Cialis: Spoofs and Side Effects

When we were talking in class today about how many pharmaceutical ads relate to sex, I immediately thought of the Viagra and viagra cialis online pharmacy pharmacy commercials that I always see late at night when I’m up watching trashy VH1 shows or something similar (Tool Academy, anyone?). I also thought of this mock Cialis commercial that I stumbled upon a while ago, in which Cuba Gooding, Jr. acts as a man who no longer suffers from erectile dysfunction after taking 36-hour Cialis.

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/1833992/cialis_commercial/

I thought the video was funny because of how outrageous it is in its portrayal of the effects of the drug. But I also noticed something this time around that I hadn’t noticed when I viewed this video initially. We had talked in class about how oftentimes in pharmaceutical advertisements when the side effects are being mentioned, the on-screen images will portray happiness and excitement and fun in order to distract from the harsh and off-putting words and diseases being mentioned in the background narration. This video expertly satirizes that practice. In fact, I remember that when I watched this video for the first time, I was so taken aback by the ridiculousness nature of it that I barely listened to the voiceover; it was the same generic sounding man I had heard on countless other commercials.

This time, I paid more attention to the combination of images and words. When the narrator spoke of the side effects, which “may include headache, upset stomach, delayed backache or muscle ache,” the images on the screen were of a happy couple cuddling in bed oblivious to the erection pitching their sheets up and then that same couple driving through with his erection guiding the steering wheel. These images are so absurd that the entire focus of the audience goes toward them, not the dangerous side effects or other information that is offered about the product. Although this commercial is clearly a parody of Cialis ads, it is interesting as it sheds light on some of the tactics used by pharmaceutical companies in their advertising.

How to Get Kids to Swallow Pills

I am gonna try this. I will let you know how it works.

From Lisa on one of the autism lists:

Since it seems we have some people new to biomed here I thought I'd post this about how we got our boys swallowing online pharmacy. I highly recommend buying this cup. Both my boys have residual oral motor skill issues still and this totally got them going in the pill swallowing department for a very small investment:

http://www.oralflo.com/

It's only been 3 weeks since we got it and now boys are swallowing pills totally independently w/o the help of the cup! The only thing we still need it for is to help Nate get all the Lauracidins down, he actually does better with it if I put about 1/4 of the scoop in the spout at a time instead of trying to swallow them 1 at a time.

What helped us was using the pill cup to swallow frozen peas as practice (Thanks to our DAN! doc for that suggestion). Then we moved on to small gel caps (NN DHA Jr.) once they were good at those we did a slightly bigger gel pill (Thorne SF 722) and didn't try the regular capsules till they were good at the gell ones (since you get many tries with the gel before they are too mushy to keep trying and the regular caps you really only get 1 try before it gets stuck in the spout).

The other thing that helped us was bringing over a peer who swallows pills and having them do it together, then insitutuing a 'race' to see who could do it faster with a prize at the end.

We went from refusing to even try swallowing pills to 100% independence in only 3 weeks. I hope those that haven't gotten this skill down yet get inspired to try. This pill cup was key to getting this skill down, esp. since I talked it up before it's arrival too...(the magic feather affect).

Now they down 1/2 a dozen pills in a minute including 1 that is a size OO (aka BIG!) as well as a scoop of Lauracidin!

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HIV and Ethnicity-Based Health Disparities

Mina Rasheed | SisterLove, Inc. MPH Intern
Born and Raised in Atlanta, GA (briefly lived in New Orleans, LA). Graduated from North Atlanta High School.

Undergraduate School Experience: Graduated from Georgia State University in December of 2007 with a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Exercise Science

Graduate School Experience: Master of Public purchase cialis Candidate 2010 at Morehouse School of Medicine; Concentration/Track- cialis Education and Health Promotion

General Public Health Interests: Underserved populations; Physical activity in adolescents; Nutrition; Cardiovascular disease in older populations

Hobbies: Reading; Enjoying time with family and friends; Sports; Volunteering

Favorite quote: “Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today.” Malcolm X

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This whole blogging thing is new for me and honestly I was a little intimidated by the thought of writing about HIIV/AIDS and reproductive justice. As far as I’m concerned, who would want to read my thoughts on these issues? Who am I? What insight can I provide? I’m just a graduate student, certainly not an expert in the field -- yet. But then I thought about it. It’s not always the expert who has the most impact in a community. Often it’s the person with a real connection to a community who has the most impact. With this in mind, I warmed to the blogging idea.

