Tag: BIPOC

Together Well: Documenting COVID’s Impact through Storytelling

Together Well is an online collection of stories (some audio and written but most video) about experiences of COVID. This collaboration between the Relational Leadership Institute (www.relatelab.org) and the Northwest Narrative Medicine Collaborative (nwnmcollaborative.org) was designed to “collectively make sense of the pandemic’s impact on all members of the community: nurses, social workers, patients, family members, doctors, caregivers, students, chaplains, scholars, educators, activists, and artists.” In addition, the stories were assembled in the hope that reflecting on pandemic experiences can provide a basis for change in healthcare and communities that “better center connection, relationships, and well-being.” Stories document not only hardship but also ways that the COVID crisis led teams, communities, and individuals to innovate, collaborate, and change in powerful ways that we may wish to continue as we move forward.

The 37 stories in the collection are listed on the webpage; each has a thumbnail and an image. There is also a video (the first entry in the collection) about the project. Stories are brief enough to show in a class or workshop. The videos are hosted on YouTube so it is possible to provide closed captioning and transcripts are also available.

Code Switching: Gravel Against Stone

Andrew C. is a queer East Asian medical student who writes about altering his voice and pronunciation to perform what he calls “the most stereotypically masculine version of myself.” He describes having learned to do so as a child of immigrants, growing up in a suburban Georgia suburb and wanting to fit in. In the essay, he analyzes why he continues to feel the need to do so in medical school. He says he has yet to meet someone like him who is a physician, and so code-switching is required if he is to enact the implicit model of “competent physician” that is on offer to him. He writes: “I am still carrying the heavy weight of my childhood notion that to be different is to be singled out as ‘other’—and I fear that it may impact the outcome of my medical education. These vocal habits are a form of self-preservation. But when I reflect on my childhood, and my lack of exposure to queer-physician role models, I fear that I will be perpetuating the problem.”

The essay is an eloquent example of why it is so important for health care providers to come from a range of identities and social positions. It also speaks to the challenges for those providers who come from under-represented groups and why equity and inclusion require not only that we diversify, but also that we welcome and value the diversity that people bring.

The essay is brief enough to be read together in a class or workshop. It is one of several essays from a writing contest by Pulse, an online site that publishes personal narratives about health care.

Accessible Narrative Medicine digital library

The Accessible Narrative Medicine digital library includes outlines for narrative medicine workshops, as well as “third objects” (poems, short essays, stories, images, items that can be the catalyst for conversation, reflection, and writing).

The goal of the site is to encourage the practice of narrative medicine in a wide range of community settings by making available detailed workshop outlines and resources that can be adapted by community workshop facilitators for their particular audience and setting. The developers of the site believe that “narrative medicine workshops should be led by trusted members of a community. In order to create an inclusive safe space, the content and leadership of a workshop should reflect the lived experience of those attending.” The outlines and materials focus on the health narratives of BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and persons living with disability.

Registration is required to access the materials; once registered, site users can find workshops on core narrative medicine ideals, including attention, witness, and re-presentation. The library of third objects is searchable by topic and genre and includes not only written works but also images and art. The site has secured permission for use of narratives and many of the third objects include a bio for the author/artist, as well as a downloadable PDF of the object.

Access Intimacy, Interdependence and Disability Justice

Text of Mia Mingus presenting at the 2017 Paul K. Longmore Lecture on Disability Studies at San Francisco State University, with a link to the video, posted to YouTube. Mingus is a queer physically disabled Korean transracial and transnational adoptee, who is a writer and educator of disability justice. The lecture focuses on disability scholarship with personal stories woven throughout used as persuasive appeal. She stresses that disabled people, including disabled queer individuals of color, are often overlooked in social justice movements and communities, and emphasizes the importance of including their experiences and stories. The main focus of this talk is the idea of “access intimacy,” which is a term she coined that refers to a deep, often unspoken connection between individuals who understand and accommodate each other’s access needs, in the context of disability. It’s the feeling of comfort and understanding when someone “gets” your access needs, making it easier for disabled people to navigate their daily lives. Access intimacy can exist with other disabled people, family members, or complete strangers, and can be as small as a knowing look and intangible as a feeling of familiarity. Nevertheless, Mingus describes how access intimacy is a powerful tool for liberation and a way to reframe the understanding of disability. Mingus argues that access should be used to challenge ableism and able-bodied supremacy and encourages shifting the responsibility for access from individual to collective responsibility.

This talk could be used to bring up discussions about disability and ableism, disability justice, interdependence, cultural competence and intersectionality, and patient-centered care.

Dying to be Competent

“Dying to be Competent” details Cottam’s experience with healthcare discrepancies in her experience giving birth attributed to the fact that she’s a woman of color. Cottom describes having her physical pain be completely dismissed by healthcare professionals and claims that this resulted in the tragic consequence of her daughter dying shortly after birth. Through her personal story, Cottom illustrates the inequalities within healthcare due to structural racism, and the grave lack of care women of color too often receive. This essay could be used in classes to further investigate the structural forces within our society and how they are subsequently intertwined with healthcare as well as how it creates marginalization and lack of care within the healthcare system. Additionally it could be used to discuss the role of unconscious biases and stereotypes within the medical field.

