By Mylika Scatliffe, AFRO Women’s Health Writer Early in the morning of May 27, 2020, Maxie-Cole’s son, Jamal Clay was found by his sister hanging in the garage of their home in the Chicago suburb of Olympia Fields. He was 19-years old and struggled with depression. He made a previous suicide attempt seven years earlier […]
Author Archives: Mylika Scatliffe AFRO Womens Health Writer
Posted inNews
Black women speak on learning to make themselves a priority
By Mylika Scatliffe, AFRO Women’s Health Writer As National Depression and Mental Health Screening Month continues, the topic of self-care often comes into view. After three years of a global pandemic and nearly a decade of tumultuous political and social climates, the 24-hour news cycle has taken its toll. The number of Google searches for […]
Posted inHealth
Mental health in focus: A look at the physical effects of depression
By Mylika Scatliffe, AFRO Women’s Health Writer October is a month dedicated each year to awareness about mental health and depression. Health providers are on a continuous mission to reduce the historical stigma and educate the public at large about mental health and depression. There is no shortage of information and resources about recognizing the […]
Posted inEducation
ADHD Awareness Month: Raising awareness and reducing stigma about Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder #education
By Mylika Scatliffe, AFRO Women’s Health Writer Peyton Cain, 14, Glen Burnie, Md., was in second grade when her teacher noticed she was having trouble staying focused in class. “She mentioned it was really hard for Peyton to stay on task,” said Teri Cain, Peyton’s mother. “She would easily distract herself. If she saw another […]
Posted in!Front Page Women's Health
Raising awareness and reducing stigma about ADHD
By Mylika ScatliffeAFRO Women’s Health Writer Peyton Cain, 14, of Glen Burnie, Md., was in second grade, when her teacher noticed she was having trouble staying focused in class. “She mentioned it was really hard for Peyton to stay on task,” said Teri Cain, Peyton’s mother. “She would easily distract herself. If she saw another […]
Posted inEducation
Addressing the childhood obesity public health crisis with a holistic and family focused approach #education
By Mylika Scatliffe, AFRO Women’s Health Writer What is obesity? According to the Oxford English dictionary obesity is “the condition in which excess fat has accumulated in the body, mostly in the subcutaneous tissues.” The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines obesity as an adult with a body mass index (BMI) of 30 […]
Posted inHealth
National Sickle Cell Awareness Month- do you know your status?
By Mylika Scatliffe, AFRO Women’s Health Writer September is National Sickle Cell Awareness Month. Sickle cell disease (SCD) is the most common inherited blood disorder in the United States, and it affects approximately 100,000 Americans– mainly African Americans. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “the disease occurs among one out of every […]
Posted inHealth
Black and bipolar: meet the people working to reduce stigma around mental illness in the Black community
By Mylika Scatliffe, AFRO Women’s Health Writer Noah Dyson is 23 years old, Black, and living with bipolar disorder. Attitudes about mood disorders and mental illness are slowly improving, but even today there is still stigma. “I hate the word ‘crazy,’” said Dyson. “It’s dismissive of a person’s experience. You don’t know what trauma has […]
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Celebrating inclusivity during Disability Pride Month
By Mylika Scatliffe AFRO Women’s Health Writer Wesley Hamilton had just turned 24 years old when a gun cut him down, forever relegating him to a wheelchair. He had just celebrated his birthday just five days before multiple bullets pierced his abdomen, rendering him a paraplegic. Years later he met his assailant face to face and […]
Posted inHealth
In the birthing space: why Black men are needed now more than ever
By Mylika Scatliffe, AFRO Women’s Health Writer, mscatliffe@afro.com Arsalaan Allgood is a self-defined natural birth advocate. When he witnessed the treatment his mother received while giving birth to his siblings in the hospital, he noticed the lack of nurture and care. “I didn’t feel like she was treated with much dignity, and it wasn’t a […]
Posted inAfro Briefs
National HIV Testing Day is June 27: what to know about HIV in 2023
by Mylika ScatliffeAFRO Women’s Health Writer June 27 is National HIV Testing Day (NHTD). The annual event has been organized since 1995 by the United States Department of Health and Human Service to encourage people to regularly test for HIV, know their status, and seek care and treatment. The 2023 theme for NHTD is “Take […]
Posted inHealth
Experts from Bloomberg School of Public Health discuss implications of abortion restriction on women’s health
By Mylika Scatliffe, AFRO Women’s Health Writer The stark implications of the historic June 2022 Supreme Court abortion ruling were detailed in an expert media briefing by the Bloomberg School of Public Health on May 18. On June 24, 2022, nearly 50 years of the protected Constitutional right to abortion was dismantled when the United […]