
 
  • Email message appears in employee’s or member’s email reader

Block Dietary Data Systems. www.nutritionquest.com 

Invitation Email 

  • Appears in employee’s inbox 

  • Employee ‘clicks to get started’
 
  • This is just an opportunity to take a Health Risk Assessment and receive feedback
 
  • Then employee receives diet and physical activity assessment

Health Risk Assessments 

  • Dietary and physical activity screener tools provide tailoring information

Block Dietary Data Systems. www.nutritionquest.com 

Diet and Physical Activity Screeners 

  • Completed online in 15 minutes
  • Provide instant feedback on
    • Saturated fat intake
    • Trans fat intake
    • Added sugar intake
    • Health-related physical activity
    • Cardiovascular-related physical activity
    • Sedentary behavior
  • Available to all, free, whether they decide to participate or not

Block Dietary Data Systems. www.nutritionquest.com 

Instant Feedback 
 
 

  • Instant feedback shows each individual how their own behavior could be improved, in relation to their current health habits

Block Dietary Data Systems. www.nutritionquest.com 

Instant Feedback 

  • First example, person doing well in fats, less well in fruits and vegetables, so-so in physical activity


Instant Feedback 

  • Second example, person doing poorly in diet and physical activity

After Giving Diet and Physical Activity Results: 

  • Opportunity to participate in the Alive program

  • If persons choose to participate, they provide email to which Alive! emails will be sent.
  • May provide an alternate email if they want to participate from home as well.

Tailoring Questionnaire 

  • Tailoring for diet is based partially on responses to diet questionnaire
    • E.g., if they report drinking whole milk, suggested goals will propose switching to lower-fat milk
  • All tailoring is based on responses to lifestyle/tailoring questionnaires
    • E.g., stage of change and preferences for structured or unstructured physical activity
    • Or whether they cook, eating-out habits, kids at home

Participant Chooses Big Goal to Work On 

  • Will work on for next 12 weeks
  • Can change goal in first two weeks
  • By agreement, participant may rejoin at end of 12 weeks to work on same or different goal

Weekly email messages 

  • Come directly to participant’s email inbox

Weekly email messages 

  • Each week has a Health Notes (information about nutrition or physical activity and health), summarized in the weekly email by sidebar on the right
 
  • Each week has suggested small-step goals; participant commits to one or two to try for following week

Barriers are addressed 

  • First weekly email lists common barriers to achieving diet (or physical activity goals)
 
  • Participant indicates which ones are barriers for him
 
  • Each week thereafter, tips for overcoming those particular barriers are suggested

Weekly email messages 

  • When participant choose a goal to work on for the following week….

After choosing weekly goal 

  • He is taken to his “Personal Home Page”
  • Containing tailored tips to achieve the goal or goals he has chosen

Example of A Tailored Physical Activity Tip 

  • Physical Activity Path, “Kids at Home” sub-path
 

    “Don’t just be a spectator at your kids’ sports activities.  Walk around the field while you’re watching their soccer or baseball games.  Consider helping out as a coach and do conditioning exercises with the kids.  It will help all of you become more fit.”

Block Dietary Data Systems. www.nutritionquest.com 

Mid-week reminder 

  • Reminds you of your chosen goal for the week
  • Offers opportunity to go to Discussion Board
  • Offers opportunity to track your diet or physical activity at US Government’s MyPyramidTracker.gov

Each week a new email 

  • Report how you did on your goal last week
  • New goals to work on
  • New Health Note topic

Each week, choose a goal for the week 

  • Takes participant to his personal Home Page
  • For Tips
  • Other tools on their Home Page


Tools on the Personal Home Page


Health Notes 

  • A new one each week

Progress and Goal Tracker


What-If Tool 

  • Tools shows participant’s actual responses to foods or physical activities
  • Participant can see effects of changes
  • “What if I ate hamburgers once a week instead of 5 times a week?”
  • Tool shows effect of that change on participant’s total saturated and trans fats

Other Resources on Home Page 

  • Links to other organizations’ sites
  • Library of all Health Notes
  • Links to diet and physical activity tracking tools

Health Note Library 

  • All Health Notes from all Big Goals (Carbs/fats, Fruit/vegs, Physical Activity)

Discussion Board 

  • Participants can share ideas and solutions
  • Can be monitored by local dietitians

More Assessment Tools


Other Options 

  • Family member can sign up – increases social support

Demo Version 

  • This Powerpoint presentation has attempted to give you a sense of Alive’s process and content.  A Demo Version of Alive! is also available, in which you can have a first-hand experience all of the features of Alive!, fast-forwarding through the weeks of the program.
  • Contact Block Dietary Data System. (See contact information in last slide.)

