MakeUsWell

AI to MakeUsWell

2024-01-26T12:24:57Z

by Michael Critelli, CEO MakeUsWell

Hi MakeUsWell Community,

When I started MakeUsWell, my specific initial goal was to help us and the U.S. heal and recover from the pandemic.

Today we are at an inflection point with the two letter acronym, A.I.

I wholeheartedly believe in the power of A.I. to make us well, and to accelerate American society’s overall goodness and greatness.

The only way to get there is through a pragmatic, non-partisan, and rational approach to A.I. We must concurrently consider A.I.’s human factors dispassionately. And with honesty and intellectual rigor.

With that focus in mind, we are introducing Raghavan Muthuregunathan, who is joining our MakeUsWell Network.

The Role Of Augmented Intelligence At A Time Of Stress

2023-11-03T09:07:35Z

by Mike Critelli

Multiple events remind us about the fragility of peace and safe travels, the risks in our economic environment, and the chronic concerns about extreme weather events during summer months. These combinations create multiple sources of stress.

On top of all these events, which are reported endlessly because they draw in and retain readers or viewers, is the perceived risk that artificial intelligence will cause many jobs perceived as secure to become obsolete.

The Gallup organization has done a great deal of research on the interconnectedness of various kinds of wellbeing. At the MakeUsWell Network and in our work on outbound marketing communications at MoveFlux, we have built into our algorithms the inter-relatedness of these five categories of wellbeing:

Physical and mental health
Financial wellbeing
Career wellbeing
Environmental wellbeing
Social wellbeing

A positive or negative input to any of these five categories spills over into the others. We understand that the framework for augmented intelligence applied to wellbeing requires human intelligence to understand these linkages.

We have used our MoveFlux brand for our flagship offering to organizations that need generative artificial intelligence to create marketing content. But it has a strong linkage to our MakeUsWell Network, because we and our clients need to understand the sources of stress in the populations to which they are communicating or marketing. We also need to use underlying messages and analytics to defuse that stress.

Our algorithms go far beyond what I will describe here in targeting words, phrases and messages that both acknowledge and reduce stress. How can messages achieve both goals?

Explicit acknowledgment that what anyone in the audience experiences is likely to be experienced by many others. Stress decreases when we learn that we are not alone.
Recognition that what we are experiencing today is neither completely unique nor qualitatively and quantitatively worse than past eras. We do a poor job teaching history, so we tend to believe that the past is better than the present. This is true in terms of political divisiveness, economic conditions, and even climate-related issues.
Reminding our audiences that anger, radicalism and violence is an attribute of a very small part of any population, including ours. Regrettably, the advertising-based media model causes both social and news media to give greater prominence to the words and actions of this unrepresentative part of the population. On a daily basis, we are unlikely to encounter violent people, except in a few pockets in major urban areas.
Most importantly, we must remind every audience in the most powerful way we can of President Franklin Roosevelt’s timeless advice in his first radio address during the depths of the Great Depression: “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”

After the dual threats to our Pitney Bowes business from 9/11 and the anthrax bioterrorism threat, I challenged our leaders and employees to reframe how they thought about these horrific tragedies. I said: “We know and have experienced the negative effects of both of these tragedies. What can we do to protect ourselves and others against their recurrence and get compensated for achieving that protection?” Reframing is a critical psychological coping mechanism.

We welcome your engagement to help us reach out to any organizations willing to take the necessary steps to incorporate generative AI into their outbound messaging to employees, customers, communities and other stakeholders.

The Therapeutic Effect of Overcoming Chronic Fear

2023-05-31T08:08:26Z

by Mike Critelli

We live in an era of excessive fear. Economic challenges, political divisions, and an obsessive media focus on everything that could possibly go wrong, are contributing to this. The pandemic, moreover, amplified this environment of fear.

Chronic fear, in particular, is extremely unhealthy.The research on its physical and mental health effects are undisputed and well-documented.

