What is the Health Forum for?

[supernova]

I've read all these posts about what should/should not be allowed in this forum. I have to say, honestly sometimes it's not pleasant. And it should be. This is a forum for helpful exchange of information afterall. Sometimes there is a distinct lack of compassion here. It's not funny, nor smart. It's just sad.

I think the real issue is deciding what this forum should be used for.

What do we hope to get out of posting here:

Is it just to be cranky to each other?

Is it to be helpful to those seeking answers to difficult human physiology questions?

Is it to test ideas presented in the media that (usually) aren't accurate reflections of the data?

Is it to present information in a helpful way so that we can all learn and apply that which is useful into our lives?

edit: Update poll with politics of healthcare choice.

[billyoc]

1. Sharing home hangover remedies, of course.

[supernova]

2. Ha. Ha.

:D

Take two hairs of the dog and call me in the morning. :P

[cosmik debris]

3. I believe the forum should be used for

incessant repetition of my favorite conspiracy theory.

Any other use is just a distraction.

:sarcasm:

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

4. the Health Forum should be anything related to Health

like in other forums, most don't have a clique trying to run others off.

This is the Health Forum, and anything about health should be posted here.

This forum had very little new or fresh content, but I began posting articles,
many from NY Times or WAPO or Huffington Post.

This forum doesn't get enough traffic to merit splitting it up or
trying to censor people.

[Hello_Kitty]

5. All of the above.

I appreciate people sharing information from peer-reviewed journals. OTOH, it's useful to discuss alternative treatments, if only to debunk them as quackery if that's the case.

[Warpy]

6. I'd like to see it used for

Posting peer reviewed medical studies.

Posting changes in health care policy.

Posting discussions of health care policy.

Health alerts from peer reviewed sources.

Unfortunately, it's become a dungeon for every conspiracist on DU, combined with non peer reviewed and bogus studies that start with the answer and attempt to find a rationalization and utterly unproven "alternative medicine" for people who would rather give their money to vitamin companies than to doctors who might actually help them.

There is a fine group on DU for the alternative stuff, http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topics&forum=245 People who are looking for alternative medicine can share in this forum with like minded people and never find their pet theories drowned by the cold water of the scientific method.

This is my 2 cents. The forum has gotten so contentious that I only drop in to correct ridiculous disinformation and occasionally post an interesting study. It is fit only to jump in and out, not to have a prolonged visit.

[trotsky]

8. Best response.

:thumbsup:

[varkam]

10. So *that's* why I'm turning into a prune.

I've been in the HF Bubble-Bath for too long.

All seriousness, I could not have said it better myself.

[Why Syzygy]

12. Not only that .

There is a fine group on DU for the alternative stuff, http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph... People who are looking for alternative medicine can share in this forum with like minded people and never find their pet theories drowned by the cold water of the scientific method.

This group is consistently one of the most trafficked at DU.

[uppityperson]

16. I didn't know there was an Astrology, Spirituality & Alternative Healing Group

Thank you for posting that. I can see alternative healing going into there, but then again some of it is getting mainstream with decent studies showing things.

Thank you for posting that, maybe some people who find it difficult here would be happier there, more accepted in alternative theories of healing.

[ZombieHorde]

7. Posting health articles, discussing personal health problems, and

debating the validity or ethical ramifications of health related practices.

[Why Syzygy]

9. #6 and #7 replies

This is a forum I, too, had abandoned for the most part. With the prospect of major changes coming in our government's interaction in the field, I have a renewed interest.

After asking questions of the participants, and getting GREAT feedback (thanks everyone), I have been persuaded that in the interest of providing a viable public service for our community, that a case can be made that issues regarding PHARMACEUTICAL interventions would better serve being placed in a separate location. Rx's do not produce identical results when ingested. When my doctor prescribes, I try to read everything I can about what to expect. There is a need for that information (in my case).

However, PHARMACEUTICALS are only ONE tiny portion of the whole of HEALTH, and should not be the major focus in providing a usable forum.

Having said that, here on the ground, DU, I don't know what influence there is to modify the existing model (toxicity).

[BuddhaGirl]

11. "Health" is a relative term

I think alternative medicine/vitamins should be discussed here as well as traditional medicine, that way everyone is covered.

Alternative medicine has become more and more mainstream, after all.

[xchrom]

13. i think there is a problem that doesn't have anything to do

with any individual.

the internet has become a pathway for spreading harmful disinformation around certain health related topics.

that disinformation becomes acted on in the real world -- and real harm accumulates.

[Celebration]

14. The topic is "Health"

Anything related to health should be okay. If certain subjects irritate people, they don't have to be opened.

It's sort of a waste of time for people to rehash the same old arguments over and over, so there are a number of threads I just avoid. However, these same threads may be quite entertaining for others, so I wouldn't want to make any judgment about their not being discussed here. And occasionally some of those threads might actually have new information in it.

I'm not really into policing the threads here. During the primaries it was absolutely essential to have the separate Primaries place, and the rules on numbers of threads started.

A DU "group" is just not a substitute for a forum.

[semillama]

15. as a Forum, it should an arena for the rational discussion of any health-related issue

Key phrase being "rational discussion." If someone disagrees with what another person has posted, they should be able to present an argument that is logically constructed and based upon verified facts. What this forum should NOT be is a place where any ideas about health can go unchallenged, because that would turn the forum into a clearing house for misinformation.

For example, I first learned about the vaccine/autism controversy right here in this forum. I read the arguments that present the various viewpoints on the subject, and found that the most convincing arguments were the ones that were based in scientifically-verified facts and theories. Thus, I now have zero qualms about my son's vaccination schedule, thanks to the many alternatives to the schedule and arguments against vaccinations that had been picked apart here.

[Crunchy Frog]

17. I thought this was the place for pointless flame wars

between "woowoos" and "skeptics". I was not under the impression that this was the place for meaningful discourse on important issues. It would be nice to find such a place though. :shrug:

[uppityperson]

18. Come on, you should know it is woos and shills by now.

It would be nice to have such a place, I agree.

[rocktivity]

19. Other: All of the above.

This forum should be willing to survey the entire spectrum of medicine, health, and its related issues.

But I'm probably a little biased, because that's what I'm doing on this website!

:D
rocktivity

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

20. a combination

of health information on scientific studies plus alternative therapies plus the impact of politics on health care plus trading information on ailments, etc.

I rarely post here because I feel my comments are unwelcome by many, and so post elsewhere, btw.