#inequality in medicine

[myobsessionsspace]

[dandelionsresilience]

Good News - June 1-7

Like these weekly compilations? Support me on Ko-fi or $Kaybarr1735! Also, if you tip me on Ko-fi or CashApp (and give me some way to contact you if it doesn’t automatically), at the end of the month I'll send you a link to all of the articles I found but didn't use each week!

1. Hundreds of Mayors, City Leaders Commit to Protecting Monarch Butterflies in Annual Pledge

“The 300 participating communities are taking a record number of actions to advance monarch conservation by planting or maintaining pollinator gardens at prominent locations, supporting native plant sales and giveaways, and partnering with local gardening organizations and experts to advance monarch conservation and community engagement.”

2. Basic income can double global GDP while reducing carbon emissions, analysis suggests

“Researchers suggest that charging carbon emitters with an emission tax could help fund such basic income programs while reducing environmental degradation. [… G]iving basic income to the entire world population could boost the global GDP by $163 trillion, which is about 130% of the current GDP. Every dollar spent on implementing basic income can generate as much as $7 in economic impacts, the analysis shows.”

3. Los Angeles-area wildlife crossing over freeway expected to be ready in 2026

“The crossing will be a vegetated overpass that will help isolated animals safely cross U.S. 101. […] Officials said the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing will "reconnect habitats and improve the health of the environment for many species in Southern California." They added that currently, U.S. 101 is a huge barrier that disconnects Southern California wildlife. […] “We need to move beyond mere conservation, toward a kind of environmental rejuvenation," [Annenberg] said in a statement. "Wildlife crossings are powerfully effective at doing just that — restoring ecosystems that have been fractured and disrupted.””

4. ‘Many waterfowl are very gay’: Elliot Page set to narrate LGBTQ+ animal documentary Second Nature

“According to Deadline, Second Nature will be executive produced by Page, who will also narrate the documentary set to explore instances of same-sex attraction in species other than humans. And, spoiler alert, they’re everywhere. [… Page said,] “Second Nature reveals the full spectrum of life and how when it comes to gender and sexuality in nature, the diversity is endless. I learned so much and am thrilled others will too.””

5. McKenzie River Restoration Benefiting Threatened Upper Willamette River Chinook

“Salmon have successfully reproduced at the Finn Rock restoration site in Oregon’s McKenzie River watershed. Another project aims to bring salmon back to lower Quartz Creek. […] Historical accounts document the presence of Chinook salmon and bull trout in Quartz Creek, but neither species has been seen there for decades. Project partners have replaced an aging bridge that constricted Quartz Creek. Previously, the stream constriction forced the water to gush like a fire hose, blasting salmon and sediment downriver. […] The restoration work will increase groundwater and expand the amount of wetlands, which can reduce the impact of forest fires.”

6. Leading Scholars Call for Global Treaty on Free Education

“According to the experts, well-established scientific evidence shows “unequivocally” that education is foundational to children’s healthy development and lifelong prospects[…. Seventy scholars from thirty countries] call on all governments to support a new optional protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child to ensure recognition of the right to free early childhood education and free secondary education, alongside the existing explicit right to free and compulsory primary education.”

7. Water is key as study shows restoration of drained tropical peat is possible

“Rewetting of tropical peatland that was drained for agriculture can lead to the recovery of the native ecosystem, a long-term study of a former pulpwood plantation in Indonesia shows. Researchers studying the 4,800-hectare (11,900-acre) plot that was retired in 2015 by Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) found the water table had risen, soil carbon emissions had gone down, and native trees were springing up and replacing the planted acacia pulpwoods.”

8. Antioxidant gel preserves islet function after pancreas removal: New approach could reduce diabetes complications

“Before surgeons remove the pancreas from patients with severe, painful chronic pancreatitis, they first harvest insulin-producing tissue clusters, called islets, and transplant them into the vasculature of the liver. […] Unfortunately, the process inadvertently destroys 50–80% of islets, and one-third of patients become diabetic after surgery. [… To] create a healthier microenvironment for the islets, the researchers adhered the islets to the omentum with an inherently antioxidant and anti-inflammatory biomaterial[…,] significantly improving survival and preserving function of transplanted islets.”

