New digital greeting card collaboration launches to encourage friends and family to prioritize their health

CLEVELAND /PRNewswire/ — American Greetings and the American Cancer Society are collaborating on a collection of customizable digital greeting cards designed to encourage loved ones to seek out life-saving cancer screenings. The all-new Creatacard™ greetings feature a range of heartfelt messages in both English and Spanish and aim to promote the importance of early detection. Senders can add personal touches by customizing the designs with photos or video, a personalized message, digital envelope liner and stamp, and more.

“Having conversations with your loved ones about serious topics like cancer can be difficult, but discussions like this can save lives,” said Rob Matousek, Executive Director, Direct to Consumer Business at American Greetings. “We are proud to work with the American Cancer Society on this collection of digital greeting cards that give people a new, easy, and thoughtful way to encourage family and friends to seek cancer screenings. Together, we can make a difference.”

Cancer is the second most common cause of death in the US, and over 2 million new cancer cases are expected to be diagnosed in 2024. Regular screening can find cancer before symptoms appear and keep a person informed about the state of their health. To learn more about screening recommendations and resources, visit cancer.org/getscreened.

“Early detection is a key factor in changing cancer outcomes,” said Dr. Arif Kamal, chief patient officer at the American Cancer Society. “The American Cancer Society is working with multiple organizations to deliver that message and remove barriers to cancer screening. We appreciate American Greetings using its platform to help spread this message and we encourage everyone to use these cards to save lives.”

The new cards with the American Cancer Society add to American Greetings portfolio of digital greetings related to health and wellness topics, which include the recently released Creatacards™ with singer and songwriter Jelly Roll that focus on mental health, as well as offerings released with the Cleveland Clinic around the topics of heart health, Alzheimer’s disease, and cancer research. 

Creatacard™ greetings are available on www.americangreetings.com, www.bluemountain.com, and on the Creatacard™ offerings, American Greetings and Blue Mountain ecard apps for iPhone and Android. They can be shared via email, text, or on social media. Users can sign up for a monthly, yearly, or two-year American Greetings account to have the ability to send an unlimited number of Creatacard™ greetings —as well as all American Greetings digital offerings—over the course of their membership period. Membership costs range from $6.99-$39.99, depending on the length of membership. For the latest news from Creatacard™ offerings, follow @americangreetingsdigital on Instagram and @americangreetingsdigital on Facebook.

ABOUT AMERICAN GREETINGS:
American Greetings is a global leader in the large and enduring Celebrations marketplace. The company helps people celebrate holidays, each other, and all of life’s special moments, in-person and online, guided by a mission to “make the world a more thoughtful and caring place every single day.” American Greetings offers products wherever and however people wish to purchase them – online, in-store, or curbside pickup. Celebrations happen throughout the year, driven by traditional holidays, key milestone moments such as weddings, baby showers and graduations, as well as recurring everyday events such as birthdays and anniversaries. The company’s brands include American Greetings, Papyrus, Carlton Cards, and Recycled Paper Greetings. Its digital business unit, AG Interactive, is a leading provider of digital greetings and premium Celebrations content through proprietary technology platforms and apps. Its popular digital brands include American Greetings, Blue Mountain, Jacquie Lawson, SmashUps™, and Creatacard™. For more information, visit corporate.americangreetings.com and follow us @AmericanGreetings on Facebook and @amgreetings on Instagram.

Advertisement

SOURCE American Greetings

Jay Maddock, Texas A&M University

Taking a walk on a wooded path, spending an afternoon in a public park, harvesting your backyard garden and even looking at beautiful pictures of Hawaii can all make us feel good. Certainly, for many of us, it’s beneficial to have time outside in natural environments. Being cooped up inside can feel unnatural and increase our desire to get outside. The renowned biologist E.O. Wilson created a theory called the biophilia hypothesis, where he stated that people have an innate relationship to nature.

On an intuitive level, this makes sense. Humans evolved in an open, natural environment and removing us from this environment could have a negative effect on our health. But what does the research say? Is there actually evidence that being in natural environments can promote our well-being, prevent disease and speed recovery?

Nature and healing

The pioneering work in this area started in the 1980s with Robert Ulrich, who was a professor at Texas A&M University. His work looked at surgery patients who had a view of trees out of their window compared to those who had the view of a wall. Those with the natural view reported less pain and spent less time in the hospital.

Since then, several studies have shown a reduction in pain both through viewing natural scenes as well looking at nature videos and pictures.

Other studies have looked at the effect of exposure to daylight on patients and found they experienced less pain, stress and use of pain medications than patients who did not have exposure to natural light. There is also preliminary evidence that hospital gardens can alleviate stress in both patients and their families.

