Expert Q&A Health Content for Bloggers Now Available

Australia’s largest online health community Healthshare, has launched a widget allowing Health bloggers to add expert content to their blogs. The content in the form of expert Q & A's enables consumers to engage with Australian health and medical experts, in a holistic manner  providing credible, evidence-based health information to consumers. 

Healthshare.com.au currently has over 300 online communities plus 70 partner organisations discussing everything from wellness, disease and preventative health issues. Their partnerships include: Jean Hailes, Beyond Blue, The Heart Foundation, Ovarian Cancer Australia, Menopause Society, Womens Health Queensland, VARTA, Cervical Cancer Foundation, Butterfly Foundation, Osteoporosis Australia to name just a few

Healthshare's content is syndicated across blogger networks according to the health area interest of readership. To participate as a blogger in building the health and wellness movement online simply add the area of health your readership will be interested in. The widget can be customised by colour, size and to suit your blogs needs. To obtain a widget for your blog simply visit http://www.healthshare.com.au/widget

Nutrition and Healthy Eating expert answers powered by Healthshare

Obesity expert answers powered by Healthshare

Depression expert answers
powered by Healthshare

Blogging Gives Patients Freedom Of The Press...and That's Freedom to Be Heard

by Dave deBrokart - Part 2
@epatient Dave
www.epatientdave.com

The importance of the movement participatory medicine cannot be underestimated.

Consider what happened to me.

I started a blog because I'd beaten a usually fatal cancer. ( Good enough). I wrote what I felt like, ranging from thanking my doctors to ranting about statistics and touting my hobby ( barbershop singing). Then I got interested in health care and wrote about that but not that much.

But in 2009, I wrote about my medical records, and in less than a month it bent federal policy. I'd discovered my insurance billing history was a mess, and unbeknownst to me, the post stomped in mud puddle of policy being discussed in Washington. Twelve days later it was on the front page of the newspaper. Pretty soon the proposed policy was ditched - because one middle aged guy from New Hampshire in a recliner in New Hampshire was just writing what he was thinking.

I didn't even try to do this, but blogging generated invitations to federal policy meetings, and invitations to speak at conferences, to doctors, patients and policy people. Who would of thought?

Perhaps you're like Amy Tenderich of DiabetesMine, who simply wanted to connect with others to discuss her condition. Or, you're like Kelly Young of RAWarrior.com, who started writing about her condition and soon attracted thousands of followers. You might be like Robin Smith and her friends for the Cushing's community, who discovered each other across vast distances. Each of these patient blogs was started by someone who initially had no idea whether anyone would listen and then discovered that many would - and did.

What's on your mind that you'd like to express? Even if nobody's listening? Go for it, someone might.

Blogging Gives Patients Freedom Of The Press - And That's Freedom To Be Heard

Guest Post by Dave deBronkart: Part 1:

American journalist A. J Liebling famously said, 'Freedom of the press is guaranteed only to those who own one,' Blogging gives you one.

It's not just a happy metaphor, either. A generation ago the only way to get your thoughts to a wider audience was through broadcast or print, and the only way to do that was with big capital equipment. To be heard, you had to go through people who had the capital. That had to bless your words, or you couldn't get at their equipment.

With a blog, the only resource needed is a computer access. Profound. Not only do you not need permission: you can say anything you want.

Blogs are free and public. They sprinkle ideas like seeds in soil: some never take root, but some do and sprout, and some of those sprouts grow tall. Some get noticed and some don't, but that doesn't hold you back: you can express whatever you want.

How Doctors Are Gradually Embracing The Power Of Online Doctor Networks

Speakers Announced for Healthivate

Thank you for your patience everyone. It’s been quiet a journey to get Healthivate together and after struggling with debilitating illness for the last few months and having to postpone the event for this year I am really excited to announce our speaker line up.  A big thank you to those speakers who have confirmed and to those speakers who have been understanding with the need to re-schedule.

