Monday, March 11, 2024

Podcast with Jennifer Chesak, author, The Psilocybin Handbook for Women, about her book, psilocybin mushrooms

Posted by Elena del Valle on December 18, 2023

Jennifer Chesak, author, The Psilocybin Handbook for Women

Jennifer Chesak, author, The Psilocybin Handbook for Women

Photo: Jennifer Chesak

A podcast interview with Jennifer Chesak, author, The Psilocybin Handbook for Women, is available in the Podcast Section of Hispanic Marketing and Public Relations, HispanicMPR.com. During the podcast, she discusses her book and psilocybin mushrooms with Elena del Valle, host of the HispanicMPR.com podcast.

According to her bio Jennifer is an award-winning freelance science and medical journalist, editor, and fact-checker, and her work has appeared in several national publications, including The Washington Post. She earned her master of science in journalism from Northwestern University’s Medill, and she teaches in the journalism and publishing programs at Belmont University.

To listen to the interview, scroll down and click on the play button below. It is also possible to listen by looking for “Podcast” then select “HMPR Jennifer Chesak” and download the MP3 file to your audio player. You can also find it on the RSS feed. To download it, click on the arrow of the recording you wish to copy and save it to disk. The podcast will remain listed in the December 2023 section of the podcast archive.

Podcast with Fred Cohen, M.D., headache specialist, Mount Sinai Medical System, about sleep and migraines

Posted by Elena del Valle on December 4, 2023

 

Fred Cohen, M.D., headache specialist, Mount Sinai Medical System

Fred Cohen, M.D., headache specialist, Mount Sinai Medical System

Photo: Fred Cohen

A podcast interview with Fred Cohen, M.D., headache specialist, Mount Sinai Medical System, New York City, is available in the Podcast Section of Hispanic Marketing and Public Relations, HispanicMPR.com. During the podcast, he discusses sleep and migraines with Elena del Valle, host of the HispanicMPR.com podcast.

An assistant professor of Medicine and Neurology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, he is trained in Internal Medicine and Headache Medicine. A life-long headache sufferer, his research interests include treatments for chronic migraine and evaluating the epidemiology, burden, and impact of migraine. He is assistant editor of Headache: The Journal of Head and Face Pain and Current Pain and Headache Reports.

To listen to the interview, scroll down and click on the play button below. It is possible to listen by looking for “Podcast” then select “HMPR Fred Cohen, MD” and download the MP3 file to your audio player. You can also find it on the RSS feed. To download it, click on the arrow of the recording you wish to copy and save it to disk. The podcast will remain listed in the December 2023 section of the podcast archive.

Podcast with Lara Pizzorno, lead author, Healthy Bones Healthy You, about periodontal disease and osteoporosis

Posted by Elena del Valle on November 13, 2023

Lara Pizzorno, lead author, Healthy Bones Healthy You

Lara Pizzorno, lead author, Healthy Bones Healthy You

Photo: Lara Pizzorno

A podcast interview with Lara Pizzorno, lead author, Healthy Bones Healthy You, is available in the Podcast Section of Hispanic Marketing and Public Relations, HispanicMPR.com. During the podcast, she discusses periodontal disease and osteoporosis with Elena del Valle, host of the HispanicMPR.com podcast.

Lara is also the lead author of a prior book on bone health, Your Bones; is the bone health expert on The AlgaeCal Community, a FaceBook group of 30,000 members, and is two thirds of the way through a Masters in Science in Clinical Nutrition at Maryland University of Integrative Health.

A member of the American Medical Writers Association for more than 25 years, Lara is senior medical editor for Salugenecists, Inc., and Integrative Medicine Advisors, LLC. She was editor of Longevity Medicine Review, which is no longer being published but remains available on line. A member of ResearchGate, she regularly writes review articles for physicians on issues related to healthy aging. Her latest papers are available on PubMed in Integrative Medicine: A Clinician’s Journal.