9. Restoring Indigenous aquaculture heals both ecosystems and communities in Hawai‘i

“The loko i’a system of native fishponds in Hawai‘i has for generations provided sustenance to Indigenous communities[….] Unlike commercial fish farms, loko i‘a thrive without feed input and need little management once established[….] “We are using science to translate ‘ike kupuna, or Indigenous knowledge, into policy,” said study co-author Kawika Winter […] “Loko i’a are really built to work with the ecosystem, whereas not all forms of aquaculture are made to do that.””

10. Meet Neo Px: the super plant that attacks air pollution

“Neo Px is a bioengineered plant capable of purifying indoor air at an unprecedented scale[….] "It's the equivalent of up to 30 regular houseplants in terms of air purification," said Lionel Mora, co-founder of startup Neoplants. "It will not only capture, but also remove and recycle, some of the most harmful pollutants you can find indoors." [… The plant comes] with packets of powder that contain a microbiome, essentially a bacterial strain. "This bacteria colonizes the plant's roots, soil and leaves [… and] absorbs the VOCs to grow and reproduce. The plant is there to create this ecosystem for the bacteria. So we have a symbiotic system between plants and bacteria.””

May 22-28 news here | (all credit for images and written material can be found at the source linked; I don’t claim credit for anything but curating.)

[whilereadingandwalking]

You all know that healthcare inequity is an important issue for me. I recently gathered a second stack of books together, a stack of incredible, eye-opening books about healthcare feminism, body justice, and advocacy. Each one of these books has helped to change my perspective and broaden my knowledge about the issues in our healthcare system today, from dismissal to misdiagnosis to chronic pain. Check out my list!

[radicalfacts]

radical facts - short feminist facts

#medical misogyny

Misdiagnosed & Mistreated - Misogyny & Androcentrism in Medicine

Although it is a well established scientific fact that the female body acts and reacts medically often very different than the male body, these differences get widely ignored. This widespread misogyny and androcentrism in medicine frequently gets women misdiagnosed and mistreated, which often proves deadly.

Studies found that females presenting with a heart attack were more likely to die when a male doctor treated them, compared with a female doctor.

Women are also 50% more likely to get their heart attack misdiagnosed - for their (typical to females) symptoms get seen as atypical and often dismissed; based upon only male symptoms getting seen as typical and indicative.

Female patients are also less likely to be prescribed preventative treatment after an initial attack.

Women are half as likely as men to receive pain killers after surgery.

When getting surgery, women have a 32% higher risk of dying - when operated on by a male surgeon.

They also have to wait longer to receive pain management medication in emergency rooms as well as often simply getting sedated instead of recieving pain management. No such effect is seen in male patients.

Female patients generally have to wait for significantly longer timespans to get a diagnosis. Per example, it takes typically 2.5 more years for a woman to be diagnosed with cancer and 4.5 more years for a diabetes diagnosis compared with men. In total, women were found to get diagnosed much later in more than 700 diseases compared to men.

[monstermoviedean]

at the end of my fucking rope with "conversations" about k12 chronic absenteeism.

[spokelseskladden]

while i wouldn't like living in any other time period due to knowing like. The basics of history or whatever, I'm gonna be real with you all. The current one I'm living in isn't all that appealing either.

[adhdemonstuff]

Why I don’t like going to the doctor:

1) It always starts with my parents telling me I don’t need to go to the doctor.

2) Then I sit in a waiting room for 3 hours.

3) I get in with the doctor, they either

A) tell me I should have come in sooner

Or

B) say come back if it’s still bugging you in a week or two

4) When I go back they say why didn’t you come in sooner.

It’s mainly because my body doesn’t really process pain properly so sometimes I don’t really notice something is up until most people would be really uncomfortable and concerned. Doctors ask me how I’m feeling or to rate my pain but I fractured several bones in my ankle and was still able to walk around for 3 weeks.