In the area of designing health care facilities, there appears to be consistent evidence that exposures to natural environments have a positive effect on pain, stress, anxiety, blood pressure and heart rate. In the Center for Health and Nature, a joint venture between my university Texas A&M, Houston Methodist Hospital and nonprofit Texan by Nature, our new studies are assessing if these effects extend to the virtual world, including immersive VR and virtual windows.

A preventive effect?

While nature appears to be helpful in restoring health after illness, can it actually help us keep healthy? Researchers across the world have been asking this question.

From forest bathing (“shinrin-yoku”) in Japan to the 30 Days Wild campaign in the United Kingdom, which encourages people to connect to wild places, people have been examining the healing powers of nature.

While walking is well established as a health promoting behavior, studies are now examining if walking in natural environments is more beneficial than indoors or in urban environments. Results have shown positive effects for mental health, improved attention, mood, blood pressure and heart rate. Several programs across the country have been formed to expose military veterans to natural spaces to combat symptoms of PTSD. In children, playgrounds with greenspace increased vigorous physical activity and decreased sedentary time and even has led to fewer fights.

Advertisement

While there is growing evidence that exposure to natural environments is beneficial to health there are still many questions to be answered. What is nature? While this may seem simple at first glance, there are many differences between a national park, an urban pocket park and a picture of waves crashing on the beach. What is the dose of nature needed?

In physical activity, there is scientific consensus that people need 150 minutes a week for good health. How much and how often is exposure to nature needed for better health? How do longer doses – such as a weekend camping in a forest – and shorter doses – such as a walk through a park – affect us? What sensory part of nature is affecting us? Is it sight, sound, smell, touch or a combination of them?

A recent paper proposed enhanced immune function as the central pathway for the variety of positive health outcomes received from nature exposure. This needs to be tested.

Despite the need for more research, the need for more nature exposure is urgent. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that Americans, on average, spend 90% of their time indoors. A study in the U.K. found that children spend only half the time outdoors than their parents used to.

There are signs that a nature movement is beginning to take hold. The 30 Days Wild program run by the Wildlife Trusts in the U.K. encouraged people to engage with nature every day for a month. In its first year, more than 18,000 people signed up. It starts again June 1, 2019.

Doctors in Scotland are now able give Nature Prescriptions to their patients. The educational leaflet they provide describes numerous monthly activities including touching the ocean, taking a dog for a walk and following a bumblebee. In the U.S., the Park Rx America program has been working to connect publicly available outdoor space to physicians to have them prescribe nature.

As spring arrives, it is time to make a commitment to spend more time in nature. Better health could literally be as easy as a walk in the park.

Advertisement

Jay Maddock, Professor of Public Health, Texas A&M University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Our Lifestyle section on STM Daily News is a hub of inspiration and practical information, offering a range of articles that touch on various aspects of daily life. From tips on family finances to guides for maintaining health and wellness, we strive to empower our readers with knowledge and resources to enhance their lifestyles. Whether you’re seeking outdoor activity ideas, fashion trends, or travel recommendations, our lifestyle section has got you covered. Visit us today at https://stmdailynews.com/category/lifestyle/ and embark on a journey of discovery and self-improvement.

Advertisement

Arthur Daemmrich, Arizona State University

President Joe Biden was inaugurated in January 2021 amid a devastating pandemic, with over 24 million COVID-19 cases and more than 400,000 deaths in the U.S. recorded at that point.

Operation Warp Speed, initiated by the Trump administration in May 2020, meant an effective vaccine was becoming available. Biden quickly announced a plan to immunize 100 million Americans over the next three months. By the end of April 2021, 145 million Americans – nearly half the population – had received one vaccine dose, and 103 million were considered fully vaccinated. Science and technology policymakers celebrated this coordination across science, industry and government to address a real-world crisis as a 21st-century Manhattan Project.

From my perspective as a scholar of science and technology policy, Biden’s legacy includes structural, institutional and practical changes to how science is conducted. Building on approaches developed over the course of many years, the administration elevated the status of science in the government and fostered community participation in research.

Raising science’s profile in government

The U.S. has no single ministry of science and technology. Instead, agencies and offices across the executive branch carry out scientific research at several national labs and fund research by other institutions. By elevating the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy to a Cabinet-level organization for the first time in its history, Biden gave the agency greater influence in federal decision-making and coordination.

Formally established in 1976, the agency provides the president and senior staff with scientific and technical advice, bringing science to bear on executive policies. Biden’s inclusion of the agency’s director in his Cabinet was a strong signal about the elevated role science and technology would play in the administration’s solutions to major societal challenges.

Under Biden, the Office of Science and Technology Policy established guidelines that agencies across the government would follow as they implemented major legislation. This included developing technologies that remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to address climate change, rebuilding America’s chip industry, and managing the rollout of AI technologies.

