Katina Hernandez

After graduating from Texas State University with a degree in mass communication in 2011, Katina Hernandez landed her first real-world job doing what she loves most — editing. She has been a content editor with MultiBriefs since July 2011 and is now branching out into the field of original content. After working with professional associations of all types over the past three years, Katina has learned about numerous fields and industries and is excited to bring this knowledge to her writing. Prior to joining MultiBriefs, Katina worked as a reading and spelling tutor for children with learning disabilities.

Articles by Katina Hernandez

• Grocery chains alter business models to win back millennials

  Thursday, September 21, 2017

  In an age of increasing digitalization, online ordering has become the norm, especially for millennials. Almost every necessity imaginable is available for order with just a couple of clicks. Grocery items are no exception, but millennials have forgone buying groceries online, and in store, in favor of ordering food through apps like Postmates and Grubhub. Going out to eat or ordering food through apps may be more costly, but millennials are willing to pay the surcharge in price for the added convenience.

• Tech companies joining fight against mental illness

  Thursday, August 31, 2017

  ​Technology has become ubiquitous in the lives Americans today. With all eyes constantly glued to the either a computer or mobile screen, the internet has become the ultimate hub of information on all things, including mental health.

• 3 digital marketing tips that have nothing to do with social media

  Thursday, May 25, 2017

  No matter the industry, running your own business is challenging — especially if you are running your own small business. Faced with tight budgets, small business owners are often forced to wear many hats, including that of the chief marketing officer.

• HGTV helps inspire millennial home design

  Monday, April 03, 2017

  Today's first-time homebuyers are looking for more than just a roof over their heads. When it comes to design, they want luxury at a fraction of the price. The list of wants from today's buyers can be overwhelming for real estate agents, who are challenged to match lofty expectations with their clients' often not-so-lofty budget. Although some homebuyers are open to renovation, their design goals remain the similar across the board.

• Restaurants struggle to remain relevant in fragmented food market

  Friday, March 10, 2017

  Last year was a rough year for the restaurant business. In 2016, well-known restaurant chains Logan’s Roadhouse, Black-eyed Pea and Johnny Carino's were all forced to file for bankruptcy after experiencing lackluster sales. In fact, 2016 resulted in zero growth for most restaurants, but this downward growth trend is not new. With the economy in its eighth year of recovery, what is keeping Americans from dining out?

• Could marijuana be the key in curbing the opioid epidemic?

  Tuesday, February 14, 2017

  It's no secret the legalization of medical marijuana has been a controversial subject as of late. But what if medical marijuana could help curb the epidemic of opioid addiction that affects more than 2.5 million Americans and was responsible for more than 30,000 overdose deaths in 2015? A growing number of experts in the medical community are starting believe medical marijuana has the potential to do just that — and their beliefs are increasingly being backed by science.

• A record-setting number of consumers ‘shop small’ this year

  Tuesday, December 06, 2016

  It looks like Small Business Saturday is here to stay. The annual shopping holiday that encourages consumers to "shop small" at local businesses on the Saturday after Thanksgiving achieved record numbers this year. Created in 2010 by American Express as a grassroots movement to help small businesses increase sales during the holidays, this year's event broke all previous records. An estimated 2.1 million businesses and 112 million shoppers participated on Saturday, Nov. 26.

• Small Business Saturday: How your company can get involved

  Tuesday, November 01, 2016

  ​As the holidays approach, consumers will flood stores in search of the perfect gifts for their loved ones. Nestled in between sales crazes of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, Small Business Saturday gives buyers looking to get the best deals an opportunity to support small businesses by shopping small and local.

• Waze Carpool attempts to change the future of the work commute

  Friday, September 09, 2016

  As ride-sharing apps Uber and Lyft continue to battle it out for the No. 1 spot, Google has made an announcement that could redefine what a ride-sharing service really is. Google is using its navigation app Waze to develop a ride-sharing program called Waze Carpool that will allow drivers and passengers who are traveling the same route to work to link up and carpool.

• Slowing the spread of Zika virus in the US

  Tuesday, August 09, 2016

  One word has consistently dominated news outlets worldwide this summer: Zika. And it is with good reason. The mosquito-borne virus has spread to more than 60 countries and territories, and cases have reached epidemic levels in Central and South America and throughout the Caribbean.

• Lesson learned: Amazon’s Prime Day breaks sales records

  Friday, July 15, 2016

  When online retailer Amazon announced in June that a follow-up to last year's Prime Day was in the works, some were left feeling skeptical. Although Amazon hailed last year's event for generating more sales than the previous Black Friday, #PrimeDayFail trended on social media as consumers were less than impressed with many items on sale and the length of Amazon's signature Lightning Deals.