I think our medical systems need to adapt better to neurodivergent patients with abnormal pain tolerances as it’s incredibly frustrating to have to explain that you aren’t faking every time you go to the doctor because sometimes you genuinely don’t notice until something is really bad.

[medsocionwheels]

Compliance, per the two main approaches to medical sociology

Sociology in medicine is research that’s of interest to medical professionals, medical educators, medical scientists— things that are important to medicine as an institution.

Sociology of medicine tends to be research of interest to the general scientific field of sociology, not only sociologists who study matters of medicine, health, illness, healthcare, and disability. Importantly, it is not that medicine is simply disinterested in sociology of medicine, the institution of medicine sometimes has a vested interest in silencing or arguing against sociology of medicine. Sociology of medicine may not be useful to medical professionals, but if, for example, sociology of medicine is critiquing medical practice, as is often the case, it might move beyond useless to being perceived as offensive.

To further explore the difference between sociology in versus of medicine, let’s take the issue of compliance.

From the medical perspective, patient compliance is vital for successful medical practice and treatment. if your patient is not listening to you–for example, if they’re not taking their medication, and that medication is supposed to get them better, than you are going to have a much more difficult time treating that patient, and thus, a much harder time doing your job, than if the patient “complied” with your treatment plan. Same thing if your patient won’t have surgery. Well, if operating is the way that you do your job and the patient refuses, you cannot do your job as well. So, sociology in medicine would examine compliance with this medical perspective in mind. Sociology in medicine might investigate the barriers to patient compliance, and they might ask about these barriers in terms of patient behavior, asking something like "why are these patients non-compliant?" with the goal of identifying things that can be addressed to help patients better comply, so that medical professionals can have better chances of success when trying to do their jobs.

Now, moving to sociology of medicine—the greater field of sociology is interested in issues of power and inequality. When examining compliance in terms of power and inequality, we might look at something like physician control over patients, which would contribute to areas of sociology beyond medical sociology, such as the larger sociological literature on deviance and social control.

From this perspective, physicians offer something that patients cannot obtain on their own—prescription medications, surgery, imaging…these are all things that are considered both illegal and dangerous when obtained from non-credentialed entities. This means patients must be compliant to avoid severe consequences, like physical injury, disability, or even death. Healthcare providers hold power to help people feel better when they have few, if any, safe alternatives.

Instead of looking at compliance as inherently positive or necessary, we can critique the concept, and most importantly, the continued endorsement of compliance as “positive” and “necessary” by credentialed actors in medicine. So, sociology of medicine, similarly to sociology in medicine, may examine barriers to compliance, but because it does not assume compliance is necessary or helpful to the patient, it leaves room to explore the patient experience. Sociology of medicine can explore things like mistrust of medical professionals, experiences with bias and discrimination in the clinical encounter, and the patient’s understanding of a potential treatment as helpful versus their belief that the treatment is useless (independent of the science on said treatment’s effectiveness).

So, while sociology in medicine and sociology of medicine might both be interested in the question of “why do patients become noncompliant,” sociology in medicine might approach that question with the intent of identifying something that will lead to increased compliance, whereas sociology of medicine may approach the question in terms of medical harm, so not taking the assumption that compliance is positive, instead, taking the more skeptical view that compliance might be an exercise of power on the part of the healthcare provider over the patient and focusing on issues like the potential for patterns of exploitation and/or harm of certain groups of patients with shared characteristics. Sociology of medicine might ask whether healthcare providers, because they are powerful, are inherently good or right. Sociology in medicine would probably not ask this question at all, instead assuming the answer to be "yes"

[corporateintel]

Making Sense of the Senseless

It’s a strange time, stranger than any I can remember in the second half of my life. If you try to summarize the number of global issues our nation faces, it begins to feel unprecedented. There is violence on three fronts in Israel arising from the horrific terrorist attacks of Hamas. There is the question of how Iran and Hezbollah will accelerate that conflict. Putin is still waging a brutal…

[bilboyagathechickenfootedhobbit]

Here’s a thought: if men didn’t attack and rape us and oppress us for literally all of human history, if they didn’t mock our pain and masturbate to our torture, if they didn’t laugh with their buddies about the violence inflicted on women, if they stopped selling our bodies like commodities, if they just LEFT US ALONE FFS, then maybe, JUST MAYBE, we might have something nice to say about them.