To listen to the interview, scroll down and click on the play button below. It is possible to listen by looking for “Podcast” selecting “HMPR Lara Pizzorno” and downloading the MP3 file to your audio player. You can also find it on the RSS feed. To download it, click on the arrow of the recording you wish to copy and save it to disk. The podcast will remain listed in the November 2023 section of the podcast archive.

Podcast with Fred Cohen, MD, headache specialist, Mount Sinai Medical System, New York City, about migraines

Posted by Elena del Valle on October 30, 2023

 

Fred Cohen, M.D., headache specialist, Mount Sinai Medical System

Fred Cohen, M.D., headache specialist, Mount Sinai Medical System

Photo: Fred Cohen, M.D.

A podcast interview with Fred Cohen, M.D., headache specialist, Mount Sinai Medical System, New York City, is available in the Podcast Section of Hispanic Marketing and Public Relations, HispanicMPR.com. During the podcast, he discusses migraines with Elena del Valle, host of the HispanicMPR.com podcast.

An assistant professor of Medicine and Neurology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, he is trained in Internal Medicine and Headache Medicine. A life-long headache sufferer, his research interests include treatments for chronic migraine and evaluating the epidemiology, burden, and impact of migraine. He is assistant editor of Headache: The Journal of Head and Face Pain and Current Pain and Headache Reports.

To listen to the interview, scroll down and click on the play button below. It is also possible to listen by looking for “Podcast” then select “HMPR Fred Cohen, MD” and download the MP3 file to your audio player. You can also find it on the RSS feed. To download it, click on the arrow of the recording you wish to copy and save it to disk. The podcast will remain listed in the October 2023 section of the podcast archive.

Podcast with David Waltner-Toews, author, On Pandemics about pandemics

Posted by Elena del Valle on August 21, 2023

 David Waltner-Toews, author, On Pandemics
David Waltner-Toews, author, On Pandemics

Photo: Sam Steiner

A podcast interview with David Waltner-Toews, author, On Pandemics Deadly Diseases from Bubonic Plague to Corona Virus, is available in the Podcast Section of Hispanic Marketing and Public Relations, HispanicMPR.com. During the podcast, he discusses pandemics with Elena del Valle, host of the HispanicMPR.com podcast.

David is a Canadian epidemiologist, veterinarian, and specialist in the epidemiology of food and waterborne diseases, zoonoses, ecosystem health, and One Health, whose work has been instrumental in the development of teaching and training programs across North America, Europe, and Asia. He is the author of more than 20 books including textbooks, nonfiction books about science and health, murder mysteries, and poetry and short story collections. He lives in Kitchener, Ontario.

To listen to the interview, scroll down and click on the play button below. It is also possible to listen by looking for “Podcast” then select “HMPR David Waltner Toews” and download the MP3 file to your audio player. You can also find it on the RSS feed. To download it, click on the arrow of the recording you wish to copy and save it to disk. The podcast will remain listed in the August 2023 section of the podcast archive.

Podcast with Michael Agostino, Rph, CEO, NASH, about medical tourism in Mexico for orthopedic patients

Posted by Elena del Valle on June 19, 2023

Michael R. Agostino, Rph, CEO, N.A.S.H.
Michael Agostino, R.ph., CEO, N.A.S.H.

Photo: Network of Advanced Specialty Healthcare

A podcast interview with Michael R. Agostino, R.ph., CEO, N.A.S.H., is available in the Podcast Section of Hispanic Marketing and Public Relations, HispanicMPR.com. During the podcast, he discusses medical tourism in Mexico for orthopedic patients with Elena del Valle, host of the HispanicMPR.com podcast.

Mike is a registered pharmacist and an entrepreneur with 30 years of experience in the healthcare industry. He has been a founder, co-founder, and key contributor to the formation of several companies, according to his biography. He served as board chair and an executive board member for the Lower Plains Region of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, and board chair of the National Association of Specialty Pharmacy.

