The present pandemic, unprecedented in its spread and breadth and occurring at a time of extraordinary political upheaval and divisiveness, lays bare systemic prejudice against the most vulnerable among us. We at Medical Humanities, with our focus on global health and social justice, welcome discussion about how the crisis has disproportionately affected racial and fiscal […]
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Where Race, Disparity, and Pandemic Collide: COVID-19 USA
Podcast by Oni Blackstock On today’s podcast, EIC Brandy Schillace interviews Dr. Oni Blackstock, Assistant Commissioner for the NYC Health Department’s Bureau of HIV. Dr. Blackstock is also a primary care and HIV doctor, as well as a researcher focused on the experiences of women and people of colour in healthcare. Dr. Blackstock joins us to […]
In Times of Crisis: Remember Those Lost in the System
Blog by Caroline Lee One chilly fall night, I approached the apartment complex and climbed a steep and dilapidated concrete staircase leading up to the door. After entering, I was met with yet another set of staircases leading up to the residence, this time made out of wooden floorboards that audibly creaked with each step. […]
Social Inequity and Access to Mental Healthcare in India During the COVID-19 Pandemic
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 […]
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 […]
A Parable for Our Times
Film Review by Professor Robert Abrams, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York ‘Daughter’ (Daria Kashcheeva, Czech Republic, 2019) “Daughter” was the 2019 winner of the “Student Oscar” for the best animated film created by a student from an international school, an award bestowed by the U.S. Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences. “Daughter” has a […]
“The Eyes of Others Are Our Prisons; Their Thoughts our Cages” (Virginia Woolf)
Film Review by Franco Ferrarini, gastroenterologist and film reviewer ‘Prisoners’ directed by Denis Villeneuve (USA, 2013) Warning: the review contains plot spoliers! Villeneuve’s film, as clearly stated by its title, deals with the theme of captivity, not just physical but also, and perhaps mainly, psychological incarceration. ‘Prisoners’ is not just a compelling thriller with beautiful […]
‘Born to be’ (Tania Cypriano, USA, 2019)
Film Review by Keerthi Gondy, B.S., a fourth-year medical student at the University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Mi. Born to Be is Tania Cypriano’s remarkably moving documentary about New York’s Mount Sinai Center for Transgender Medicine and Surgery, where for the first time, transgender patients have access to transition-related health and surgical care. […]
Addressing OB/GYN Care Access for Refugee Women Using Traditional Dance Exchanges
Blog by Shilpa Darivemula Resettlement and the challenges it poses are defined and documented health issues for refugee families, particularly for refugee women who may lack access to obstetric and gynecologic care. A refugee background has been associated with higher risks of preterm birth, infant mortality and morbidity, and postpartum depression due to limited access […]
Easing Pain on the Western Front
Book Review by Dr. Richard M. Prior Paul Stepansky. Easing Pain on the Western Front. McFarland & Company 2020 (paperback version), 232 pages. ISBN 978-1-4766-9001-9. Paul Stepansky’s Easing Pain on the Western Front provides a very new and unique insight into the experience of U.S. Army nurses providing direct care on the battlefields of the Western […]