Don’t you dare tell us women are responsible for mens self-confidence. The only person EVER responsible for your self-confidence is…..you’ll never believe this….your fucking SELF.

'women aren't responsible for male loneliness' sure but i think the fact that you in particular can't say a positive thing about a man and only publicly talk about how much they annoy you has a lot to do with the self-confidence issues that root at this loneliness

[negrolicity]

Students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities Face Barriers to Medical School Admission, Study Finds | Newsroom

[mirrors-are-green]

These are the official statics form cancer. gov, a us government website. It's a clear illustration of inequalities in modern medicine- here, in a chance of getting a transplant. It's a live-saving procedure that not everyone could get because your DNA needs to match with someone else's. Some people are lucky to have found a match in their immediate family where the chance of it is the greatest but not everyone is so lucky.

That's why people need to donate!!!

I am literally begging you. We NEED bigger pool of available donors!!

IF YOU ARE A PERSON OF COLOR YOU SHOULD BE AWARE THAT YOUR CHANCE OF FINDING SOME SUITABLE DONOR IS 2.7 TIMES LOWER OF THAT OF A WHITE PERSON.

THE TANGIBLE FREE THING YOU CAN DO TO HELP YOUR COMMUNITY IS REGISTERING!

It's completely free (as in they give you back the salary from the days they made you miss + transport costs)! You would even get a chocolate bar! Most of the people who register won't get chosen anyway and donating bone marrow is almost the same as giving blood.

Spread awareness!!!

[afeelgoodblog]

The Best News of Last Month

Sorry for being not active this month as I had some health problems. I'll start posting weekly now :) Meanwhile here's some good from last month

1. Widow donates $1 billion to medical school, giving free tuition forever

Ruth Gottesman surprised by her late husband's $1 billion in Berkshire stock, decides to donate it in full to the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, New York City's poorest borough. The donation is intended to cover students' tuition indefinitely, ensuring access to medical education for generations.

A video capturing students' emotional reactions to the news, cheering and crying, circulated after the announcement, highlighting the profound impact of the donation on the medical school community.

2. Electric school buses outperform diesel in extreme cold

In Colorado's West Grand School District, electric school buses outperformed their diesel counterparts, particularly in the bitterly cold temperatures of towns like Kremmling, where morning temperatures can drop below -30 degrees Fahrenheit. Despite common concerns about reduced range in extreme weather, the electric buses maintained their battery charge even in these frigid conditions, providing reliable transportation for students.

This success has been welcomed by the school district, as diesel vehicles also face challenges in starting in Colorado's harsh winter weather.

3. Christian Bale unveils plans to build 12 foster homes in California

Christian Bale has led a tour round the new village in California where he plans to build 12 foster homes, as well as two studio flats to help children transition into independent living, and a 7,000 sq ft community centre.

The actor has spearheaded the building of a unique complex of facilities with the aim of keeping siblings in the foster care system together, and ideally under the same roof.

4. Average lifespan of a person with Down syndrome has increased from 25 years in 1983 to 60 years today

Today the average lifespan of a person with Down syndrome is approximately 60 years.

As recently as 1983, the average lifespan of a person with Down syndrome was 25 years. The dramatic increase to 60 years is largely due to the end of the inhumane practice of institutionalizing people with Down syndrome.

5. Greece legalises same-sex marriage

Greece has become the first Christian Orthodox-majority country to legalise same-sex marriage. Same-sex couples will now also be legally allowed to adopt children after Thursday's 176-76 vote in parliament.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said the new law would "boldly abolish a serious inequality".

6. Massachusetts police K9 tracks scent for over 2 miles to find missing 12-year-old in freezing cold

A Massachusetts police K9 followed her nose to help find a 12-year-old who went missing in frigid temperatures last week, tracking the child’s scent for over two miles, authorities said.