• Americans still struggling to find healthy food on the go

  Friday, July 08, 2016

  It is no secret many Americans are gravitating toward a healthy lifestyle, with millennials leading the way. And no other industry has seen the effects of this health consciousness trend more so than the food industry.

• Dry drowning: How to spot the signs

  Tuesday, June 07, 2016

  ​As the weather gets warmer, more and more people will be making their way outdoors to enjoy the sunny days of summer at the nearest pool. Summer days spent outdoors typically conjure up thoughts of relaxation and fun, but safety around the water is of paramount concern during the season.

• Antibody discovery shows promise for developing HIV vaccine

  Monday, May 23, 2016

  ​Scientists at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have made what could be a groundbreaking finding in the fight against HIV. While observing the immune response of an HIV-infected patient, researchers discovered a new antibody that targets a weak spot in the virus and stops it from binding with healthy cells. If scientists can figure out how to trigger the antibody to be produced in uninfected patients, a preventative vaccine could be developed, making this discovery a significant finding in the efforts to eradicate HIV and AIDS.

• As Zika spreads, researchers find more links to neurological disorders

  Monday, April 18, 2016

  By now, you've probably heard of Zika, the mosquito-borne virus infecting people across the Americas. You've also probably heard about the virus's suspected link to microcephaly, a birth defect causing infants to be born with abnormally small brains that can lead to developmental problems.

• CDC, FDA take action to curb opioid abuse

  Thursday, March 24, 2016

  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has released new guidance on the prescribing of opioids for chronic pain in an effort to combat the national prescription painkiller epidemic. The new guidelines mark the first time the CDC has made comment on these prescribing procedures and acknowledged the role of physicians in the overprescribing of opioids.

• CDC: 2016 flu vaccine 59 percent effective

  Tuesday, March 08, 2016

  No one likes coming down with flu. And at the recent Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices conference in Atlanta, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released some promising data regarding this year's flu shot. Although flu season is not yet over, the shot has proven to be 59 percent effective, a marked improvement over the 20 percent effectiveness rate of last year's vaccine.

• CDC makes effort to reduce antibiotic overprescribing

  Thursday, January 28, 2016

  The overprescription of antibiotics in the U.S. is not a new phenomenon, and experts have warned healthcare providers about the dangerous implications for years. Despite these warnings, overprescribing persists, so the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the American College of Physicians have just issued some new advice specifically aimed at curbing antibiotic use for acute respiratory tract infections.

• What’s behind the change in breast cancer screening guidelines?

  Thursday, October 29, 2015

  The American Cancer Society's new breast cancer screening guidelines, released in a recent issue of JAMA, state that women should start getting screened for the disease at the age of 45 instead of the previously recommended age of 40. The change is an update to their 2003 screening guidelines and was decided upon by a group of experts after examining new breast cancer studies and literature.

• Many Ebola survivors now suffering from chronic conditions

  Friday, October 16, 2015

  Scottish nurse Pauline Cafferkey was one the 28,000 people infected with Ebola in last year's outbreak of the virus that was responsible for killing more than 11,000 people. The nurse contracted the virus while volunteering at a hospital in Sierra Leone last December and was treated soon after at the Royal Free hospital in London.

• What’s to blame for the recent bubonic plague uptick?

  Tuesday, September 22, 2015

  A Michigan resident recently became the 14th person this year to contract the plague, the same disease that was responsible for the Black Death pandemic in Europe in the 1300s. Although the plague has never officially been eradicated, instances of infection usually remain low in the U.S., averaging around seven cases per year.

• Is birth rate from fresh eggs higher than frozen? It’s complicated

  Monday, August 24, 2015

  Egg freezing has come a long way since it was first introduced as an experimental technique in the 1980s. Today, the average age of women giving birth for the first time has risen to 28 as more women delay having children, making egg freezing an attractive option for those who would like to postpone pregnancy.

• FDA approves balloon weight-loss device

  Friday, August 07, 2015

  People who have struggled to lose weight through traditional means may now have new hope: The Food and Drug Administration has approved a new balloon device for weight loss. The device is implanted endoscopically through the mouth without requiring surgery during a 30-minute procedure while the patient is sedated. It works to take up space in the stomach in order to simulate a feeling of fullness. The balloon device intends to fill a gap in weight-loss options for patients opposed to or unable to undergo weight-loss surgery.

• Can the United Nations actually eliminate AIDS by 2030?

  Friday, July 17, 2015

  ​At a United Nations conference in Addis Ababba, Ethiopia, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced some exciting news: The U.N. has reached its goal of reducing HIV and AIDS-related infections nine months before expected.

