It’s time once again for the Dose of Digital Dosie Awards. Last year’s awards were a great success and I expect this year to be even bigger. There’s a lot of info in this post, so I’ve tried to break it up a bit into sections, but please try to review everything, as there is important information on the voting process, how to become a judge, and about sponsoring the awards (with all money going to charity). Read More…
Somewhere along the way, I began to notice that I developed a really low tolerance for the abuse of legitimate research and statistics in an effort to garner a great headline. When I see these headlines, I’m usually among the first to dig into the “research” and figure out the real story. What’s missing? What methods were used? Do the actual conclusions match the headlines? A favorite of mine is the chart at the top of this post (courtesy of the P.A.P. Blog). Not every headline purported to be backed by statistics makes sense even if it appears to on the surface. This one appears to show that increasing the number of lemons imported to the US from Mexico reduces highway fatalities.
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You’re probably thinking that I’m really stretching for some context with today’s post, but keep reading and I’m sure you’ll see the connection between John Madden and healthcare education. For those who don’t know, John Madden is a former NFL (American football for the non-US folks) coach and current announcer. He is also the namesake of one of the most popular video game franchises of all-time, Madden NFL from EA Sports. This game comes out as a new version each year and all-time has sold tens of millions of copies. It’s a must-purchase for many gamers.
One of the critical health issues facing NFL is concussions. In the past, concussions didn’t receive much attention and coaches routinely sent players back into the game after they “cleared their head” or “shook the cobwebs out.” Of course, a concussion is a potentially serious brain injury where the brain actually is bruised by hitting the inside of the skull. This is an all too typical occurence in football especially that the NFL level where players are much faster, stronger, and more aggressive than the amateur level. However, one of the few parts of the body you can’t strengthen to better withstand injuries is your brain. So, while players hit harder and more aggressively, their brains can still only withstand the same impact. Up until last year when the NFL implemented new rules regarding concussions, most players were sent back into the game as soon as possible. Now they are supposed to be kept from returning to the game if a concussion is diagnosed. Read More…