Scene from "Mom"

Thinking—and talking—about Alzheimers

MOM, a film dramatizing a moment in the lives of an Alzheimer’s patient and her caregiver-daughter, lasts only 10 minutes but manages to convey a surprising amount of implicit information about coping with the disease. Perhaps most importantly, the film packs an emotional punch that underscores the heartbreaking realities of Alzheimer’s.

MOM’s greatest asset is as a catalyst for discussion. Sarah has brought her mother home from the nursing facility for a visit. They sit comfortably together in the sunny backyard drinking tea, though their conversation is hardly relaxing. Nearly ever exchange between Sarah and her mother, who are sometimes joined by Sarah’s patient, understanding male assistant, exemplifies some aspect of the Alzheimer’s experience.

One of the most difficult things about the disease is the mutual frustration of both caregiver and sufferer. Sarah’s mom becomes repeatedly distressed recalling a vague incident during which another woman was “mean” to her.

The film movingly depicts Sarah’s quickly escalating frustration as she is forced to repeat the same information or assurances to her parent. Recently she moved her mother to a nicer room in the nursing home, but the older wman keeps insisting that she has been moved to a brand new facility and misses her friends.

Relief comes, ironically, from her mother’s tendency to be easily distracted, a blessing for Sarah, giving her moments of peace. When her mother becomes agitated near the end of the film, Sarah points out the hummingbirds that always bring a smile to the older woman’s face. “My friends,” she calls the birds.

But most overwhelming is Sarah’s heartache when it becomes clear that a beloved, long familiar person is no longer who she once was. The first few times the male assistant appears, Sarah’s mother thinks he looks familiar—by the end of the film she doesn’t recognize him at all. She even forgets that it is her own daughter with whom she has been speaking the entire time. Despite its brevity, MOM draws us into charged moments like this, making us empathize with anyone—caregiver or sufferer—coping with the unique pressures and the emotional ups and downs of this distressing disease.

Link for Intermedia Product Page

In 2008, there were more than 1.5 million total cases of chlamydia and gonorrhea reported to CDC — making them the two most commonly reported infectious diseases in the United States. Adolescent girls and young women are especially hard hit by these two diseases. The largest number of reported cases of both chlamydia and gonorrhea in 2008 was among girls between 15 and 19 years of age, followed closely by young women 20 to 24 years of age. This likely reflects a combination of factors, including biological differences that place females at greater risk for STDs than males, as well as higher STD screening rates among young women.

Syphilis — a disease once on the verge of elimination — began re-emerging as a public health threat in 2001. This is primarily because of a resurgence of the disease among men who have sex with men (MSM), though cases among women have also been increasing in recent years.
STDs and Infertility

Untreated STDs can lead to serious long-term health consequences, especially for adolescent girls and young women. CDC estimates that undiagnosed and untreated STDs cause at least 24,000 women in the United States each year to become infertile.3

Expanded access to STD prevention services, screening, and treatment is urgently needed to reduce the toll of STDs and protect the health of millions of Americans.
Racial Disparities

Racial minorities continue to face severe disparities across all three reportable STDs. While racial disparities persist overall, African-Americans, especially young African-American women, are the most heavily affected. Young African-American women face significantly higher rates of chlamydia and gonorrhea than any other group, while the highest rates of syphilis are among African-American men.

Link to PDF Factsheet

From GLSEN, the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network has kicked off Ally Week, the bring attention to the issue of anti-gay bullying and harassment in schools.

From the Allyweek Website:

Allies play a vital role in making schools safer for all students, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity/expression. In fact, the first Gay-Straight Alliance was the idea of a straight ally.

Students created Ally Week as a way to build upon the unifying work GSAs do across the country by encouraging people to be allies against anti-LGBT name-calling, bullying and harassment in schools. Whether you belong to a GSA or not, Ally Week is the perfect time for you and your friends to sign the Ally Pledge.

That means I pledge to:

* Not use anti-LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) language or slurs.
* Intervene, if I safely can, in situations where students are being harassed.
* Support efforts to end bullying and harassment.

Found via Steve Rothaus’ Gay South Florida Blog.

About World Contraception Day

World Contraception Day (WCD) is an international awareness campaign for teenagers. Its long-term goal is to make the public more aware of the topic of contraception. The annual WCD significantly helps educate teens on contraception and sexuality, but also all respective health questions.

Every year, countries and regions around the world organize events to mark WCD and to demonstrate their commitment to raising awareness of contraception and improving education regarding reproductive and sexual health.

Support for the WCD is growing continuously: A total of 10 non-governmental and scientific organizations from all over the world have partnered with this initiative, set in motion and supported by Bayer Schering Pharma.

Find out more at http://www.your-life.com

Thanks for the heads up and please keep those tips coming.

..Obama wants to redirect funding from “abstinence-only education programs to evidence-based and promising teen pregnancy prevention programs.”

Obama wants to eliminate a $38 million state grant program plus a nearly $100 million pot of money that is supposed to be spent for abstinence education at the direction the Administration for Children and Families, part of the Health and Human Services Department.

The Website RHReality Check has some thought provoking articles about teen pregnancy prevention.

The New York Times has an interesting piece about the Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Campaign of North Carolina and how they are using text messaging to teach sex education to teens.

Researchers found that young adults who had been exposed to a popular drug abuse prevention program as adolescents were less likely to engage in risky sexual behavior five to seven years later, according to the findings published online by the Journal of Adolescent Health. The study provides the strongest evidence to date that drug abuse prevention programs can also curb risky sexual practices in young adulthood.