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April 2019 Newsletter

 

Pixels are power!

Dear Reader,

Digital dissemination is the name of the game!

You are reading this on your tablet, your smart phone, your desktop! Pixel power!  This month alone the ZBC website received 3,227 visitors (compared to 614 this time last year). More pixel power.

What you has changed? You may well ask.  If you recall I shared that ZBC would be working with digital marketing consultants to adopt new practices and techniques to dissemination the Girls' New Puberty campaign.  The results in one short month have not only delighted our team but the consultants are impressed too. We just had to share the news with you. Pixel power!

Now before you say this seems like no big deal, the metrics being tracked also show that as a result of reaching over 30,000 Facebook users by paying to promote the Girls' New Puberty page, the additional benefit has been increased organic web-site traffic via google.  Web-site analytics show a big uptick in new readers for blogs, book reviews, ZBC videos on YouTube and the Girls' New Puberty interactive micro-site.  That is a lot of bang for a very modest investment from donors like you!  

Dipsea Hike for Zero Breast Cancer - Your Questions Answered! 

Last month I shared a challenge from Breast Cancer Action which was a call to consider four questions when contemplating participating in or supporting breast cancer walks.  I promised to answer those questions with respect to the Dipsea Hike in this month's newsletter.  So here goes!

Q: How much of the money raised from the walk will go to breast cancer programs?

A: All of it!  Cash and in-kind sponsorship and wonderful volunteers make this a low cost event to produce. All the donations from hikers and all the fundraising efforts by teams support ZBC programs.

Q: What breast cancer programs or research will the walk fund?

A: The cancer programs supported by the fundraising proceeds from the hike are the development and dissemination of ZBC's unique and innovative breast cancer risk reduction health education materials for youth and teens to any one who wants them for FREE!

Q: Do the walk’s sponsors increase women’s risk of breast cancer?

A: ZBC is very selective about who is solicited for support.  Food items must all be minimally processed, plant based and as far as possible organic.  Swag bag items must not include fragrances or ingredients known to be hormone disrupting or carcinogenic. Cash sponsors have been politely turned away if we have reason to believe that their business are not aligned with our health and wellness risk reduction messages.  

Q: Does the walk present a one-sided picture of breast cancer that leaves some women out?  

A: Participants range from 7 years of age to 70 years of age. People from all walks of life participate and volunteer.  Men and women participate.  Breast cancer survivors and their families, neighbors and friends. Every hike begins with a speaker and these have varied over the years to include fitness advocates, screening and breast-self exam advocates and survivor advocates. After every hike feedback is solicited and sometimes that feedback does suggest improvements that can be made.  We take that feedback very seriously indeed.  

But don't just take our word for it.  If you have participated as a runner, hiker, volunteer, donor or sponsor to the Dipsea Hike for Zero Breast cancer anytime in the past 16 years and you want to suggest ways to continue to improve the value of the hike to all concerned please don't hesitate to email me This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.!

SAVE-THE-DATE 

 17th Annual Dipsea Hike for Zero Breast Cancer -  Saturday September 28th at Old Mill Park, Mill Valley. 

Online registration opens on June 3rd!

Please enjoy the rest of this newsletter, including the piece at the end about Carol MacDonell, the IT consultant who ensures we stay fully pixilated at all times! 

Yours in health,

Rose Barlow 

Executive Director

PS.  Your monthly gift of $10, $20 or $50 will support regular newsletters packed with helpful information on breast cancer risk reduction in the next generation and for survivors;  reviews of books, web-sites and apps; reports of new developments from conferences and scientific publications; blogs; human interest stories and more! 

Thank you!

 

From the Desk of Catherine Thomsen : Improving Health Education! 

I recently had the privilege of attending the Society of Public Health Education (SOPHE) conference.  So many researchers and community organizations are doing work relevant to ZBC! I want to summarize what I learned about two topics that are particularly timely: Health Inequity and Health Resources & Media Literacy.

Health Inequity

In the U.S., people have different access to health information and health care. At ZBC, we particularly try to reach people and communities who are historically excluded and have fewer resources. Addressing inequity goes beyond inequality. This image helps explain the difference between supporting everyone, supporting people based on their needs, and changing the system so that support is no longer required. 

A session on Inequities in Obesity raised issues that we try to be aware of in our campaigns. It is important, for example, to consider the emotional and social contexts for how people approach food, physical activity and other factors that affect body weight and size. ZBC focuses on positive actions to be taken to promote healthy behaviors. For example, we emphasize healthy eating and movement, rather than weight loss. We must also take into account the environmental factors we don’t have control over, such as what food is available and the safety of walking in our neighborhoods. You can read more in a related paper here.

