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Dr. Dana Gage - Writing For Health

Charity Navigator

   

Throughout the year, I come across many dedicated non-profits doing important advocacy work for health and wellness. Among my favorites: The American Brain Tumor Association, Blissful Bedrooms, and Post Polio Health International. Donations to such organizations fund research to find cures, provide adaptive rehabilitative equipment to those who do have not the resources, or sponsor projects to improve quality of life for young persons with disablities. 

In this season of giving, there are countless ways to contribute, make a difference, or support an issue you care about. Where to start? Charity Navigator, the nation's largest and most up-to-date evaluator of charities, is an innovative website that offers accessible information on the financial health of charities across the U.S. "Our resource is designed for all donors,"says Sandra Miniutti, Vice President of Marketing & CFO. On Charity Navigator, you can search for charities by name, topic of interest, location or type of activity. Each charity is awarded an overall rating from zero to four stars. The rating system evaluates how responsibly a charity functions day-to-day as well as how it maintains its programs over time.

SNApps 4 Kids

The outpouring of emotion for the recent passing of tech genius, Steve Jobs, is validation of how much the magic of digital devices has become a central part of our daily lives. Phones and tablets are lifestyle managers, offering apps that help with organization, planning for dinner or checking one's budget. Jobs will be remembered as a central inspiration for the digital age, but how people continue to make creative use of digital technologies is the post-Jobs story. 

SNApps 4 Kids is a cutting edge web community of parents and professionals who seek to share information on ways to use educational/therapy apps on the latest technology devices—iPad, iPhone, iPod, Android and others—to support the developmental learning goals for children of all abilities. 

Nutrition for Heart Health

Paying attention to what we choose to eat is one of the most direct ways to improve and maintain our health, particularly heart health. In an interview with Wolf Blitzer at CNN in May 2010, former President Clinton spoke about the changes he made with his own eating habits – adopting a plant based diet— to take hold of his heart health.

Sensory Smarts

From the moment of birth children process the world through their senses. Through discovering taste, touch, sound, and movement each child develops unique likes and dislikes. For some children, however, sensory processing can be painful or disorganizing.

Raising a Sensory Smart Child, by Lindsey Biel, M.A., OTR/L, and Nancy Peske, is a resource-rich, practical handbook for parents and caregivers of children with Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) as they work to help kids find their daily balance. 

What is sensory processing? “It is a neurological process of translating input from our bodies and environment into meaningful messages we can use,” says Biel. For children with SPD, everyday activities such as grooming or playtime, or common noises such as moving a chair on a linoleum kitchen floor can cause distress. “There is a difference between sensory preferences (liking the color red) and intolerance's ([being]bothered by certain fabrics - wool clothing). What we look for is when children are exhibiting out-of-proportion reactions to everyday routines."

Narrative Storytelling and Health

Each day, we humans participate in a common activity—the ancient craft of storytelling. Reading the daily paper, watching movies, or catching up with friends—sharing or listening to stories is at the heart of our nature. But can telling your story have benefits for your health? “Yes, most definitely,” says Paul Browde, actor, psychiatrist, and narrative therapist, “It made all the difference to my health and life."

Sharing the healing power of storytelling is a narrative exercise that Browde and his fellow actor Murray Nossel, an academy-nominated documentary filmmaker, have engaged audiences in for the last 14 years through Two Men Talking, a live unscripted performance that has been showcased to acclaim in New York, London, and South Africa. In the performance, the two men explore a variety of stories: growing up white, Jewish, and gay under apartheid in South Africa, homophobia, racism, AIDS, and most importantly, their friendship and the passage of time.

The Sarah Jane Brain Project

Each year over 765,000 American youths, about one every 40 seconds, visit an emergency room for a traumatic brain injury (TBI). Compounding this complex diagnosis, families have to navigate an often-frustrating maze to access health care or discover the lack thereof. “Whether you are prince or a pauper, you face the same struggle across the U.S.,” says Patrick Donohue, founder of The Sarah Jane Brain Project.

Donahue knows the challenges parents face firsthand. The Sara Jane Brain Project is named after his daughter, Sarah Jane, who at 5 days old was shaken by her baby nurse, breaking four ribs and both collarbones and resulting in severe pediatric acquired brain injury (PABI). From the outset, Donahue became harshly aware of what families of children with brain injuries contend with—an uncoordinated system of care, a medical issue with minimal research dollars, and haphazard treatment options.

Tai Chi and Arthritis

The gentle, meditative, paced movements of Tai Chi hold promise as a path of restorative exercise for those struggling with mobility challenges. A widely practiced Chinese martial art, Tai Chi improves balance, aids in stress relief, and promotes circulation of the "chi" (energy) - a therapeutic effect common in eastern healing modalities yielding balance in the body. The Arthritis Foundation sponsors a unique Tai Chi program, Sun Style, formulated by Dr. Paul Lam. This program is composed of a series of movements tailored to the needs of persons diagnosed with arthritis.

The Vicious Stress Loop

The mind and body absorb stress like a sponge. The good news is that stress management can be learned. It may feel unnatural at first to take a moment to relax when feeling stressed. Having a variety of stress management strategies to implement, based on your available energy level can be a helpful skill set - daily (breathing or stretching), weekly (scheduled exercise), or monthly (mini day vacation). No need to wait until you are stressed-out to take care of yourself. Managing your stress levels actively versus re-actively can foster increased resilience. Countering the vicious stress loop is worth the effort and the payoff is usually immediate.

Fall Prevention

Falls are a leading cause of injury among older adults. Falls can be traumatic, both practically and emotionally. When such an incident happens, seek medical care, as the fall could be a sign of changes in your mobility. Fall prevention training is a holistic model of intervention involving three areas: balance training/adaptive exercise, medical management, and home modifications. The Fall Prevention Center for Excellence is an health advocacy organization seeking to raise public awareness of the incidence of falls and the importance of Fall Prevention education. If you are concerned about a loved one, StopFalls.org offers several educational resources for support.