Fear weakens our immune system.
It leads to accelerated aging.
It can cause damage to certain parts of the brain and make us even more fearful.
It triggers fatigue, clinical depression, and PTSD.

Read more

The Need For New Ways Of Engaging Americans On Health Improvement: The Low Usage Challenge

2023-05-06T07:30:47Z

by Mike Critelli

MakeUsWell Network’s founders feared that the single-minded focus on virus containment would cause all other necessary health improvement initiatives to be delayed or abandoned.

Americans have more healthcare, wellness programs, and medications available than ever, and a reasonably good health improvement blueprint on how to improve health. For many life-threatening conditions like cancer, we have the world’s best care.

But our results are terrible. Our life expectancy has dropped back to 1996 levels. Why?

Americans always underutilize preventive care, fail to manage chronic diseases, and delay treatment for more acute conditions. The pandemic made overall health worse.

Self-insured employers spend significant money for healthcare and wellness programs, but do not realize their intended benefits. Timely usage of available programs is disappointing.

The Best Reason to Trust Science

2023-03-28T12:33:20Z

by Mike Critelli

We created the MakeUsWell Network three years ago because we are deeply committed to critical thinking. We want to follow the facts wherever they may lead us.

One tragic consequence of the pandemic has been the abandonment of scientific principles by authority figures. We cannot let inconvenient or negative consequences from following scientific research divert us from getting the facts.

Three years ago, when President Trump called Covid-19 the "China virus," he was widely criticized for the xenophobic implications of the label. His careless and inflammatory language was especially concerning coming from the President of the United States.

How Chronic Illness Taught Me to Reframe Five Major Limiting Beliefs

2023-03-28T12:26:43Z

by Katie Critelli

Katie Critelli writes about health and wellness, with a focus on healing and re-framing the experience of chronic illness. She is also a Product Manager at BetterDoc, a company that helps patients with complex conditions find the right doctors, and is studying nutritional therapy through the NTA program. In her free time, Katie enjoys music, exercise, and exploring her new home of Berlin, Germany.

Over the past five years of healing chronic Lyme disease and arthritis, one of the most important lessons I’ve learned is that managing and overcoming chronic health challenges requires a massive mindset shift. It’s not possible to emerge healthy and stronger from the experience with the same beliefs and approaches to life you started with.

The Hidden Health Costs of Remote Work

2023-02-27T14:30:00Z

by Mike Critelli

In recent years, advances in technology and the COVID-19 pandemic have led to a significant increase in remote work, also known as telecommuting or working from home. While many may assume that working “in the comfort of home” is healthier and more conducive to wellbeing, this assumption is flawed for at least three reasons.

Ergonomics and Movement

Most homes are not set up with a focus on creating an environment for office work. Lacking the ergonomic setup available in an office setting can lead to poor posture, strain on the back, and an increase in musculoskeletal issues for workers.

Additionally, remote workers may not have the opportunity to move around and stretch as much as they would in an office setting. This can lead to muscle tension and stiffness, which can also contribute to back pain.

Don Jones

2023-02-27T14:27:00Z

by MakeUsWell

Don Jones is a renowned retail executive and advisor with nearly five decades of experience and achievement in the fashion, consumer products, food service, management and entertainment industries.

Don also serves on the Board of Trustees at Felician University and the boards of several public and private companies, including the New York City Investment Fund and the Trinity High School Foundation. He is the recipient of the Massachusetts Black Achiever Award and the Connecticut Retail Merchants Association Retailer of the Year, among many other accolades.

By his own account, who is Don Jones?

I am the poster child for the American dream… creating a great life for myself, my lovely wife, and our five children.

Raised by a single mother, along with his seven siblings, Don’s Kentucky origins are humble. In 1969, at the age of thirteen, he began working as a janitor at Fischer’s Men’s Shoes in Louisville. From there, he rose through the ranks of retailers such as Macy’s, Marshall Fields, IKEA, GAP, and Target to serve in chief executive positions in nearly a dozen major retail organizations.