Our website for the event will hopefully be up over the weekend or early next week so I will post more information shortly. The new venue is Carriage Works due to the need for wireless connectivity for everyone. Please diarise the new date – Saturday March 2, 2013 – 9.00am – 4.00pm

Speakers Confirmed (More to be announced soon, so stay tuned)

Cindy Luken

We are thrilled to announce Cindy Luken will speak at Healthivate – Entrepreneur, modern mum, food lover and former bikkie baker (created & sold Luken & May Biscuits). Cindy has an Honorary M.S. (Newcastle Uni), over 20 export, entrepreneur and business awards including 19th & 29th spot in BRW’s Fast 100, she is inducted into the Australian Businesswoman’s Network (ABN) Hall of Fame. Currently creating luk beautifood – skin delicious makeup & more. Launching Spring 2012.  Cindy has just launched luk beauty kitchen blog | Cooking for Beauty – be fabulous in the skin you’re in – find fab tips and trick on food active goodies + fast and fresh recipes.

Cindy is also the founder of Table of Fabulousness – your home boardroom lunch out of a desire to meet like-minded ex corporate / small biz early stage owners who want to style their own life.

Evelyn M. Field

Evelyn M. Field is an expert on school and workplace bullying and the devastating effects it has on individuals and organisations. She works as practicing psychologist, speaker, author and media consultant.

Everyln does not believe in always waiting for others to intervene when there is bullying. She believes that we need to develop a social and emotional resilience framework to empower students and employees to take greater responsibility for themselves by developing skills to block bullying behaviours and survive in difficult, stressful environments.

Evelyn is co -chair of the Therapeutic Practitioners SIG of the IAWBH ( International Association for Workplace Bullying and Harassment) , she belongs to the advisory council of the National Centre Against Bullying. She was on the board of VOCAL for 5 years, [Victims of Crime Assistance League, Victoria], on the board of the Mental Health Foundation of Victoria for 20 years and was 11 years as Honorary Secretary of the Australian Association for Mental Health.

Evelyn is a passionate speaker, who inspires organizations to manage workplace bullying and speaks to schools about school bullying. She can help students build their emotional and social resilience, teach bully blocking skills to kids and parenting skills. She is the author of Bully Busting – a resource for parents, children and educators.

Ingrid Ozols

Mental Health advocate, educator, speaker and facilitator of many years Ingrid’s passion and committment is to reeducate workplaces about humaness. To bring humanness, humanity@work alive in all workplaces. We all will experience joy, grief, love, loss, stress, adversity & vulnerability. Ingrid’s career change started some ten years ago with an apprenticeship with beyondblue the national depression intiative. As the inaugural chair of beyondblue’s lived experience arm, BlueVoices she travelled Australia widely sharing my journey through illness to wellness…Ingrid will share that very personal story with us at Healthivate and says we all have a story to tell. As a board member of The Mental Health Council of Australia Ingrid was also involved with the Prime Minister and Cabinet’s COAG deliberations when the Howard Government announced $1.9billion would be provided for mental health care and more recently with the Commonwealth Government’s 10year Road Map Budget Implementation in Sept 2011.

Gerry Tye

Gerry Tye pictured with his son Talin and a special visitor, singer Tina Arena.

Gerry is perhaps best known as Talin’s Dad. Six year old Talin Hawkins was diagnosed in April this year with a Stage 4 Malignant Pontine Glioma (cancer of the brain stem). Doctors determined it was inoperable and life ending. Talin passed away in July and Gerry has dedicated his life since to raising awareness for Bear Cottage – Sydney’s only Pallative Care Facility for Children and, raising money for the Cure Starts Now – aiming to fund research into finding a cure for this most deadly childhood cancer. His presence on social media and journaling has a large following.

As Gerry shares his story he will challenge you to live for each moment, forgive and forget and most of all to celebrate the gift of our children. His message will direct you to be the best of yourself in life, relationships and work.

What is Healthivate:

Beginning with 2013 with a focus on bloggers and patient activists, Healthivate will tackle some great topics, fitness and nutrition, special needs and caregiving, self care and social health, stories that matter and some great blogger panels too!

What is a story circle – known in storytelling circles as a tool for sharing stories, a circle is a gathering of people to listen learn and share stories.

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