Block Dietary Data Systems. www.nutritionquest.com 

Reports 

  • Reports can be provided to clients
    • What proportion participated in Alive!
    • Age and sex distribution of participants
    • Average diet and physical activity scores before and after the Alive! intervention
  • Arrangements can be made for participants to re-join after the end of the 12-week program
    • Discuss pricing arrangements with Block Dietary Data Systems

Block Dietary Data Systems. www.nutritionquest.com 

Costs 

  • Pricing for the Alive! program is based on the total number of employees to whom the program is offered.
  • 20 - 99 employees = $20 each. 
    100 - 499 employees = $15 each. 
    500 - 999 employees = $12.50 each. 
    1000 - 1999 employees = $10 each. 
    2000 - 4999 participants = $7.50 each 
    5000+ participants = $5 each
  • We will work with you to reach an agreement that works for you

Block Dietary Data Systems. www.nutritionquest.com 

Summary: Potential of an E-Mailed  
Intervention at the Worksite
 

  • Uses an established channel of communication
  • Utilizes existing social support structures
    • provides sources for group support
    • may produce changes in social norms
  • Can reduce health care costs
    • Improvements in physical activity and diet have been shown to improve productivity
  • Little or no burden on management
    • Once launched, Alive! runs automatically


Alive’s Developers at Block Dietary Data Systems (BDDS) 

  • Gladys Block, PhD, is a professor of epidemiology and Public Health Nutrition in the School of Public Health, University of California at Berkeley and is the senior-scientist for BDDS. She is internationally known for her work in nutritional epidemiology and health promotion through dietary interventions.
  • Clifford H. Block, PhD, is a research psychologist whose work has involved the use of information technologies for achieving behavior change in such fields as maternal and child health nutritional practices, oral rehydration, and AIDS and drug abuse prevention.
  • Torin Block, BA, is the Manager of BDDS. He has 13 years of experience in the development and analysis of dietary questionnaires. He is responsible for the design and development of the electronic questionnaires, analysis algorithms and data management systems, and for the technical aspects of Alive!.


Alive’s Developers at Block Dietary Data Systems (BDDS) 

  • Jean Norris, DrPH, has a background in Public Health Nutrition and she is currently working as a scientist with BDDS. Prior to that, she worked for about 15 years as a nutritionist in community clinic settings with disadvantaged populations. She has designed food frequency questionnaires and researched hunger measurement and hardship, and has contributed her expertise to the study design of Project Alive! and the development of the dietary change interventions.
  • Donald Hopkins created all the code to make Alive! work. He is a user interface designer and programmer, who developed a user interface component called "pie menus" at the University of Maryland Human Computer Interaction Lab, a game called "The Sims" for Maxis/Electronic Arts, and the OpenLaszlo video components for Laszlo Systems. He enjoys programming in Python and JavaScript, and working on the One Laptop Per Child project. He publishes a blog on his web site, "www.DonHopkins.com".


Alive’s Developers at Kaiser 

  • Barbara Sternfeld, PhD, was the Principal Investigator of the randomized trial that tested Alive! She is Senior Research Scientist at Kaiser Permanente (Northern California) Division of Research. Her background is in epidemiology and exercise physiology. She has conducted numerous studies that document the health effects of physical activity.
  • Heather A. Clancy, BA was a Research Associate at Kaiser Permanente’s Division of Research and the Project Coordinator for Project Alive!

Block Dietary Data Systems. www.nutritionquest.com 

Block Dietary Data Systems

15 Shattuck Square, Suite 288

Berkeley, CA 94704

Phone: 510-704-8514

FAX: 510-704-8996

Email: tblock@nutritionquest.com



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