The Promise of Small, Non-invasive Biometric Samples

2023-01-30T14:30:00Z

by MakeUsWell

Cancer Screening for All Through the Power of Tears.

This is the elegantly simple mission statement of Namida Lab, Inc., founded by CEO Omid Moghadam, a new member of the MakeUsWell Network.

Namida Lab's approach to biometric samples promises to revolutionize cancer screening by utilizing a non-invasive method—tears—to identify a wide range of pathologies earlier and at a fraction of the cost of traditional methods.

The potential for human tears as a diagnostic tool is rooted in the vast array of proteins present in them. As per a 2017 edition of the Expert Review of Proteomics, a peer-reviewed technical journal, over 2,000 proteins have been identified in human tears.

The Amazing World of Therapy Dogs

2023-01-30T14:25:03Z

by Mike Critelli

Recently, I had the opportunity to interview an exceptionally inspiring high school classmate of mine, Sister Mary Foley, for a newsletter that our Pioneer Class Committee publishes. As a member of the first graduating class of Bishop Kearney High School in Rochester, NY, in 1966, we proudly referred to ourselves as the "pioneer class." Coincidentally, the co-principals of our school had the surnames "Lewis," (Sister Mary Lewis), and "Clark," (Brother Joseph Clark,) which only reinforced the appropriateness of the "pioneer" metaphor.

Sister Mary Foley's career has been nothing short of outstanding. She has been a teacher, missionary, community leader, and licensed clinical social service worker, both in the US and abroad, with a three-year stint in Liberia. However, the part of her life that most deeply intrigued me was her transformation of Luke, a border collie entrusted to her care at the Academy of the Holy Angels in Demarest, NJ, in 2004. Initially, Luke was acquired to help nuns living on the campus discourage and deter geese from doing too much property damage. But Sister Mary Foley, who was passionate about helping individuals and populations who had undergone traumas, had Luke trained as a disaster stress relief dog through Therapy Dogs International.

A Dysfunctional Effect of Zoom Calls, Social Media, and Selfies

2022-12-06T08:32:26Z

by Mike Critelli

When we formed the MakeUsWell Network 2½ years ago, we expected collateral damage from the single-minded focus on virus containment that dominated public policy and responses of employers. But many unintended consequences occurred that we would not have predicted.

One of these is “Zoom Dysmorphia,” a condition in which a person becomes overly concerned with their appearance on video calls, often resulting in body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) and other mental health issues. Symptoms may include excessive grooming and styling, constantly checking one's appearance on video calls, and avoiding video calls altogether due to fears about how one looks.

Remote work, the explosive growth of Zoom meetings and the comparably explosive growth of sites like TikTok, Snap, and Instagram, have also contributed to a significant increase in plastic surgery demand.

Let’s Make Work Healthier

2022-11-28T11:40:00Z

by Mike Critelli

The changes in daily work routines that Covid directives abruptly introduced into employer-employee relationships were not planned in advance and were not done with consideration of whether they would contribute to emotional, career, social, or spiritual well-being. They were done for the sole purpose of virus containment.

Others can debate their effectiveness, but we are indisputably dealing with the wreckage they created in so many employment environments.

The pandemic moreover uncovered and amplified structural and emerging workplace issues, giving employers and employees the opportunity now to reflect on what needs to change.

Reflections and recommendations, offered here, are informed by our own software-driven augmented analytics.

Detection by Wearables

2022-11-15T11:50:00Z

by Douglas Quine, PhD

Many people today have wearable devices to monitor their exercise and heart rate such as FitBits and SmartWatches. Last spring, as I was traveling in Ireland, I developed a “chest cold” for two days and tested positive (lateral flow antigen test) for COVID-19. It was only a mild case, for which I gave credit to my COVID vaccinations.