• Pinterest’s new buyable pins benefit businesses and users

  Monday, June 08, 2015

  Social media juggernaut Pinterest is adding a new benefit to their popular social scrapbooking website in the coming months: the ability to purchase pinned items through a new "Buy it" button. Until now, Pinterest has served mainly as a website reserved for planning, and the company hopes the new foray into the e-commerce market will make the website more interactive and satisfying to users.

• With Liberia declared Ebola-free, what’s next for West Africa?

  Monday, May 18, 2015

  ​In Monrovia, Liberia, medical facilities that once housed hundreds of patients now sit deserted. Once crucial in the fight against Ebola, some of these medical facilities face a questionable future now that Liberia has officially been declared Ebola-free by the World Health Organization after 42 days of no new reported infections.

• Study: No link between vaccines and autism

  Monday, April 27, 2015

  A comprehensive new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association debunks the theory that the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine is associated with an increased risk of autism. Although previous studies have already disproven the myth of a link between the vaccine and autism, anti-vaccine proponents continue to suggest that a possible link exists.

• Researchers inching closer to effective Ebola vaccine

  Tuesday, April 14, 2015

  A new Ebola vaccine being developed by drugmaker Profectus now has substantial data supporting its efficacy. A report recently published in the journal Nature by author Dr. Thomas W. Geisbert of the University of Texas Medical Branch highlights the company's clinical trials testing the new vaccine on monkeys.

• New leprosy cases confirmed in Florida: Is there anything to worry about?

  Wednesday, March 04, 2015

  Voluisa County, Florida, has experienced an unusual uptick in the diagnoses of a rare disease dating back to biblical times: leprosy. Three patients in the past five months have tested positive for the disease. Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease, is caused by bacteria called Mycobacterium leprae. Leprosy causes lesions on the skin, damage to nerves and even blindness and paralysis if not treated promptly. The infected persons may also become more susceptible to fracture or burns on the skin.

• Current flu epidemic highlights need for universal flu vaccine

  Wednesday, January 28, 2015

  ​This year's influenza season is being considered an epidemic with 46 states reporting widespread flu activity and high number of hospitalizations due to the flu or flu-like viruses. The elderly, children and those with pre-existing medical conditions such as asthma are at highest risk.

• Hotels expanding tech offerings to include mobile keys

  Thursday, November 20, 2014

  ​Smartphone apps are now allowing for increased convenience in almost all aspects of life, and the hotel and lodging industry has taken notice. Starwood Hotels is jumping onto the tech trend with a recent announcement of its new app that can be used in lieu of a hotel key to open your room at 10 U.S. Starwood properties.

• Is Black Friday shopping quickly becoming a holiday relic?

  Tuesday, October 28, 2014

  As retailers continue to compete with online retail giants like Amazon, Black Friday is inching closer to becoming Black Thursday. Macy's recently announced that they will be opening their doors nationwide at 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day — two hours earlier than last year's 8 p.m. start.

• Consolidation offers solace to troubled US beer companies

  Tuesday, October 07, 2014

  ​It started in 2002 when South African Breweries bought Miller Brewing. Then came Coors' merger with Canadian beer company Molson. And in 2008, Brazilian-Belgium beer conglomerate InBev purchased Anheuser-Busch. Now, the latest American beer company to be sold to foreign investors is Pabst Blue Ribbon.

• Enterovirus: What you need to know

  Wednesday, September 24, 2014

  ​A rapidly spreading respiratory virus called enterovirus has led to the hospitalization of children across the nation and has parents concerned. But what are the symptoms of the virus, and how can it be prevented?

• E-cigarettes: The safety debate continues

  Tuesday, September 09, 2014

  The recent trend in the U.S. toward health consciousness has not escaped the tobacco industry, as evidenced by CVS's decision to ban the sale of tobacco products in its stores. Even smokers are doing their best to cut back on smoking or at least on the amount of carcinogens they ingest.

• Apple attempts mobile health dominance with HealthKit app

  Friday, August 22, 2014

  Along with the unveiling of the much-anticipated iPhone 6 and iOS 8, Apple will soon be unveiling a new health app called HealthKit. The new operating system will allow other health apps to hook up to the HealthKit app so that the user may manage and monitor their health metrics, such as weight, caloric intake and blood pressure.

• As consumer confidence soars, businesses scramble to catch up

  Monday, August 11, 2014

  The U.S. job market is showing signs of warming as small businesses and high-wage jobs are beginning to hire again. In July, the Consumer Confidence Index reached 90.9, the highest level since October 2007, marking the sixth straight month of job gains this year.