To listen to the interview, scroll down and click on the play button below. It is also possible to listen by looking for “Podcast” then select “HMPR Michael Agostino, Rph” and download the MP3 file to your audio player. You can also find it on the RSS feed. To download it, click on the arrow of the recording you wish to copy and save it to disk. The podcast will remain listed in the June 2023 section of the podcast archive.

Animated short film focuses on mental health

Posted by Elena del Valle on May 1, 2023

Photo: Citronella Stories

Citronella Stories will release Bug Therapy, a seven minute animated short film about mental health, via YouTube.com on May 1, 2023. According to a press release the short film will have a limited release in North America online and at select theaters, at no cost, for the month of May, to celebrate Mental Health Awareness Month. The film strives to highlight the importance of therapy and mental health. It should be available today at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6n7aMfxKec

It features the voices of Phil McGraw, Meghan Trainor, Jay Leno, Sterlin K. Brown, Tom Green, Emily Goglia and Jason Reisig. It is due to have a wide release in June, with plans for a global release this fall, according to a press release received by email.

Bug Therapy was directed by Jason Reisig. It was written and created by Michael Jann and Michele Jourdan, of Citronella Stories, and animated by 88 Pictures. Randy Mills was producer. Eric Bergman was co-producer. Jann and Jourdan were executive producers, along with Jason Reisig, Randy Mills, and 88 Pictures’ Milind D. Shinde.

In Citronella (Trainor), a mosquito who faints at the sight of blood, tries to muster the courage to attend group therapy to overcome her phobia. She learns that “everyone faces mental health struggles.” Stick Bug (Brown) battles depression over never feeling seen, Fly (Leno) is “OCD and germaphobic and can’t stop washing his hands,” Grasshopper (Green) suffers from addiction to coffee, Praying Mantis (Goglia) is narcissistic and delusional and believes she’s God. A Dragonfly couple (Jann and Jourdan) are co-dependent, and Spider (Reisig) tries to overcome his phobia of spiders. Dr. Pill (McGraw) leads the therapy.

Professor explores ways ageism is woven into our beliefs, its effects on our health

Posted by Elena del Valle on January 11, 2023

Breaking the Age Code by Becca Levy, PhD

Breaking the Age Code by Becca Levy, Ph.D.

Photo: William Morrow

Becca Levy, Ph.D., professor of Epidemiology, Yale University, is convinced ageism affects the health and longevity of many, particularly in the United States where ageism is pervasive and absorbed from an early age. In Breaking the Age Code How Your Beliefs About Aging Determine How Long and Well You Live (William Morrow, $28.99), a 294-page hardcover book published in 2022 she outlines her thoughts on the subject. The book is divided into 10 chapters and four appendices.

In her book she describes four ways ageist principles become entrenched into our beliefs and guide our self dialogue and behavior before we reach old age; she explains some of her research findings and the conclusions she and others have drawn about the elders among us, including ways in which they surpass younger individuals; and proposes steps to address and halt the harmful effects ageist beliefs produce.

In the United States ageist thoughts have been identified in children as young as three, according to her book. Adopting ageist beliefs as children makes them part of a person’s long term stereotypes, she says, pointing to a study of Canadian and American teenagers who already see old people as “slow and confused.” In Chapter 1 she identifies three pathways ageism follows: psychological, behavioral and biological. Negative age beliefs, she says, can increase stress and that in turn might lead to an earlier death than in the absence of such beliefs.

Ageism combined with other prejudices and related behaviors, such as sexism and racism, for example, can aggravate existing conditions, she says in Chapter 8. In Appendix 1 she addresses ways readers might boost positive age beliefs; the following appendix examines structural ageism such as the exclusion of older people in clinical trials even when the trials are for illnesses that afflict mainly older adults. The author declined to respond to multiple email requests via her publisher to answer questions or be interviewed.

According to her bio Levy is also professor of Psychology at Yale University; she has testified before the United States Senate on “the adverse effects of ageism;” and “serves as a scientific adviser to the World Health Organization’s Campaign to Combat Ageism.

