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.
Advocacy
Housing Vouchers as the New Golden Ticket
Meet Sandra. Sandra is a former resident of Columbia Heights, a neighborhood in Washington, D.C. that used to be an affordable area to live. She’s now one of the thousands that are left struggling to make ends meet as the cost of living in Columbia Heights continues to skyrocket well above the national average. Like many others, Sandra now finds that the neighborhood she once called home has significantly surpassed her budget. ...
Primary Care
Health Equity
Health Policy
Social Determinants of Health
COVID-19
Public Health
Activism
Advocacy
Beating Hunger: Addressing Food Insecurity During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Closed. Out of Business. We are temporarily closed due to COVID. These signs have become a common sight in the windows of grocery stores scattered throughout the United States. Throughout the pandemic, the number of communities that have become food deserts, as well as the number of households that have become food insecure, has increased substantially. While volunteering at a local food pantry during the pandemic, I talked to a regular named Carmen, and she described her ...
Primary Care
Community Health
Health Equity
Health Policy
Public Health
Activism
Environment / Climate
BIPOC
Advocacy
Inspire: Helping Families with Asthma Catch Their Breath
“I did whatever I needed to for my child to get the proper services… you are the professionals, but I’m the mom.” She’s the mom. It’s these humbling moments that Mary, a panelist at the
Advocacy
The Conflict of Culture and Sexuality Among Arab American Women
As Arab American women studying public health at National Arab American Medical Association Next Generation (NAAMA NextGen), we’re passionate about the sexual health of our fellow Arab American women. Though the Arab region extends throughout a vast geographic area in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), resulting in diverse societal norms and cultural values,
Primary Care
Health Equity
Health Policy
Public Health
Activism
BIPOC
Sexual and Reproductive Health
Behavioral Health / Mental Health
Advocacy
Centering the Woman in Maternity Care
Few human experiences match the intensity of stress, pain, exertion, and emotional turmoil as labor. The mortality risk in pregnancy is present for all, though Black women in the United States are
Primary Care
Community Health
Health Equity
COVID-19
Public Health
Activism
Trauma
Global Health
Sexual and Reproductive Health
Behavioral Health / Mental Health
Stories
Trauma-Informed, Holistic Health Care: A Journey from Patient to Advocate
PurpLE Health Foundation is a non-profit organization in New York City, which invests in the physical, mental, and financial health of survivors of gender-based violence. PurpLE Health Foundation’s signature program is its collaboration with
Primary Care
Health Equity
Health Policy
Public Health
Activism
Sexual and Reproductive Health
LGBTQIA+
Advocacy
Menstrual Justice Is a Matter of Health Equity: How to Fight Period Poverty and Stigma
While assisting patients in the Emergency Department (ED) one morning, I met a patient I’ll refer to as Mary. When I walked in, she was hunched over the edge of the bed, gripping her abdomen in distress. As I approached her, asking how I could make her more comfortable, she sat up slightly. She sounded ashamed as she opened up to me about not having access to menstrual products and unexpectedly starting her period while waiting in ...
The Power of a Personalized Approach: Physicians’ Fight against Misinformation and Vaccine Hesitancy
“There was so much information out there, I didn’t know what to do. I just wish someone had convinced me to get the vaccine,” said a COVID-19 patient we cared for a few days after he had been transferred to the intensive care unit (ICU). Each day, we slowly turned up his oxygen. Each day, he could only manage a few words at a time as the virus, that has come to dominate all of our lives, ravaged his lungs. Every patient we have had in the ICU with COVID-19 in the last ...
Medication Abortion – Prioritizing Access in 2021 & Onward
Medication abortion is a common and important part of primary care…and access to safe abortion care will likely soon be made either harder or easier, depending on the state in which you live. The example of SB 8 in Texas is the most extreme currently, where no one can access an abortion in Texas if they are more than ...