My 10-day hotel quarantine provided time for personal reflection and research. I was interested to see on my FitBit that my normally low baseline heart rate was climbing daily on April 5 (first positive), April 6 (no test), April 7 (positive), and April 8 (positive) after which it declined from April 9 to April 13 as I tested positive daily and recovered. Having returned to baseline heart rate for a couple of days, I tested COVID negative on April 15th.

Covid Vaccination Status in an Era of Boosters

2022-11-15T11:40:00Z

by Douglas Quine, PhD

I’ve seen a couple of recent articles about the proper way to describe one’s current COVID vaccination status as the number of available COVID vaccination options expands. I disagree with the recommendation that people who received the original and follow-up (Pfizer or Moderna are most common) vaccinations call themselves “fully vaccinated.”

I received my original Pfizer COVID vaccines in December 2020 and January 2021 as an employee of Veterans Affairs Healthcare.

The Future of Work Emerging

2022-11-10T11:40:00Z

From a Briefing on Our Alternative Data, Augmented Analytics Platform

COVID-19 uncovered and amplified structural and emerging issues at American companies of all sizes. These span employee-employer and peer-to-peer relationships. These problems require simple, useful, and practical ideas plus experiments. And a balance between employee well-being and employer profits under cultural norms and extreme change is key.

Fear

2022-10-28T15:04:00Z

by Mike Critelli

During the Great Depression — a most frightening time — President Franklin Roosevelt made this memorable statement during his First Inaugural Address:

Let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself—nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.

As leaders, we confront comparable fear, anxiety, divisive tendencies, and anger of our employees. How do we deal with it?

We remember that we have been here many times before.

Remembering the Past

Any American over 70 would have lived through all these frightening times. Younger Americans have lived through many of them.

Epidemics and Pandemics

In the early 1950’s, Americans were so fearful of children contracting the deadly and debilitating polio virus that swimming pools were closed during the summers and parents did not take their children to public beaches. That threat abated when the Salk vaccine was developed.

Managing Your Monkey

2022-10-28T14:53:02Z

by MakeUsWell

The Ides of March, famous as the day that Julius Caesar was assassinated, is noteworthy for me as it’s the day I was born. On that day, God gave me breath... and a monkey. I’m thankful for the breath...not so much for the monkey.
— Alan Steelman

Alan Steelman is a Charter Member of the MakeUsWell Network. He has enjoyed success in the political and business arena and is now in the third interaction of a career: helping people be well. He is the author of Managing Your Monkey: Mind Fitness (2022).

MakeUsWell reviewed his book and found it compelling, insightful, and practical. Alan tells an engrossing story while providing useful suggestions to manage the day-to-day stressors of life.

MakeUsWell highly recommends this book!

Five Characters in Search of an Exit

2022-09-29T18:38:54Z

by Mike Critelli

Over the past several weeks, when sharing what I’ve learned about the expanding and compelling body of research on the harmful effects of social media, I encountered bewilderment, denial, and highly confident—but misguided—responses from many well-educated people.

We are in the midst of multiple societal crises that manifest themselves in an explosive growth of mental illness, substance abuse, alienation from work, political and cultural division, and increased violence. But most of us are unable to step back and diagnose the potential root causes of these crises.

David Joosten

2022-09-27T18:39:00Z

by MakeUsWell

Who Is David Joosten?

Family man and entrepreneur David Joosten’s ability to measure probability and recognize trends started at a young age. While most students in high school are busy with the banality of adolescence, David found his passion for entrepreneurship early and started a business as a PowerSeller on Ebay. Clearing six figures selling video games and DVDs led to studying economics at Harvard.

After graduation, he joined marketing at Google. There he learned how data-driven marketing worked at scale—making growth systematic—with a team that was eclectic and inspiring.

Social Media Can Be A Force For Positive Or Negative Thinking

2022-08-31T13:38:14Z

by Mike Critelli

Recently, the Social Media Victims Law Center filed lawsuits against Meta (Facebook and Instagram's parent), TikTok, and Snap. What does this have to do with the MakeUsWell Network?