Podcast with Talia Henkle, Ph.D., cancer content creator, Sparrow, about cancer

Posted by Elena del Valle on June 6, 2022

Talia Henkle, Ph.D., cancer content creator, Sparrow
Talia Henkle, Ph.D., cancer content creator, Sparrow

Photo: Talia Henkle

A podcast interview with Talia Henkle, Ph.D., cancer content creator, Sparrow, is available in the Podcast Section of Hispanic Marketing and Public Relations, HispanicMPR.com. During the podcast, she discusses cancer with Elena del Valle, host of the HispanicMPR.com podcast.

Talia received her doctorate degree in immunology at Johns Hopkins University where she studied oncology, virology and cancer immunotherapies. Talia is a content creator for Sparrow highlighting cancer research by creating digestible articles designed for non-experts to easily understand.

To listen to the interview, scroll down and click on the play button below. You can listen by looking for “Podcast” then select “HMPR Talia Henkle, Ph.D.” and download the MP3 file to your audio player. You can also find it on the RSS feed. To download it, click on the arrow of the recording you wish to copy and save it to disk. The podcast will remain listed in the June 2022 section of the podcast archive.

Video – Washington state tasked marketing agency to produce Hispanic oriented Covid-19 campaign

Posted by Elena del Valle on April 6, 2022

VacunaDeCovidWA.org

Washington Hispanic market campaign videos link to VacunaDeCovidWA.org

Photo: Tony Teran
Video: Washington State Department of Health

Hoping to reach Hispanics between 18 and 35 years of age hesitant about pandemic vaccines in Washington state with a pro Covid-19 vaccinations message the Washington State Department of Health hired C+C. The Seattle-based marketing agency produced audio and two video spots in Seattle. Production costs for Vacúnate Mijo/a were $168,000 and $205,000 for Mentira Mariachi. The ads were produced for broadcast distribution, YouTube, TikTok and radio. Scroll down to watch videos in English and Spanish (with subtitles).

When C+C conducted the initial research that led to the campaigns’ development, the team found that while most Hispanic people in Washington state were “very willing or somewhat willing” to take a Covid-19 vaccine more English-speaking survey respondents expressed vaccine hesitancy than Spanish speakers. Overall, 62 percent of survey takers said they were very willing or somewhat willing to receive a Covid-19 vaccine; 67 percent of Spanish speakers and 56 percent of English speakers said they were very or somewhat willing to get vaccinated; 2 percent of Spanish speakers who responded to the survey compared to 18 percent of English speakers who responded to it said they would not take the vaccine; 27 percent of Spanish speakers versus 23 percent of English speakers who answered questions said they were unsure; more English speakers than Spanish speakers said they thought Covid-19 vaccines may be unnecessary and ineffective; and more English speakers than Spanish speakers said they had other ways to protect themselves against the virus.

According to a C+C spokesperson the overall goal of the campaigns was “to increase vaccination rates among the Hispanic community in Washington by tackling key research findings. Misinformation on vaccine safety and efficacy was indicated as one of the main drivers of vaccine hesitancy among this community. While protecting themselves, their loved ones, and their community ranked as the main motivation for getting vaccinated.”

The agency addressed concerns about trust in the vaccines with emotional pleas to family ties, Spanish language and Mariachi music. Tony Teran, campaign writer and creative director, C+C, replied by email via an intermediary, “At the center of the Vacúnate Mijo/a campaign is the relationship between a grandchild and a grandmother or abuela, a much loved and nostalgic figure among many Hispanic/Latinx families, often seen as a trusted voice of reason. We follow their bond through different life stages that showcase the core of our message: protecting each other. The Spanish language is also a powerful connecting thread in these ads, as we hear the word mijo/a express different emotions at different times, a word so simple, yet incredibly purposeful. Abuela is saying ‘I care about you’ with every mijo and ultimately encouraging her grandchild to receive the vaccine.

