PISCATAWAY, N.J., February 20, 2023 (Newswire.com)
-
Growing evidence exists that the alcohol industry uses a variety of strategies to influence public policy in favor of its own corporate interests, rather than the interest of public health. Recent communication between National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) employees and alcohol industry groups shows extensive interaction on policy-relevant scientific issues, according to a new report in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.
Researchers at the University of York in the United Kingdom analyzed 4,784 pages of emails obtained through Freedom of Information Act requests. The correspondence was sent between 43 NIAAA staff members and representatives of 15 alcohol industry groups between 2013 and 2020.
The analysis focused on 12 leaders at NIAAA and representatives from two alcohol producers, two alcohol trade associations, and a not-for-profit linked to the alcohol industry.
The researchers—Gemma Mitchell, Ph.D., and Jim McCambridge, Ph.D.—found that the NIAAA leaders provided the alcohol industry with extensive information about scientific research and policy implications. These leaders communicated often with their industry contacts via email, telephone and in-person meetings.
"Key industry actors asked NIAAA leaders for help on science and policy issues. At times, NIAAA leaders heavily criticized public health research and researchers in correspondence with industry," the authors write.
The authors note that some NIAAA leaders subsequently went to work for the alcohol industry—forging close relationships between NIAAA leadership and key industry groups and allowing for a flow of privileged information.
Mitchell and McCambridge used publicly available data whenever possible to confirm information in the emails. Their findings add to other recent studies identifying the effects of industry influence on alcohol science.
"Ongoing relationships between NIAAA leaders and the alcohol industry meant that industry representatives could access privileged information on a wide range of topics, from the U.S. Dietary Guidelines to alcohol and cancer," says Mitchell. "We hope the NIAAA and National Institutes of Health will regard this report not as presenting a public relations challenge to be managed but as posing a set of major scientific challenges to which it must rise."
"The depth of the relationships between NIAAA senior leaders and key alcohol industry contacts uncovered here is disturbing," says McCambridge. "The study findings provide examples of alcohol public health science being opposed rather than championed by NIAAA leaders, at least in their direct communications with industry. The implications are profound when one considers that NIAAA funds the majority of the world's alcohol science."
Walter Werzowa at Happy Mama Expo Headlining Reach's Happy Mama Expo will be Walter Werzowa, award-winning Austrian composer and CEO of HealthTunes, on Saturday, Oct. 22
The Happy Mama Expo is focused on Reach Healthcare's comprehensive Happy Mama platform and app designed to improve the delivery and wellness of maternal health, from end to end. This platform was designed for and with pregnant women. It provides physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, social, and economic support for those planning, expecting, and starting new families. Happy Mama guides and enables women to customize their experiences ranging from pre-conception, pregnancy, labor, and delivery to 12 months postpartum. In recognition of its leading-edge innovations, Happy Mama was the winner of a 2022 International CES Innovations Award.
Registration for the virtual Happy Mama Expo is open and admission is free. Get your ticket today. More info at http://happymama.global
Headlining Reach's Happy Mama Expo will be Walter Werzowa, award-winning Austrian composer and CEO of HealthTunes, on Saturday, Oct. 22. "Music brings us together. It touches and moves us and creates a bond between you and your baby," describes Werzowa. At the Happy Mama Expo, Werzowa will demonstrate the art of music and guided meditations on the mother's well-being and health.
Werzowa is famous for corporate jingles, including mnemonics for Intel (the most performed audio branding mnemonic and melody in broadcast history), Samsung, T-Mobile, Humana, UC Health, Pantene, TBS, Fox Sports, and many more. Werzowa is also acclaimed for his artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled completion of Beethoven's unfinished Tenth Symphony.
Additional announcements about collaborations between Happy Mama and HealthTunes will be made on Oct. 22.
MATERNAL CHALLENGES
U.S. maternal morbidity and mortality rates have worsened over the last few decades and too many women suffer PTSD related to traumatic birth incidents.
Reach's Happy Mama innovative platform was designed for and with pregnant women to improve the delivery of maternal health, from end-to-end. While today's pregnancy, labor and delivery, and postpartum care are focused primarily on the physical aspects, it often neglects the woman's emotional and psychological needs during the pregnancy journey.
Clinical studies indicate that music and sound offer positive physiological benefits as a digital therapeutic modality during childbirth and the postpartum journey. It has been shown to reduce pain and anxiety, enhance a woman's self-confidence and sense of control, as well as improve her postpartum well-being.
In 2021, The Journal of Music Theory featured an article entitled The Effects of Music on Pain: A Meta-Analysis. This is one of several studies illustrating the positive benefits of sound and music on maternal-infant health. This report cited decreased pain, emotional distress, heart rate, blood pressure, and respiration rate as well as decreased use of anesthesia and pain medication. Other studies indicate reduced premature births, cesareans, and postpartum depression.
"There is a growing opportunity for healthcare providers to create better labor and delivery experiences, and for pregnant women to feel safe and have a true sense of control during childbirth," points out Fran Ayalasomayajula, Reach's CEO. The Happy Mama mission aligns with the White House Blueprint for Addressing the Maternal Health Crisis and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)'s "Birthing-Friendly" hospital designation.
Happy Mama offers a seamless end-to-end journey, starting with its consumer therapy app for home use; Happy Mama's maternal health program for hospitals and birth centers for labor and delivery; and then returning home for the postnatal/postpartum journey.
OTHER COLLABORATIONS
The HealthTunes collaboration joins others within the Reach and Happy Mama orbit. At its 2021 Happy Mama launch, Reach announced its partnership with Harman International, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. that is focused on connected technologies for automotive, consumer, and enterprise markets. Happy Mama works with Harman's Digital Transformation Solutions (DTS) and Harman Audio which includes Harman Kardon, JBL, AKG, and many others.
MORE ABOUT THE HAPPY MAMA EXPO
The Happy Mama Expo is Saturday, Oct. 22, from 7 a.m.-7 p.m. EDT.
It's the biggest virtual maternity fair of 2022. It is a free, general public event. The purpose of the event is for expecting and new moms and their care teams to find solutions to their needs along the journey to motherhood and to help prevent avoidable pregnancy-related complications. The program is holistic and touches on a variety of topics, including maternal mental health and well-being, heart health, nutrition, and career management. This event also offers live entertainment, trivia, digital swag bags, cool prizes, and more.
REACH is a 501c3 global innovative social impact organization whose mission is to improve and transform healthcare delivery and outcomes for providers and patients, as well as to offer cost-effective solutions for payers.
Maternal mortality and morbidity prevention is a top priority area for the organization. Reach is the founder of the National Save Moms Campaign (http://savemoms.us), Save Moms Global (http://savemoms.global), Maternal Application of Technology for Community Health (MATCH) Coalition (http://matchcoalition.us), and Happy Mama (http://happymama.global)
Reach, established in 2016, is focused on pragmatically improving large-scale and sustainable health programs for enhanced healthcare equity, access, and delivery based on its four pillars: (1) Research to identify where change is needed that could result in actionable outcomes; (2) Education; (3) Thought Leadership and (4) Innovative Immersive Special Interest Therapeutic Platforms, including Happy Mama, focused on maternal health for mothers as well as clinicians; Workforce Wellness to tackle clinician burnout; and IB Healthy Wellness and Remote Care digital therapeutics for rehab, chronic disease management, healthy aging, and more.
Reach welcomes new partnerships, sponsorships, and grassroots affiliates as it works to drive massive impact for better and more equitable health care outcomes.
Contact Information:
Matt Walker
Community Outreach Lead [email protected]
619-800-6443