One of the most interesting things I learned is a new approach to promoting breast health among lesbian, bisexual, trans, and non-binary people. The Equitas Health Institute for LGBTQ Health Equity has developed a campaign that uses both the terms breast and chest to engage people who have very different relationships with their mammary tissue. Their program also emphasizes that despite any past negative health care experiences, we all deserve access to mammography and chest wall care that affirms our bodies, genders, and identities.

Health Resources & Media Literacy

The internet has become a major source of health information. It is particularly important for people who are marginalized, have felt excluded, or are addressing sensitive issues to be able to search freely. However, I learned that more than 20% of people in the U.S. don’t have broadband internet access. Lack of familiarity with internet health resources can make it even harder to distinguish good advice from bad. ZBC works hard to ensure that our campaigns are available on any device, as Spanish-speakers, people with lower-incomes and those in rural areas often access the internet through their cell phones.

In addition to the internet, we are exposed to other media channels and various forms of advertising. Media literacy includes learning how to decode messages and understand their impact. While media can entertain and inform, often it affects health, including consumption of unhealthy foods and drinks. Junk food is marketed more heavily to racial and ethnic minority kids.  At SOPHE, a researcher reported that after learning about how they are targeted locations and advertising, African American parents and children were angry and parents no longer felt that fast food companies were “investing” in their area. When people understand how unhealthy food is marketed, they are able to make healthier choices. 

I was happy to hear that many experts consider videos to be the future of health education, as this fits nicely with ZBC’s current approach.

We look forward to applying new insights and latest best practices shared at the SOPHE conference to our work to improve health education to reduce breast cancer risk. 

Note: Going forward we plan to make use of the National Cancer Institute's data collection program called HINTS that was "created to monitor changes in the rapidly evolving field of health communication. Survey researchers are using the data to understand how adults 18 years and older use different communication channels, including the Internet, to obtain vital health information for themselves and their loved ones. Program planners are using the data to overcome barriers to health information usage across populations, and obtaining the data they need to create more effective communication strategies. Finally, social scientists are using the data to refine their theories of health communication in the information age and to offer new and better recommendations for reducing the burden of cancer throughout the population. Hints data are available for public use."

 

 

 Doing good by doing well!

Zero Breast Cancer has a wonderful new corporate partner. In the fall of 2018 ZBC was introduced to Jodi Harris through a mutual friend at the time that Jodi was looking for an organization making an impact for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Jodi inherited a diaper rash ointment company, Pinxav, from her family and wanted to donate some proceeds. When she contacted ZBC the ED, Rose Barlow, encouraged Jodi to investigate the safety of Pinxav’s ingredients to ensure they weren't increasing the risk of breast cancer. Through the process, supported by ZBC Scientific Advisory Board member Ted Schettler, MD, MPH, Jodi learned a lot about how lifetime breast cancer risk is shaped in infancy, childhood and adolescence.

Pinxav did land up making some substitutions to the formula based on the guidance and help from Dr. Schettler. ZBC salutes them for doing so.

As a parent of high school students, Jodi has started working with Zero Breast Cancer to figure out ways to spread their message to her home town of  Los Angeles!

Please support Pinxav and ZBC!  You can purchase Pinxav products here and by using promo-code ZBC you will get a $1 off and ZBC will receive $3!

 

NEW: (Spanish) Book Review #21

 

One year ago - April 2018 - Zero Breast Cancer reviewed the book The Yes Brain by Daniel J. Siegel, MD, and Tina Payne Bryson, PhD. We recently came across the Spanish translation of the book and decided to share the review in Spanish as we continue to promote reducing stress as one of a number of key aspects of health and wellness for young girls as they approach and move through puberty.  Regular readers of this newsletter will be now be very familiar with our efforts to disseminate the Girls' New Puberty materials in Spanish so offering additional resources to the same audience makes sense.

You can find the English review here

You can find the Spanish review here

 

Get to Know ZBC Partners : Carol MacDonell

This month we spoke with a 'techie' with a big heart! Carol MacDonell works at Marin IT and has been a trusted IT consultant for ZBC over the past year. She helps ensure our computer systems run smoothly and sets up new computers, email addresses, VPN access and more. She is always happy to problem solve the issues we face and genuinely cares about the work ZBC does. You might have met her at our 2018 Dipsea Hike, where she volunteered her time to help hikers find their way up the Dipsea steps. Read on to learn about her work and enthusiasm for ZBC’s mission.

You can read the full conversation with Carol here.

 

ZBC promotes breast cancer risk-reduction through translation of scientific

research and evidence-based recommendations that support

health and wellness at key stages of life.

 

We envision a world with zero breast cancer!

 

 

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