K9 Biza, a female German shepherd, was called on to help after officers learned the child left their home at around 10:30 p.m. Wednesday and was last seen in the Pakachoag Hill area of Auburn, the Auburn Police Department said.

7. Good News for the Socially Anxious: People Like You a Lot More Than You Think They Do, New Research Confirms

The "Lake Wobegon effect" or "illusory superiority" phenomenon highlights people's tendency to overestimate their abilities, but recent research suggests that in social interactions, individuals often underestimate their likability and charm.

Studies indicate that people consistently fail to recognize signals of others' liking toward them, leading to a "liking gap" where individuals believe they are less likable than they actually are.

Techniques such as focusing more on others during conversations and genuinely expressing interest in them can help alleviate social anxiety by shifting the focus away from self-criticism. Ultimately, understanding that others may also experience similar anxieties can lead to a more relaxed and enjoyable social experience.

---

That's it for this week :)

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[diseaseincontext]

This article is super interesting in better understanding determinants of health in a Canadian-specific context (or in a broader application to a developed region). The article investigates intersectionality to better understand and respond to the ‘foundational’ causes of illness and disease. The analysis highlights the current limitations on the methods of acknowledging health determinants (such as gender, social, political and economic conditions). The intersectional paradigm offers an approach to better understand social determinants of health and embrace the complexities that are crucial in recognizing inequalities.

[nthspecialll]

The inequality of the gang

Dutch has a habit of putting himself above the others of the gang in indirect ways. His tent is more decorated and better quality, his clothing is more expensive, his girl does not have to work. But other than him, most of the gang seems to be on fairly even ground, however that is not completely true.

There is a big hiracy in the gang and it is created due to the box, the one we all know because Susan won't stop shouting at us to donate in it. That box goes towards food, medicine and ammo, but this box is also chairty. You do not have to put anything inside it if you do not want to, Sean has never put anything in it, he says so himself.

It is quite important to remember that this is not the savings. When you do a score, half of the money goes into the savings to get them to Tahiti, this money is not used at all. After half has been given, the remaining money is split and they can do with it whatever they want, though they are encouraged to put some in the box because it feeds the camp.

However now we reach the big problem, the box gives only food, medicine and ammo, any clothing, entertainment, weapons or anything alike you need to buy yourself. Highly actively criminal characters like Arthur, Javier, Dutch, Bill and so on can afford to feed themselves and live comfortably, even if they do not donate they will be fine. Tilly, Mary-Beth, Karen and Uncle, they make some money themselves, either through gigs or gambling, they can afford some unnessesarities and to treat themselves here and there, but not as much as the others, that puts them underneath the previously mentioned but also above someone else, those who cannot work.

Susan, Pearson and Abigail, those three are stuck in camp without being able to make more money than at the camp poker table. That places them at the end of the foodchain and you would think that it would be okay, they get food and medicine, but it isn't okay, there is a massive split.

In a camp interaction Dutch is sitting and he calls Abigail and John over to hear a paragraph from Evelyn Miller. He says the writing for the truest thing he ever heard, to which Abigail replies the truest thing she ever heard was Jack crying because he was hungry. They were getting food but not enough to for them to become full and she can't do anything about them because she isn't able to make money. She joined the gang, working in camp for them, probably with the promise of food and shelter and protection, and she isn't getting all that.

Another camp interaction with Abigail reveals that she is unable to clothe her son, she is struggling and all she needs is five dollars so she can buy him clothing. While she is thinking of if her child with go to bed hungry, Dutch is well fed, well clothed and comfortable enough to ponder and wonder about philosphy.

I am not saying they should all have the exact same amount of money, but a child shouldn't starve while a man smokes cigars and blasts opera.

For a man who fights for a free and equal America he can't even create an equal camp.

