Tag Archives: healthcare

Authors A-H, Healthcare

Healthcare Systems: After Treatment Ends – by Andrew Drasen

For many individuals, completing a treatment program is a milestone filled with hope, relief, and anticipation. Residential programs, intensive outpatient services, and structured recovery tracks provide a framework for learning new skills, managing triggers, and building a foundation for change. Yet the moment a person leaves structured care is also the moment the safety net thins, and many find themselves navigating complex social, familial, and environmental pressures without the scaffolding that previously supported them.

Healthcare systems and programs designed to address substance use or mental health challenges often focus on stopping harmful behaviors and managing relapse risks. These approaches are critical. They teach clients to recognize triggers, practice coping strategies, and adhere to care plans. However, behavior-focused programs address only one side of a larger equation. Without guidance on who they are becoming beyond the behavior, individuals often struggle to sustain change once the structured environment is removed. Old patterns can resurface, not because the person intends to fail, but because they lack a coherent framework for their evolving identity.

Continue reading Healthcare Systems: After Treatment Ends – by Andrew Drasen →

Advisors, Authors A-H, Gender

Renewing Diversity Part 10: Unpacking the Inclusivity Dilemma in Health Care – by Carlos Cortés

I recently received an invitation to attend the national conference of the Society for Intercultural Education, Teaching, and Research.   The conference theme was “Inclusive Interculturalism.” The implicit message was simple: in order to be inclusive, interculturalists need to make a conscious effort .  Inclusivity doesn’t come naturally.

In my last month’s ADR column I addressed a similar issue about the development of multicultural education. I argued that multiculturalists need to be cognizant about whom they may be excluding as well as including. The more that you exclude categories of people, the less inclusive the curriculum becomes. 

Continue reading Renewing Diversity Part 10: Unpacking the Inclusivity Dilemma in Health Care – by Carlos Cortés →

Advisors, Healthcare

Renewing Diversity #2: Teaching Health Equity – by Carlos Cortés, Adwoa Osei

In July, 2020, the two of us became the inaugural co-directors of the University of California, Riverside, School of Medicine’s new Health Equity, Social Justice, and Anti-Racism (HESJAR) curricular initiative.   Since then the teaching of health equity to medical students has been a journey of continuous renewal.   

Publications about health equity emerge nearly every day.  Each year’s student cohort provides new pedagogical challenges.  Every module we teach raises new issues regarding learning and assessment.  We can’t stand still. 

Continue reading Renewing Diversity #2: Teaching Health Equity – by Carlos Cortés, Adwoa Osei →

Advisors, Authors A-H, Healthcare, Politics, Trends 2024: Divisive World

2024 Trends: Healthcare at Risk – by David Grinberg

Despite its overwhelming success, Obamacare remains the target of relentless partisan attacks. Donald Trump is again vowing to end the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare, during a potential second term as president.

“Obamacare is a catastrophe,” Trump recently said at a campaign event in Iowa. The twice impeached former president also wrote on his social media platform: “The cost of Obamacare is out of control, plus, it’s not good Healthcare.”

But terminating Obamacare, assuming Trump wins the presidency again, would decimate healthcare for about 40 million Americans for no good reason. These citizens in need of affordable healthcare had been locked out of the private insurance system for decades based on discriminatory reasons — including socioeconomic status and preexisting conditions, which disproportionately hurt minority groups the most.

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Healthcare, Levine articles, Race & Ethnicity, Social Issues

Multicultural Healthcare and Disparities – by Deborah Levine

When Dr. Joseph Betancourt spoke on “Solutions for Disparities: Delivering Quality Care to Diverse Populations” in Chattanooga several years ago, he delivered both unusual expertise and a personal model for future healthcare. Dr. Betancourt’s family came from Puerto Rico to NYC and he talked about his childhood as interpreter for his grandparents to their doctors. Today, Joseph Betancourt, MD, MPH, is the Senior Vice President of Equity and Community Health at Massachusetts General Hospital, the founder, senior advisor and faculty of the Disparities Solutions Center (DSC) at Mass General, Faculty at the Mongan Institute, an Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and a practicing Internal Medicine physician.

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Authors A-H, Healthcare

Diversity and Speech Part 39: Creating Health Equity – by Carlos Cortés and Adwoa Osei

The two of us first met in July, 2020, when we were asked to serve as inaugural co-directors of the University of California, Riverside, School of Medicine’s new Health Equity, Social Justice, and Anti-Racism (HESJAR) curricular initiative.   Health equity, social justice, and anti-racism are important concepts, but they can easily degenerate into little more than buzz words.  Our challenge was to transform those six words into a focused, integrated, and transformative learning experience for our students.  

Continue reading Diversity and Speech Part 39: Creating Health Equity – by Carlos Cortés and Adwoa Osei →

Authors I-Q, Social Issues

Discrimination in America’s Healthcare Systems – by Rose Joneson

Where Can Change Start?

A considerable number of patients experience discrimination in the country’s healthcare system. Over 21% of adults report being discriminated against, and 72% of this group say they’ve experienced discrimination more than once. Racial and ethnic discrimination are the most commonly experienced by Americans seeking medical attention. These events affect the kind of care patients receive, putting their well-being at risk. For instance, a doctor’s refusal to treat a person of color (POC) in an emergency highly endangers the patient’s health.

On that note, let’s dive deeper into discrimination in America’s healthcare systems—and what’s being done to address it.

Continue reading Discrimination in America’s Healthcare Systems – by Rose Joneson →

Advisors, Authors A-H, Healthcare

Diversity and Speech Part 31: Health Equity – by Carlos Cortés and Adwoa Osei

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In July, 2020, the two of us met for the first time as inaugural co-directors of the University of California, Riverside, School of Medicine’s new Health Equity, Social Justice, and Anti-Racism (HESJAR) curricular initiative.   Beginning with our initial conversations it became clear that addressing speech — physician speech, patient speech, medical school speech — would be central to our journey.   

For an entire year (2020-2021) we planned.  This involved reading, particularly about efforts at other medical schools.  It also involved listening: to students; to other faculty and staff; and particularly through a series of community conversations in which medical students interviewed local residents about their experiences with the health care system.  Those conversations deeply informed our curriculum development.   

Continue reading Diversity and Speech Part 31: Health Equity – by Carlos Cortés and Adwoa Osei →

DL Opinion columns

Why Diabetics need to vote – by Deborah Levine

originally published in The Chattanooga Times Free Press

It’s amazing that Medicare recipients just gained a cap on insulin prices. It’s truly incredible considering the pharmaceutical industry lobbying efforts against any price controls or negotiations. Spearheaded by The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, often known as Pharma, those efforts have been ongoing for years. And in September 2021, it was reported byThe Hill, a media company based in Washington, D.C., that Pharma was launching a seven-figure ad campaign against the proposals moving through Congress to allow negotiation of drug  prices. 

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Healthcare, The Arts

Integrating the Arts in Health – by Patricia Lambert

NOAH Seeks to Professionalize Arts Programs in Healthcare Settings

No person looks forward to a visit to the hospital or other similar healthcare settings. Oftentimes, being in the hospital is a process that is scary, uncertain, and full of anticipation for answers and recovery. Research has shown that healing is made better by the arts, which bring humanity to institutions such as hospitals, elder and hospice care, as well as those living at home with chronic diseases like cancer or Parkinson’s. 

Despite research that supports arts in health, many health institutions do not have programs incorporating the arts. This is why the National Organization for Arts in Health (NOAH) has remained committed to expanding awareness and acceptance of the arts as a vital component for healing, public health, and wellbeing. 

Continue reading Integrating the Arts in Health – by Patricia Lambert →