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Category: Real Health Photos

May is Skin Cancer Awareness Month

May is Skin Cancer Awareness Month

Skin cancer is the most common type of cancer in the United States. Ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun is the main cause of skin cancer. UV radiation can also come from tanning booths or sunlamps. The most dangerous kind of skin cancer is called melanoma.

The good news? Skin cancer can almost always be cured when it’s found and treated early – and that includes melanoma.

Here are some helpful resources for information, graphics, and materials to raise awareness about skin cancer and help people take action to prevent or detect it early when it is easier to treat.

American Academy of Dermatology (AAD)

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Healthfinder.gov- Skin Cancer Prevention

Skin Cancer Foundation

Real Health Photos

Use Real Health Photos® for improving the impact of health messages for Skin Cancer Awareness Month. The stock photography website includes numerous images of diverse people being sun safe with hats, sunglasses, shade, and sunscreen. Real Health Photos images show diversity of gender, race, ethnicity, age, income level, and health condition.

For more images, visit Real Health Photos.

Real Health Photos is a stock photography service owned and operated by KB. It was created and evaluated with a research grant (R44MD003338, Mary Buller, Principal Investigator) from the National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities at the National Institutes of Health. Real Health Photos is designed to capture the diversity of health through photography and promote the inclusion of all populations in health promotion materials and media.

African Heritage and Health Week

African Heritage and Health Week

The first week of February is African Heritage and Health Week – a celebration of the flavors and healthy cooking techniques that were central and vital to the well-being of African ancestors from Africa, South America, the Caribbean, and the American South. February is the perfect time to honor and explore this healthy culinary history because it is also Black History Month.

African Heritage and Health Week was pioneered by Oldways to promote healthier, happier living through cultural food traditions. Studies have shown that many chronic conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, and obesity, now prevalent in African American communities, tend to appear in populations as traditional diets are changed or abandoned. The program is designed to raise awareness about the health benefits and exciting flavors of traditional African heritage cuisines, and to invite people everywhere to taste these traditional foods, whether at a restaurant, a community event, or at home with friends and family.

Klein Buendel’s Real Health Photos® can help increase the effectiveness of health campaigns – such as those promoting healthy cultural cooking in African American communities – by providing photographs for print and digital media that represent and appeal to the target population. This unique stock photography enterprise includes numerous images of people shopping, cooking, and eating in healthy ways. Real Health Photos show diversity of gender, race, ethnicity, age, income level, and health condition.

Real Health Photos is a stock photography service owned and operated by Klein Buendel. It was developed with a research grant (MD003338, Mary Buller, Principal Investigator) from the National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities at the National Institutes of Health. Real Health Photos is designed to capture the diversity of health through photography and promote the inclusion of all populations in health promotion materials and media – and the effectiveness of the intended health message.

For more images, visit Real Health Photos.

Ms. Mary Buller, President and Owner of Klein Buendel, and her coauthors recently published a paper on their photographic research in the Journal of Health Communication.

Using Targeted Photographs to Improve Health Messages for Stigmatized Populations

Using Targeted Photographs to Improve Health Messages for Stigmatized Populations

In a recent e-publication in the Journal of Health Communication, Mary Buller, President of Klein Buendel, and her coauthors report results of an evaluation of using Real Health Photos in health communication messaging. Real Health Photos is a unique collection of images of people with diversity of age, gender, race, ethnicity, income level, and health condition. The collection was produced by Klein Buendel to portray the diversity of health through photography and promote the inclusion of all populations in health promotion materials and media.

Of particular concern is how to reach underserved populations with effective health messages. Underserved groups with particular health needs — including people with disabilities, the elderly, and the overweight or obese — are underrepresented in popular media images and are often stigmatized so that they have to deal with prejudice and ostracization.

This research project tested the prediction that photographs depicting people very similar to the target population of a health message would improve the health communication and increase the  target populations’ intentions to change behavior in a favorable, more healthful direction. The evaluation of using Real Health Photos in health communication messaging was guided by the homophily principle. The homophily principle — that perceived similarities among people produce positive reactions — is a cross-cultural, global phenomenon and is grounded in the power of identification. Specifically, the study tested two hypotheses: (1) whether a health communication message will be more effective (that is, create stronger behavioral intentions to increase physical activity and eat a healthy diet) when incorporating photographs that match the target population than photographs that do not match the population in disability, age, or weight; and (2) whether the effectiveness of photographs that match the population on disability, age, or weight will be mediated by identification with persons in the photographs (that is, matched photographs will increase identification relative to unmatched photographs and increased identification will be associated with greater behavioral intentions).

To test the hypotheses, three nationally-representative samples of adults (n=1,796) who were physically-disabled, elderly, or overweight/obese were selected from a large national survey panel. Participants read an identical message promoting increased moderate to vigorous physical activity and decreased intake of high fat, high sugar, and high carbohydrate foods. Photographs from a commercial stock photograph service versus photographs created for the research project to match the three populations — from Real Health Photos — were included in the messages. Participants responded to assessments of behavioral intentions, outcome and self-efficacy expectations, and identification. Statistical analysis confirmed that Real Health Photos that matched the specific target population increased behavioral intentions mediated by identification in the physically-disabled and overweight/obese samples. Matched visual images improved health message effectiveness by capitalizing on the homophily and identification processes.

The development of Real Health Photos and this research were funded by a Small Business Innovation Research grant from the National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities (MD003338; Mary Buller, Principal Investigator). Coauthors include Dr. Peter Andersen from San Diego State University, Dr. Michael Slater from The Ohio State University, Dr. Kim Henry from Colorado State University, Lyndsay Fluharty from Telligen, Inc., and Dr. Erwin Bettinghaus, Xia (Lucia) Liu, Steven Fullmer, and Dr. David Buller from Klein Buendel. Many of the Real Health Photos used in this study were taken by Delia Palmisano from Blue House Photography in Denver, Colorado.

Real Health Photos – Yoga Awareness Month

Real Health Photos – Yoga Awareness Month

September is National Yoga Awareness Month. Yoga is a mind and body practice with historical origins in ancient Indian philosophy. Like other meditative movement practices used for health purposes, various styles of yoga typically combine physical postures, breathing techniques, and meditation or relaxation.

According to the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health at the National Institutes of Health, millions of Americans of all ages practice yoga each year. Many people who practice yoga do so to maintain their health and well-being, improve physical fitness, relieve stress, and enhance quality of life. They may also be addressing specific health conditions, such as back pain, neck pain, arthritis or anxiety.

KB’s Real Health Photos stock photography enterprise includes thousands of images to help organizations visually illustrate people being physically active for better health. Real Health Photos images show diversity of gender, race, ethnicity, age, income level, and health condition.

Use Real Health Photos for improving the impact of health campaigns for all kinds of people, including people practicing yoga.

Woman Sitting Doing YogaMan and Woman Standing On Rock Outstretching Arms Doing YogaTwo Women Holding Hands Standing On One Foot Each Doing YogaWoman Reaching for Sky Doing Yoga
For more images, visit Real Health Photos.

Real Health Photos is a stock photography service owned and operated by KB. It was created and evaluated with a research grant (R44MD003338, Mary Buller, Principal Investigator) from the National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities at the National Institutes of Health. Real Health Photos is designed to capture the diversity of health through photography and promote the inclusion of all populations in health promotion materials and media.

Real Health Photos – National Safety Month

Real Health Photos – National Safety Month

For 100 years, the National Safety Council has been the leading safety advocate preventing unintentional injuries and death in the United States. The Council’s National Safety Month, Observed annually in June, focuses on reducing leading causes of injury and death on the job, on the road, in the home, and in all communities. Specific areas they address include workplace violence prevention, safe driving, poisoning prevention, ergonomics, and fall prevention.

More than 33,000 people, for example, died in falls in 2015, according to the National Safety Council. “Falling is the third leading cause of unintentional injury-related deaths over all age groups, but it’s the #1 cause of death for those 65 and older” (Injury Facts 2017, National Safety Council). Strategies for preventing falls include securing carpets to the floor, wiping up spills immediately, installing grab bars in tubs, in showers, and near toilets, and if necessary, provide personal walking devices, such as canes or walkers, to aid in stability.

Klein Buendel’s Real Health Photos stock photography enterprise includes numerous images of older adults using personal walking devices. These unique photographs can be used in educational materials to show older adult populations how easy and typical it is for people to use devices for safe walking.

Real Health Photos images show a diversity of gender, race, ethnicity, age, income level, and health condition. Use Real Health Photos for improving the impact of health campaigns for people from all walks of life, including older adults.

Senior lady with caneSenior man with caneSenior lady with cane 2Senior man with cane 2
For more images, visit Real Health Photos.

Real Health Photos Logo

Real Health Photos is a stock photography service owned and operated by KB. It was created and evaluated with a research grant (R44MD003338, Mary Buller, Principal Investigator) from the National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities at the National Institutes of Health. Real Health Photos is designed to capture the diversity of health through photography and promote the inclusion of all populations in health promotion materials and media.

Real Health Photos® is a KB registered trademark.

Real Health Photos – International Women’s Day

Real Health Photos – International Women’s Day

March 8 is International Women’s Day (IWD) around the globe. This year’s theme is Press for Progress — a call to motivate and unite friends, colleagues, and whole communities to think, act, and be, gender inclusive.

Started by the Suffragettes in the early 1900’s, the first International Women’s Day was celebrated in 1911. According to the IWD website, “International Women’s Day belongs to all communities everywhere – governments, companies, charities, educational institutions, networks, associations, the media and more. Whether through a global conference, community gathering, classroom lesson or dinner table conversation – everyone can play a purposeful part in pressing for gender parity.”

Women of all ages, races, ethnicities, sizes, shapes, disabilities, and capabilities are often the focus of targeted health promotion campaigns. Matching photographic images to a target population can improve the effectiveness of a health message, according to KB research. The message is more effective because the photographs increase the audience member’s identification with the message in a very real and visual way.

KB’s Real Health Photos stock photography enterprise includes thousands of images to help improve the effectiveness of health promotion messages for targeted audiences. Real Health Photos images show diversity of gender, race, ethnicity, age, income level, and health condition or physical ability.

Use Real Health Photos for improving the impact of health campaigns for all kinds people, including women.

Two Hispanic Women Walking and Talking OutsideA white women and a black woman talking and laughing outsideTwo Young Female Friends Drinking WaterMother, Daughter and Woman Doctor

For more images, visit Real Health Photos.

Real Health Photos Logo

Real Health Photos is a stock photography service owned and operated by KB. It was created and evaluated with a research grant (R44MD003338, Mary Buller, Principal Investigator) from the National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities at the National Institutes of Health. Real Health Photos is designed to capture the diversity of health through photography and promote the inclusion of all populations in health promotion materials and media.

Real Health Photos® is a KB registered trademark.