The idea behind the Mentira Mariachi campaign is that we all listen to the voice of our conscience when making decisions. So, what if that voice came accompanied by trumpets and guitarrón, as in traditional Mariachi music, to remind audiences to listen to science and their good judgement, and not to misinformation? The :30 video spot shows a young guy at home. Every time he is exposed to fake news about the COVID-19 vaccines, he’s surprised by a Mariachi band popping out of nowhere to humorously remind him, with a catchy jingle, that those are mentiras (lies). At the end of the spot, we see him coming out of a vaccination site after getting his shot as Mariachi band members give him a nod of approval and a health care worker delivers the campaign’s tagline: ‘Escucha a la ciencia y a tu conciencia.’ (Listen to science and to your conscience.)”

The Vacúnate Mijo/ ad goal was to encourage community members to get vaccinated by emphasizing the importance of protecting their loved ones during the pandemic; while the Mentira Mariachi ad was meant to dissipate vaccine misinformation by encouraging the audience to “trust science.”

According to information provided by C+C the Hispanic population in the state represents 13 percent of the total population, yet in mid-July 2021, had 27 percent of the coronavirus cases, 19 percent of total hospitalizations, and 8.4 percent of total deaths in Washington; about 60 percent of the state’s Hispanic population remained unvaccinated, according to the Washington Department of Health.

Tony Teran, creative director, C+C

Tony Teran, creative director, C+C

“Creative concepting for both of the campaigns began in August 2021,” Teran replied when asked how many months the campaign project required. “Vacúnate Mijo/a launched in November 2021 while Mentira Mariachi launched in February 2022.

The C+C team used three different types of research when developing the strategy and concept for this Hispanic/Latinx-focused campaign: 1:1 Interviews, since 2020, the team has been conducting monthly 1:1 in-depth interviews with Hispanic/Latinx community members to learn about their overall attitudes, barriers and motivators for getting a COVID-19 vaccine.
Focus Groups, C+C conducted four focus groups with Hispanic/Latinx community members to test the campaign’s creative approach and gain insights into what type of creative would resonate most with the community. A total of 20 community members participated.

Secondary Research, The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) and C+C worked hand-in-hand with partners like the University of Washington’s Latino Center for Health to analyze insights about vaccine hesitancy among the state’s Hispanic/Latinx population that helped shape the campaign, including a report released by the Center in April 2021. The team also referenced findings of COVID-19 surveys conducted regularly by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation/Civis Analytics.”

When asked how the agency measured results Teran replied, “We have been correlating the success of the campaigns with the increase in vaccination rates among Hispanic/Latinx adults in Washington. Approximately 63 percent of the Hispanic/Latinx community 18+ in Washington have initiated vaccination as of 3/25. This is up from 49.9 percent in November 2021 before the campaigns launched. This amounts to an increase of 13.1 percent. The overall vaccination gap has also closed by 7.4 percent among the Hispanic/Latinx community. The gap closed on Hispanic/Latinx community vaccination rates from being 29.5 percent behind the overall Washington state rates in November 2021 to only 22.1 percent behind in March 2022.”

The campaigns were developed and produced by a team that included members of Washington state’s Hispanic community, including Terán, the creative of Venezuelan roots behind the original concepts. He wrote the video and audio scripts, and oversaw the campaigns’ production process; featured Hispanic cast member for both campaigns; and the production team selected Spanish speaking talent seeking a cultural fit, and with good acting skills and on-camera presence, according to information provided by C+C.

The Vacúnate Mijo/a production included creative input from Mauricio Valadrian, of Valadrian Creative & Consulting; the Mentira Mariachi video production was co-directed by Marvin Lemus, director of Netflix’s Gentefied, and also a Hispanic creative; the Mentira Mariachi video and audio ads feature an original song written for that campaign by a Hispanic musician and performed on-screen by Tacoma-based Mariachi Ayutla, a mariachi band, according to information provided by C+C.

Mentira Mariachi ad in Spanish

Vacúnate Mijo ad in English