by Avril Tynan The progress and effectiveness of potential Covid–19 vaccines in the last few weeks have brought a new glimmer of hope to the closing months of 2020. While much of Europe remains under restrictions, or is tentatively emerging from a second lockdown, the new AstraZeneca-Oxford, BioNTech-Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are offering hope of […]
Category: Blog
It’s time for a Covid-19 Memorial “AIDS” quilt
by Alison Bateman-House To memorialize the death of over 1,000 San Franciscans due to AIDS, in 1985 gay rights activist Cleve Jones asked individuals attending an annual march to create placards containing the name of those who had died. After the march, these were taped to a building, where they resembled a patchwork quilt. Thus […]
Accessibility, Creation, Community: An interview with Cheryl Green
What would it mean if, instead of being “add-ons,” accessibility tools like captions and transcripts were built into a project from the ground up? What if instead of thinking about accessibility as “mere” additions only, we realized their incredible creative power? Listen to an interview between EIC Brandy Schillace and the intrepid Cheryl Green. Listen […]
Imprisoned on the COVID-19 Death Row
by Carlos Franco-Paredes, MD, MPH; Michael Aaron Vrolijk MA, MS, and Eniola Ogundipe […]
Images of vaccination
In the coming months, one of history’s most ambitious vaccination campaigns will begin in earnest. Complex political, social and cultural factors will shape public reaction to a COVID-19 vaccine, and communication surrounding the vaccine’s arrival will be as critical as its underlying efficacy. Before entering the fray, reflecting on some powerful vaccination images can help […]
Accessing the Future (in a voting year): ways forward for LGBTQ+ health access
In today’s podcast, Dr. Ng speaks with EIC Brandy Schillace about issues of LGBTQ+ and health accessibility. Already a difficult prospect, access to care for this population has become increasingly precarious during the COVID epidemic. Dr. NG describes some of the problems faced by patients and by clinicians—and looks for ways of making a better […]
William Carlos Williams: Physician Poet Scrawls Theory of Medical Humanities Throughout Prescription Pad
Blog by Audrey Ruan “The use of poetry is to vivify,” William Carlos Williams jotted onto a prescription pad over half a century ago. In the pages that followed, he hastily sketched out a theory of the interwoven contributions of science and poetry, published here for the first time. The prescription book is part of […]
Waiting in Health and Medical Care: A Preliminary Exploration
Blog by K Rajasekharan Nayar; Anant Kumar; Muhammed Shaffi; Arathi P Rao; Anand Marthanda Pillai; S S Lal The notion of waiting is a deeply ingrained in human life both materially and spiritually, and has a philosophical connotation as well. In material terms, one can identify myriad ways in which waiting becomes important—waiting and hope […]
Access to Female Sterilization as Perceived by History of Medicine Students
Blog by Caitlin Fendley I teach a course on the history of disease, death, and medicine in twentieth-century America, which is predominantly taken by STEM and pre-med students and those seeking to work in healthcare. As part of teaching students about how culture and medicine influence each other, I devote lectures to women’s reproductive health […]
Body Positivity vs. Medical ‘Truths’: Obesity and the Cultural Production of Shame
Blog by Tanisha Jemma Rose Spratt In August 2019 US television host Bill Maher stated on national television that in order to tackle the US’s growing “obesity problem” fat-shaming needs to make a “come back”. Arguing for a greater emphasis on personal responsibility when it comes to food consumption and exercise, Maher claimed that “some […]