Instead of treating the ethical and societal dimensions of scientific and technological change as separate from research and development, the agency advocated for a more integrated approach. This was reflected in the appointment of social scientist Alondra Nelson as the agency’s first deputy director for science and society, and science policy expert Kei Koizumi as principal deputy director for policy. Ethical and societal considerations were added as evaluation criteria for grants. And initiatives such as the AI bill of rights and frameworks for research integrity and open science further encouraged all federal agencies to consider the social effects of their research.

The Office of Science and Technology Policy also introduced new ways for agencies to consult with communities, including Native Nations, rural Americans and people of color, in order to avoid known biases in science and technology research. For example, the agency issued government-wide guidance to recognize and include Indigenous knowledge in federal programs. Agencies such as the Department of Energy have incorporated public perspectives while rolling out atmospheric carbon dioxide removal technologies and building new hydrogen hubs.

Advertisement

Use-inspired research

A long-standing criticism of U.S. science funding is that it often fails to answer questions of societal importance. Members of Congress and policy analysts have argued that funded projects instead overly emphasize basic research in areas that advance the careers of researchers.

In response, the Biden administration established the technology, innovation and partnerships directorate at the National Science Foundation in March 2022.

The directorate uses social science approaches to help focus scientific research and technology on their potential uses and effects on society. For example, engineers developing future energy technologies could start by consulting with the community about local needs and opportunities, rather than pitching their preferred solution after years of laboratory work. Genetic researchers could share both knowledge and financial benefits with the communities that provided the researchers with data.

Fundamentally, “use-inspired” research aims to reconnect scientists and engineers with the people and communities their work ultimately affects, going beyond publication in a journal accessible only to academics.

The technology, innovation and partnerships directorate established initiatives to support regional projects and multidisciplinary partnerships bringing together researchers, entrepreneurs and community organizations. These programs, such as the regional innovation engines and convergence accelerator, seek to balance the traditional process of grant proposals written and evaluated by academics with broader societal demand for affordable health and environmental solutions. This work is particularly key to parts of the country that have not yet seen visible gains from decades of federally sponsored research, such as regions encompassing western North Carolina, northern South Carolina, eastern Tennessee and southwest Virginia.

Community-based scientific research

The Biden administration also worked to involve communities in science not just as research consultants but also as active participants.

Scientific research and technology-based innovation are often considered the exclusive domain of experts from elite universities or national labs. Yet, many communities are eager to conduct research, and they have insights to contribute. There is a decades-long history of citizen science initiatives, such as birdwatchers contributing data to national environmental surveys and community groups collecting industrial emissions data that officials can use to make regulations more cost effective.

Advertisement

Going further, the Biden administration carried out experiments to create research projects in a way that involved community members, local colleges and federal agencies as more equal partners.

For example, the Justice40 initiative asked people from across the country, including rural and small-town Americans, to identify local environmental justice issues and potential solutions.

The National Institutes of Health’s ComPASS program funded community organizations to test and scale successful health interventions, such as identifying pregnant women with complex medical needs and connecting them to specialized care.

And the National Science Foundation’s Civic Innovation Challenge required academic researchers to work with local organizations to address local concerns, improving the community’s technical skills and knowledge.

Frontiers of science and technology policy

Researchers often cite the 1945 report Science: The Endless Frontier, written by former Office of Scientific Research and Development head Vannevar Bush, to describe the core rationales for using American taxpayer money to fund basic science. Under this model, funding science would lead to three key outcomes: a secure national defense, improved health, and economic prosperity. The report, however, says little about how to go from basic science to desired societal outcomes. It also makes no mention of scientists sharing responsibility for the direction and impact of their work.

The 80th anniversary of Bush’s report in 2025 offers an opportunity to move science out into society. At present, major government initiatives are following a technology push model that focuses efforts on only one or a few products and involves little consideration of consumer and market demand. Research has repeatedly demonstrated that consumer or societal pull, which attracts development of products that enhance quality of life, is key to successful uptake of new technologies and their longevity.

Future administrations can further advance science and address major societal challenges by considering how ready society is to take up new technologies and increasing collaboration between government and civil society.

Arthur Daemmrich, Professor of Practice in the School for the Future of Innovation in Society, Arizona State University

Advertisement

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

The science section of our news blog STM Daily News provides readers with captivating and up-to-date information on the latest scientific discoveries, breakthroughs, and innovations across various fields. We offer engaging and accessible content, ensuring that readers with different levels of scientific knowledge can stay informed. Whether it’s exploring advancements in medicine, astronomy, technology, or environmental sciences, our science section strives to shed light on the intriguing world of scientific exploration and its profound impact on our daily lives. From thought-provoking articles to informative interviews with experts in the field, STM Daily News Science offers a harmonious blend of factual reporting, analysis, and exploration, making it a go-to source for science enthusiasts and curious minds alike. https://stmdailynews.com/category/science/