Everything!

In 2016, I joined the PowerMyLearning Board, a New York-based non-profit. Its mission is to empower teachers and families. The organization used to provide free laptops to low-income families. After the families received the laptops, learning workshops were offered. I attended one at a Bronx school.

After 2½ hours of training, on the many benefits of the new laptops with Internet on-ramps, the last hour was a real eye opener. The trainers focused the parents on all the bad things unsupervised use could bring to the kids.

Heading Off Issues Before They Generate Undue Stress

2022-08-31T13:31:01Z

by MakeUsWell

Today, companies that think about the future and have talented operators are:

Attentive to social media postings on “hot button” issues.
Able to divine employee sentiment on these issues.
Skilled in striking the right messaging notes on them.

Key Case: Ohana

For a top-notch employee-well-being client, MakeUsWell analyzed how Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce, spotted the freedom-of-choice, abortion issue back in early September, 2021, well before any of his peers.

His Twitter posting that the firm would welcome Texas-based employees to California to exercise their right to reproductive choice was powerful in triggering positive responses. It calmed employees across the nation — not just at Salesforce.

The power of our words within the context of cultural events can have an emotional impact on users that tangibly increases joy and reduces stress.

Our analysis of emotional impact showed the Benioff tweet increased joy and reduced vitriol for certain segments by ~18%.

Our analysis also accurately predicted — months ahead of time — the significant future impact of the tweet and the effectiveness of Mr. Benioff's language on the entire landscape of the abortion polemic within the American business world.

Now months later, in response to the abortion controversy, major companies (including Amazon, CitiGroup, Kroger, and dozens more) are making employee assistance for out-of-state employee reproductive healthcare a standard benefit.

And, in a recent survey, 88% of respondents indicated they thought Marc Benioff’s 9/10/21 tweet helped employees in corporate America. It remains a powerful export of SalesForce culture over time.

By addressing his tweet to “Ohana,” Benioff invited the world to see Salesforce through his eyes. He conveyed a healthy company culture with a single word. With a single tweet, Benioff soothed his employees, while simultaneously attracting international approval for his company.

Companies aspiring to high performance cultures need to master the process of spotting issues, identifying sentiment trends, and knowing how to respond as early and effectively as possible.

The American Hero Infusing Death with Life

2022-07-20T12:37:11Z

by MakeUsWell

Post-Pandemic America

In the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic, preliminary CDC data shows there were 3.4 million deaths in the US, 17% higher than what was expected for the year. As of July 19, 2022, America has ~1.05 million cumulative Covid deaths. (From USAFacts.org)

The Next Big Leap in Managing Health and Wellbeing

2022-07-12T07:12:37Z

by Mike Critelli

At the MakeUsWell Network, we have focused on the need to increase public health attention to stress, anxiety and burnout. These are the triggers and precursors to serious mental health crises. Employers must always focus on what their leaders do to increase or decrease stress, anxiety and burnout for individual employees.

Recently, we reflected on the death of Dee Edington, a trailblazer for all of us who wanted to get out ahead of population health issues, as opposed to addressing them in the healthcare system. The progress from crisis-driven mental health treatment, such as responses to attempted suicides, domestic violence, extended homelessness, substance dependence, or acts of public violence, to an effective preventive strategy that addresses population-level mental health issues preventively is at its earliest stages.

Historically, the first challenge for employers and other health plan providers was parity in health plan coverage for mental health treatments of all kinds. We are making good progress, but are far from the finish line, if for no other reason than the range of therapies available does not match the needs of our populations.

Dee Edington

2022-06-29T17:02:47Z

by Mike Critelli

I learned on Thursday, June 23, 2022, that Dee Edington, the Director of the University of Michigan Health Management Research Center, died on June 22, 2022 at age 84. His impact is not adequately capturable in a recounting of his credentials, his accomplishments or even the words he committed to paper in his many publications.

