Blog by Dr. Migita D’cruz The novel coronavirus pandemic has been called the great equalizer or leveller of society. The grim reality, however, is that it is anything but that. The global response to the pandemic has accentuated, if not exacerbated existing social inequities and one of the corollaries to this is compromised mental […]
Category: Medical Humanities
A Kafkaesque Pandemic
Blog by Cormac Francis Mullins and JJ Coughlan During the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic, it was difficult not to experience a sense of claustrophobia. Confined to one’s room and sequestered from society and family, the dystopian universe we had been faced with felt oppressive and nightmarish. In many senses, it felt “Kafkaesque.” As […]
Response to “Make COVID-19 Visuals Gross”
Provocation by Han Yu In a provocation dated April 21, 2020, Bivens and Moeller argue that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)’s SARS-CoV-2 virus illustration, “while scientifically accurate and visually pleasing,” fails to convey “the exigency of the current pandemic…and the human toll” and doesn’t provoke publics to adopt behaviors (such as handwashing […]
‘Saving Face’ and Public Health Policy During Covid-19
Blog by Arthur Rose and Luna Dolezal Criticisms of the Chinese response to the coronavirus pandemic have frequently used “saving face” to explain China’s politicized public health strategy. “Saving face” has also been used to explain Japan’s delayed decision to cancel the 2020 Olympics and Pakistan’s return to work on the Belt and Road project. […]
The Added Challenges of a Pandemic Without Universal Coverage in America
Blog by Sonia Ruparell A 25 year-old woman walked into the ER carrying a portable oxygen tank, wearing a colorful homemade mask. I noticed her heart rate was high as she laid down on the gurney, complaining of terrible pain in her arms and legs. In her backpack was a notebook with all of […]
Medical Humanities COVID 19 RESOURCES List
Like many of our readers, we at BMJ Medical Humanities have been diligently following responses to the present pandemic. Much of the blog content has shifted to look at the ways medical humanities and social justice address the crisis, and recent submissions to the journal also reflect the shifting issues around COVID 19 spread […]
The Opportunity of Crisis
Blog by Austin O Carroll The Chinese understand the word crisis to mean danger with opportunity. A crisis can harness many responses, some of which can resolve in a short space of time what have been age-old problems. The issue of homelessness has dominated Irish media headlines for over a decade. It has also been […]
Abortion Care during COVID-19 pandemic
Blog by Neha R. Pidatala During the current COVID-19 pandemic, many states in the US have ordered or supported the cessation of both medical and surgical abortion, while few have directed only the surgical abortion to halt. Some states have threatened jail times and massive fines if the laws are not upheld. Ohio singled out […]
A Story of Kindness during the 2020 Coronavirus Crisis
Visual Audiobook by Luca M. Damiani View the audiobook on Issuu in English, French, Italian and Spanish here. With so much worry, hardship and for some deep sorrow everywhere, it can feel useless and even unnecessary to keep making art; but maybe it is even more important than usual, that we do so. This is […]
Accessing Health—and Continuing Research—in a Time of Lockdown: Covid-19 and LJMU’s Liverpool Health Commission
Blog by Gerard Diver LJMU’s Liverpool Health Commission (2019-2020) is a UK-wide project aimed at influencing the development of health policies in relation to the first 1000 days of life (covering the period from conception to age two). Prior to the arrival of the Coronavirus, the Commission had spent seven months gathering oral evidence from […]