Article Summary by Jennifer Watermeyer There is a growing interest in using drama and theatre to share health information with the public as part of community engagement projects. This process can be challenging for several reasons. In this paper, we describe the process and pitfalls of a project that involved the development and performance of […]
Latest articles
May I Have Your Uterus? The Contribution of Considering Complexities Preceding Live Uterus Transplantation
Article Summary by Lisa Guntram Swedish researchers have investigated since the end of the 1990s whether uterus transplantation, in combination with IVF, can make it possible for women without a uterus to become pregnant. However, to participate in the such research in Sweden, it has been necessary that the recipient find a donor, preferably a […]
Reflections from Tales of Treatment
Article Summary by Marco J Haenssgen, Nutcha Charoenboon, Patthanan Thavethanutthanawin and Kanokporn Wibunjak Listen to Nutcha (Ern) Charoenboon discuss the research project below (full script below bionotes): Read the full article on the Medical Humanities journal. Global health has often been critiqued for neglecting the voices of poor, rural, and indigenous peoples around the […]
What is Compassion?
Article Summary by Sarah Chaney Today, this trait is thought to be central to nursing. Policymakers, healthcare staff and politicians alike have debated the topic over the past decade. They have asked whether compassion can be taught or is caring an inborn trait. How might one measure or test someone’s ‘emotional intelligence’? And is compassion […]
We’re Not Broken: Changing the Autism Conversation
Book Review by Isabella Watts Eric Garcia, We’re Not Broken: Changing the Autism Conversation. Mariner Books, 2021. 304 pages. The well-respected political journalist Eric Garcia has written for publications including The Washington Post, The Week, and The New Republic for many years. He is now the senior Washington Correspondent for The Independent. This is his […]
Delirium in Hospital: Violence, Vulnerability and Humanity
Article Summary by Victoria Hume In the UK, hospitalisations from Covid have been increasing steadily since the summer. On 18 November, 923 covid patients were mechanically ventilated in hospital – this represents about a quarter of all mechanically ventilated patients.1 The Nuffield Trust tells us that covid patients typically stay longer in ICU than surgical […]
December Special Issue Podcast: Transplantation and its Imaginaries
Podcast by Brandy Schillace with Donna McCormack and Magrit Shildrick The Transplantation and its Imaginaries special issue proposes new understandings of the limits and possible extensions of organ and tissue transplantation that encompass cutting edge interdisciplinary research around biomedicine, philosophy, literature, film and transplantation studies. In our own era, the parameters of human embodiment are […]
Ka Mura Ka Muri: Understandings of Organ Donation and Transplantation in Aotearoa New Zealand
Article Summary by Rhoda Shaw and Robert Webb This article draws on research findings from a series of in-depth interviews with Māori (the Indigenous people of Aotearoa New Zealand) and Pākehā (European settler New Zealanders), concerning their views on organ donation and transplantation. Our findings show both differences and similarities between Māori and Pākehā understandings […]
The Illness-Disease Dichotomy and the Biological-Clinical Splitting of Medicine
Article Summary by Luigi Tesio and Marco Buzzoni Suffering from an “illness without a disease” is a common condition. The person is suffering, but no abnormalities can be found in the body. This is the case for chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, many chronic pain syndromes, and most psychiatric disturbances. The article replies to the debate between […]
The Women’s Hour
Film Review by Khalid Ali, Film and Media Correspondent ‘Sixty Minutes’ TV series, directed by Miryam Ahmadi (Egypt, 2021) Available to watch on Shahid MBC. This review comes with a spoiler alert warning A ‘phenomenon’ is defined as ‘’someone or something that is very impressive or popular especially because of an unusual ability or quality’’. […]