Mental health Poems for Teens

The Poets.Org website of the Academy of American Poets has curated this collection of 14 poems related to mental health that were selected for teen readers (part of a series of “Poetry for Teens” on various topics). Some themes throughout the poetry are depression, anxiety, as well as hope and resilience. Each poem includes a description of some of the themes within it as well as details about the author. The pieces span a range of time periods and a variety of authors with different backgrounds including, for example, Emily Dickinson and Sylvia Plath, as well as Naomi Shihab Nye and Ada Limón.

Power With Anthology: Storytelling for Social Justice

From the website:

“POWER WITH is a collection of multimedia stories that uplift the lived experiences and perspectives of community members, patients, and health care workers and trainees. Specifically, POWER WITH spotlights how our experiences with oppressive (or “power over”) structures impact us individually, while also demonstrating that we are all connected through a greater shared human project. These stories inspire us to imagine what a system that embraces relationships and collective change (or “power with”) could look like.”

As of 10/25/23, some of the examples from the website were as follows:

1. “Ariah Tesema, a pre-med student, shares her journey of pursuing a career in medicine and embracing her multicultural identity. This begins with immigrating from Ethiopia to the United States as a young child and discovering that her multicultural life does not fit neatly into the boxes American society tries to place her in.”

2. “Andrea Morgan, a doctoral student at OHSU, shares her experience moving to Portland from Southern California and her dream to share her love of science with children who come from similar backgrounds.In addition to her studies, Andrea is leading a Racial Equity & Inclusion grant called Black Like Me 360, a project that allows viewers to see and hear in a first-person experience the day-to-day lives of Black Portlanders on campus and in the city in an art installation.”

3. “As a college student, Toren Ikea-Mario helped his father through a difficult cancer diagnosis and treatment. In the process, he realized that the healthcare system was broken, especially for people like his father, and was determined to be a part of the solution.”

Jeraldine’s Story: There is Hope

This is one of several stories on the Patient & Family Storytelling website. The story begins with Jeraldine’s traumatic early childhood experiences and continues to describe her alcoholism and its impact on her life. Following treatment for cancer and liver disease, she reconnects with her culture. The story could prompt discussion of intergenerational trauma and its health impacts as well as the importance of providing culturally appropriate healthcare services that address trauma and holistic care.

Ashley’s Story

Ashley James has successfully managed type 2 diabetes for 12 years, but her journey started with denial. At 31, she struggled to accept her diagnosis, refusing to take prescribed medication. A wake-up call came when she spoke to a colleague, a nephrologist, who emphasized the potential complications of unmanaged diabetes. Realizing the need for a change, Ashley began working with her primary care doctor. And despite initial challenges, she made small adjustments to her lifestyle, incorporating better nutrition, physical activity, and medication adherence. These changes resulted in weight loss, but also increased her energy, and improved blood sugar levels.

Facing limited access to diabetes self-management education and support (DSMES), Ashley recognized a gap in her community and became a diabetes care and education specialist (DCES). She took her experiences to local churches, leveraging the influence of pastors to address diabetes stigma and misconceptions. Through sharing her story, Ashley helped others at her church accept their diagnoses and understand the benefits of diabetes education.

Ashley’s story emphasizes the importance of accepting the diagnosis early to take proactive steps in managing diabetes. She believes in recognizing individuals beyond their diseases and advocates for listening to their stories to provide meaningful support. Ashley’s journey serves as a push for those struggling with denial.

Ashley’s story could be used in healthcare class settings to spark discussion about the role of narratives and community in managing diabetes. As well, this narrative would be great for a public health class, or pre-ed students, to gain insight on how someone experiences denial when diagnosed, and how they get past that.

Abecedarian: On Purchasing and Receiving Genetic Information from Two Commercial DNA Companies

This twenty-six line alphabetically organized (abecedarian) poem employs image-rich metaphors circling around themes of colonization creating diaspora, disconnected self image, and fragmenting familial connections over time. Korean American poet Yung Shin uses phrases like “ethnographic afterlife,” “genealogical disruption’s (in)ability,” and “sweet peace of the unborn” to convey messages relating to her line of heritage and the demarcations of life, death, and legacy that define it. She touches on concepts ranging from genes to curses to the Neanderthal Valley, all emphasizing tension between past and future, stringing the present along in perpetual liminality. A sorrowful, thought-provoking poem that embraces uncertainty, Yung Shin’s work is packed to the brim with meaning, where every word counts. This poem would be useful in an anthropologically focused health class because it could broaden perspectives of how interwoven our stories are with our ancestors, as well as a genetics course. In the midst of being taught highly factual information, a short reading reflection assignment on something so ambiguous could be not only a refreshing change of pace, but a moment of inspiration.