The year ushered in a new phase of the pandemic, with many Minnesotans returning to a more normal routine. It was also a regression. Mental health issues, addictions, viruses like RSV and the flu, Lyme disease, heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and more. One thing hasn’t changed for him. Health inequalities persist.
And in June, the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, turning Minnesota into an abortion-accessible state. “Islands” in the Goshu area. The ramifications of this decision continue to affect both the medical and political spheres.
In addition to covering these more serious stories, we’ve highlighted a few bright spots. I wrote about why blacks in Scott County live longer than most other places in the country, new pediatric clinics for the underserved population, and new programs to treat them. racial trauma.
The following story chronicles health equity in Minnesota in a year that continues to challenge health care workers and the public, especially communities of color. We’re planning health insurance for 2023 and would love to know how you feel! Send your health story ideas to seldred@sahanjournal.com.
1. About Twin Cities’ COVID Ward: A wave of young, white patients. And lots of burnout.
Reporter Joey Peters interviewed four nurses about their experiences working in hospitals overwhelmed by COVID cases. In their own words, they talked about the most difficult times in their careers. Many health workers quit their jobs and reported burnout. