Monday, July 6, 2009
In a time of healthcare spending cuts, one doctor is writing award-winning songs that increase health literacy. SIRIUS XM Satellite Radio will interview Mache Seibel, aka DocRock, on the subject.
NEWTON, MA— From 8:00-8:30 a.m. EST on Tuesday, July 7, SIRIUS XM Satellite Radio will interview Machelle (Mache) Seibel, MD, aka DocRock, on Doctor Radio. The show will air on SIRIUS XM Channel 114 and XM Channel 119. The segment will cover HealthRock and its methodology.
HealthRock, founded by Dr. Seibel, combines music and health messaging in an attempt to increase health literacy. The company uses a technique that advertisers have relied upon for decades: using music to make ideas memorable. According to Dr. Seibel, "HealthRock creates music to package health information in such a way that people can take it with them and use it whenever they need it."
In addition to being easy to remember, music can be used to reduce patients' fears or feelings of embarrassment about medical topics. Dr. Seibel takes advantage of this fact by writing catchy songs on such potentially uncomfortable subjects as zits and colonoscopies. In order to make the widest possible public health impact, HealthRock songs are tailored to specific demographic groups like kids, teenagers, and women.
In addition to CDs and downloadable songs, HealthRock's offerings have grown to include live performances, blogs, ebooks, online forums for medical questions, and games. Each offering provides a vehicle for providing the public with health information.
The HealthRock approach has received growing accolades. For example, the 2009 Creative Child Magazine Awards Program honored HealthRock with three awards: a 2009 CD of the Year award for the Preschool Edition CD, a 2009 Preferred Choice Award for the Kid's Edition CD, and a 2009 Seal of Excellence for the lullaby CD.
Dr. Seibel, a nationally recognized women's health expert, is a professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Director of the Complicated Menopause Program at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. As Dr. Seibel says, "it's better to stay well than to get well."
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