Dee believed that optimal health in all its dimensions was achievable and particularly understood that achieving health and wellbeing in any population was never primarily about healthcare or affordable health insurance. He focused on employers because he recognized that they have the greatest economic and business interest in the health and wellbeing of their employees.

Tributes to Dee Edington

2022-06-28T17:09:00Z

Dee Edington was a mentor to several members of the MakeUsWell Network. His work inspired many more. Please feel free to add your own thoughts about Dee and his work as comments at the end of this post.

Orphan Drugs

2022-06-19T16:15:22Z

by Makeuswell

The “Rare” Or “Orphan” Disease Market Opportunity

Rare diseases affect 30 million people in the USA. And more than 300–400 million worldwide. They often cause chronic illness, disability, and premature death… A large number of rare disease patients [estimated 65-75%] remain undiagnosed for years and many even die without an accurate diagnosis.

— A guide for the diagnosis of rare and undiagnosed disease

“Orphan Drugs” are defined as drugs with a target patient population of less than 200,000 people or more than 200,000 people, but with a finding that research and development costs are unlikely to be recovered. They are usually developed to treat rare diseases.

Marketing Foods and Beverages

2022-04-27T13:29:08Z

by Mike Critelli

To Achieve a Culture of Health, We Cannot Market “Health,” “Wellness” or “Nutrition."

Wall Street Journal columnist Jason Gay wrote an article about doughnuts in workplace break areas used to lure workers back to the office. The sub-heading read, "Wellness, schmellness. Let’s promote the joy of glazed carbohydrates in the break room.”

Rather than resisting this human frailty, we need to adapt to it. Healthy nutritional habits need to be as enjoyable, affordable, convenient, and socially supported as unhealthy ones.

Mental Health and Substance Abuse

2022-04-26T08:03:21Z

by Mike Critelli

Opioid related deaths skyrocketed during the pandemic. According to the Center for Disease Control, there were nearly 92,000 drug overdose deaths in 2020, a 30% increase from the prior year. Overdose deaths spiked up again in the first half of 2021. An examination of causation produces a multitude of reasons:

Progression from addictive prescription opioids to heroin to fentanyl
Availability - the result of more active drug cartels across Mexican borders into the United States, and more lucrative drug trafficking opportunities in heroin and fentanyl
Public policy and institutional leaders such as corporate CEOs, educational system leaders, healthcare system CEOs, and military leaders lack a comprehensive culture of health strategy.

The opioid crisis has a direct correlation with mental health issues, obesity, and other health concerns. Isolation and loneliness caused by the various Covid-19 lockdowns have seemingly exacerbated mental health disorders, triggering an increased incidence of substance abuse and related behaviors, such as domestic abuse and suicide. Contributing to these stress levels are politically divisive news outlets promoting fear mongering for ratings. The coping mechanisms for some when dealing with this fear, anxiety, and burnout have led to the abuse of various “self medicating” substances.

Demand Great Science

2022-02-28T13:11:20Z

by Mike Critelli

We must demand great science, not simply passively follow what others tell us is “the science.”

Great scientists developed and deployed Covid 19 vaccines, which have been effective in reducing hospitalization and death risks in every age cohort and in every subpopulation of comparable health risk. They also understood that the virus would evolve and that what we believed at the beginning of the crisis would change.

The certainty and rigidity emanating from politicians, the media, and many health advocates are the opposite of great science. When we truly use and demand rigorous scientific analysis, additional solutions will emerge.

My Citizen Engagement in COVID-19 Research

2022-02-27T13:27:00Z

by Douglas B Quine

In March 2020 when COVID-19 was a hot new topic, a COVID-19 Smartphone application was launched by the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston (where I was born) and King's College (London) to capture real-time data on possible COVID symptoms, infections, tests, and vaccinations. I enrolled a month later in early April 2020 and have been reporting my health status (almost) every day since.