(Tags: @photo1030 @pinescent-and-gingerbread )

[teecupangel]

(sorry in advance, I've been stewing over this for so long that this will be a long one xd)

I was re-reading your fics on ao3 again (sue me, im starved for desmond time travel content) and whilst reading Eagle of Alamut's description i realised '...wait a damn minute, it is true! all of Desmond's knowledge on past is from his ancestors!' (not everyone is as big of a nerd as shaun). Cue weeks of relentless daydreaming over Desmond in Reneisance Italy trying his damnest to lay low... but: 1) he does not know what is socially acceptable at the time (clothe and behaviour wise)

2) the animus likely shielded it's users from the more... er.. unsaviory historical accuracy (child marriage, smell, violence and mistreatment towards the poor, women, disabled)

3) politics, culinary arts, medicine and money value from that era are not common knowledge (or even fully known to todays historians)

4) Ezio was not known for his subtility...

...so while desmond may know who to strike in order to protect Ezios family from getting executed, what places he may know to avoid if he wants to avoid attention from the italian brotherhood.

He does not know what he was getting himself in to when he decided to travel back in time.

I can just imagine him thinking that he can finally retire and live his life, but then BOOM here comes the shock of sociatal injustices! religious violence! inequality! horrendous mistreatment of beggars and disabled people! and as a good man raised in the 21st century he obviously can't, in his right conciousness, just turn his back on these issues, on these people.

So here he is, in Rome of all places, doing his best to atleast stay hidden from the Auditore's, and consequesntly, the Italian brotherhood's, detection, as he stalks the bright rooftops of Roma as histories (probably) very first assasin turned vigiliante!

I can just picture him at one point or another, getting mistaken for a Spanish assasin and his only attempt at 'confirming' (read: encouraging misleading rumours), is to use the very little languistic knowledge the American education system has bestowed upon him. cue him very awkwardly trying to immitate a Spanish accent/ speak in Spanish. or just, you know, say the only words every student knows, 'Feliz Navidad'.

It would be so funny if Desmond’s Spanish are based on:

1) what little remains of Ezio’s Spanish (maybe on par or even worse than his French)

2) Basic Spanish that he learned on the Farm

3) Spanish songs he heard

So people think that Desmond is eccentric.

And Rich.

Because Desmond wants to help people but he doesn’t want to be seen as an Assassin so…

He becomes a supposed rich Spanish (Arabic would have sent a red flag to the Brotherhood) noble who came to Rome to live a life away from his ‘family’.

Why is he ‘rich’?

Well, killing nobles and other ‘evil doers’ will flag the Brotherhood as well so it would be better to just…

Leave certain incriminating evidence in the doors of their enemies and let them duke it out. Hey, if some things go missing while they’re too busy with their enemies, that’s just collateral damage.

Also…

Sometimes, things go missing when some people get into accidents.

It’s easy to buy the impoverish area in Rome. It’s a bit challenging to get doctors to treat them.

Until Desmond flashed the right amount of money, of course.

Desmond manages to stay under the radar by being part of the upper echelon.

An eccentric foreigner who helps the poor and sick out of the goodness of his heart.

Or… because he apparently believes that the way to heaven is through good will and not… paying the clergy.

Desmond knows that being seen as completely good is a bad thing as well so he lets rumors spread that he’s an opportunist who heals the sick and protects the weak to receive their loyalty. He gives them salary to become his guards (not that he needs any) and people whisper how loyal the poor are to someone who gives them bread.

And to hammer in that “no, Ezio, I am absolutely not connected to the Templars BUT I’m also not going to be a good ally, just leave me alone!” plan he has, he becomes a patron of the art.

Sexually progressive art.

The church hates him but tolerates him because Desmond does ‘donate’ (jokes on them, he donates what he stole from the church) and the artists love him because he commissions stuff with the same thing over and over again “whatever you want to paint/sculpt/work on but I want the Borgia men getting fucked in the ass while Lucrezia Borgia watches”

He’s not rich enough to actually be a threat (especially after Ezio starts wrecking shit up) and he keeps to himself most of the time.

But, of course, life always has it out for Desmond and he comes face to face with a wounded recruit at the edge of his property and…

Well…

He only wanted to heal him then send him on his merry way.

He didn’t expect Ezio to come barging in thinking said recruit has been kidnapped by the eccentric ‘possibly sexual deviant’ Lord Miles.