Archive

Perspectives in Primary Care features writing from practitioners, activists, and community members representing organizations, practices, and institutions across the United States and around the world.

The Original Pandemic: Commercial Tobacco

All mentions of tobacco in this article refer to commercial tobacco and nicotine products and not sacred and traditional use of tobacco by some Native American communities. This article is solely for informational educational purposes and is not meant to lobby and/or express, promote, or influence support or opposition on any ...

Winds of Change: Communicating the Biden Administration’s Immigration Policies Can Help Combat the Pandemic

With rates of COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths falling dramatically from peaks in January, the United States may be turning the corner on the pandemic. At the same time, the Biden administration has signaled a U-turn from the Trump era on immigration. From Day One, the new administration has expressed support for proposals to legalize millions of unauthorized immigrants, advanced executive actions to restore acceptance of asylum seekers at the U.S.-Mexico border, and embraced more welcoming ...

A Worsening Crisis: Obstetric Care in Rural America

Women are not dying because of diseases we cannot treat. They are dying because societies have yet to make the decision that their lives are worth saving. —Mahmoud Fathalla There is a crisis in the United States… a crisis that will worsen ...

Promoting COVID-19 Vaccination Equity

As COVID-19 vaccines are rolled out across the United States, there is an urgent need to increase vaccination rates among people of ...

All Essential Workers Deserve a Path to Citizenship

Recently, the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition (MIRA) was a proud sponsor of the New England Business Immigration Summit, which brought together members of Congress, business leaders, university ...

Fragmented Medical Advice & Misinformation Hurt Public Health

Driving through Southern California during the COVID-19 pandemic often feels like going from one California to another… you get in the car in one city, with everyone around you masked, including families walking together, keeping distance from others… then you get out of the car 30 minutes later in another city, with almost no one masked, and people packed inside restaurants or standing in lines close to each other. The difference is startling.

The Value of Primary Care Doctors in an Equitable Vaccine Rollout

Dr. Nguyen, a primary care physician in Orange County, California, received a phone call Wednesday morning from his medical group. “Would you be interested in giving out the COVID-19 vaccine?” The call was unexpected but welcomed. He hadn’t heard that primary care doctors were being enlisted to administer the vaccine. In fact, news across the country indicated unrest ...

The Unique Implications of Diversifying Dietetics

The first time I met a Black dietitian was the first day of my dietetics internship. After four years of undergraduate education, countless hours volunteering and shadowing dietitians from food banks, hospitals, community gardens, and schools, I was now in the presence of Dr. Sharon McWhinney. As a Black woman aspiring to become a dietitian, I was met with a lot of feelings during that internship orientation. Part of me was in awe, as I watched this woman command a room with her silver-grey hair, smooth brown skin, and Jamaican accent. Part of me was in shock, listening to the immense ...

How Many More Children Must Be Hurt by Pollution?

A nine-year-old girl in London died from an asthma attack in 2013, and she is the first person in the world to have “air ...