My blog is in no way meant to provide expert advice. It is just a way for me to share my thoughts and passion about the health of minorities and other underserved communities. I intend to share what I have learned, and am learning, and provide insights that may be new with others.

My specific interests in public health stem from my family history of chronic diseases; these have included chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and diabetes. I’ve watched as those debilitating diseases have affected not only my family members but also friends and others in my community. After learning that African Americans are disproportionately affected by many devastating disorders, I was compelled to find out why. Why are African Americans more susceptible to certain diseases than other populations? Why don’t we have adequate access to health information and care? Why are we less likely to get diagnosed with certain diseases yet more likely to die from them when we are diagnosed? Why us? So many questions plagued me.

The medical community has long reported that African Americans are more likely to be diagnosed with many unhealthy conditions and diseases. This list includes high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes, certain cancers, stroke and, for over a decade now, HIV. The statistics are frightening. The Black AIDS Institute, the first Black HIV/AIDS policy center dedicated to reducing HIV/AIDS health disparities, reported that in 2006:

• AIDS remained the leading cause of death among Black women between 25-34 years of age and was the second leading cause of death among Black men between 35-44 years of age;

• In the 33 states with mature HIV reporting systems, Black women represented 65% of new HIV/AIDS diagnoses among women in 2006; and

• Black women are 23 times more likely to be diagnosed with AIDS than white women.

Is it too much to ask for a healthcare system that provides equal care to all regardless of race, gender, class, socioeconomic status, or health status? Is it too much to ask for a healthcare system that responds to the frightening health statistics shared above? Are we so focused on protecting the profits of health insurance and pharmaceutical companies that we neglect to provide adequate care? I could continue with this laundry list of questions.

The sometimes daunting, yet exciting, task for me and other health professionals is figuring out new ways to remedy these problems. Increasing awareness of the ethnicity based disparities that characterize the AIDS epidemic is a step in toward addressing and reversing these disparities.

It is imperative that health care delivery be restructured to deal with sexual and reproductive justice issues that affect African-American women. According to the article, Can Cultural Competency Reduce Racial And Ethnic Health Disparities? A Review And Conceptual Model, the authors suggest that racial and ethnic minorities have been linked to a lower likelihood of having a regular source of care, fewer physician visits, and lower total health-care expenditures. There are also studies that illustrate that along with improvements in economic and social conditions, and physical environments, appropriate implementation of sound cultural competency techniques in delivering health services could go a long way toward reducing these health disparities. Having health care professionals that are culturally competent can lead to a better understanding between the patient and the provider which, in turn, can cause the patient to be less apprehensive to medical advice and procedures. I also encourage including more lay health workers from the community who are properly trained by health care professionals to address sexual and reproductive justice issues. Most people will be more receptive to someone they know or who at least looks like them in comparison to a physician or other provider. For example, a woman may be more encouraged to get tested for HIV if someone they know expresses his or her concern about the issue.

Many interdisciplinary health care strategies can be used to address sexual and reproductive justice issues. Religion is a major part of the African-American community and I think it’s important for it to be tapped into as a resource for disseminating health information. More hospitals and health care organizations need to begin partnerships with places of worship in order to make women aware of sexual and reproductive justice issues. Places of worship are great venues to the message across to many women and men of different ages and backgrounds. Partnerships between places of employment and health care providers are also great strategies. Providing free counseling to women who are being abused or workshops on prenatal care in places of employment can be a channel to educating more women.

Not only are the aforementioned suggestions useful for helping to decrease health disparities in our minority and underserved communities, but this blog itself is also a step in the right direction. The media, including television, radio, and internet, can join with the health care systems as advocates for sexual and reproductive justice. By bringing these issues to the forefront and making it accessible to countless numbers of people, I hope that I have contributed to increasing awareness about health disparities and provided some useful information about ways to reverse their effects.

References
Brach, C., & Fraserirector, I. (2000). Can Cultural Competency Reduce Racial And Ethnic Health Disparities? A Review And Conceptual Model. Medical Care Research and Review , 57 (1), 181-217.
Fiscella, K., Franks, P., Doescher, M., & Saver, B. G. (2002). Disparities in Health Care by Race, Ethnicity, and Language Among the Insured. Medical Care , 40 (1), 52-59.