BLOOMFIELD, Conn. –November 2, 2009 – "Blah, blah, H1N1 blah," is what many children hear when their parents try to teach them how to avoid getting H1N1, or the swine flu. To cut through the blahs and get the message across, health service company CIGNA and Dr. Mache Seibel, a.k.a. DocRock, have produced a rap video teaching kids five steps they can take to avoid getting H1N1. It is available free to anyone for viewing on CIGNA's new YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/cignatv.
Sneeze into your sleeve, wash your hands and “keep you fingers outta your mouth and nose, cuz that the places H1N1 goes" DocRock sings in the 30-second H1N1 Rap video. And while the lyrics and tune are catchy and fun, the message is very serious.
"According to the Centers for Disease Control, H1N1 is going to sicken millions this flu season, and kids need to know how to protect themselves,” said Dr. Jeffrey Kang, chief medical officer for CIGNA. “Several studies have shown that music helps children learn better than many other forms of teaching, so DocRock’s H1N1 Rap is a powerful tool to get the message to stick with kids. This video gives the H1N1 Rap even more power."
Dr. Seibel is a board-certified physician who teaches at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. As DocRock, he is an award-winning composer and performer of songs that help teach kids healthy behaviors through his HealthRock program.
"If you can sing about a health issue, you can talk about it, and talking about it helps change behavior. Getting kids to sing about steps to avoid H1N1 helps them follow those steps," Dr. Seibel said. “I’m happy to team with CIGNA to get this video made so we can help kids avoid getting H1N1 and the regular seasonal flu too."
Along with DocRock’s H1N1 Rap, people will find more health information on www.youtube.com/cignatv including “Healthful Tips,” lessons on how health care works, how to get the most from your health care benefits, and more.
For more free DocRock health songs for kids visit CIGNA's health education website at http://www.itstimetofeelbetter.com/know_stuff/audio.html.
About CIGNA:
CIGNA (NYSE:CI), global health service company, is dedicated to helping people improve their health, well-being and sense of security. CIGNA Corporation's operating subsidiaries provide an integrated suite of medical, dental, behavioral health, pharmacy and vision care benefits, as well as group life, accident and disability insurance, to approximately 46 million people throughout the United States and around the world. To learn more about CIGNA visit www.cigna.com.
About Dr. Mache Seibel
Dr. Machelle (Mache) Seibel is Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Director of the Complicated Menopause Program at the University of Massachusetts. Dr. Seibel founded HealthRock®, a health edutainment company that teaches health literacy through music and entertainment. He performs under the name DocRock™, offering chicken soup to audiences in the form of health information combined with original catchy songs that contain educational lyrics. For more on Dr. Seibel, visit www.healthrock.com.
Contacts:
Joe Mondy
860.226.5499
joseph.mondy@cigna.com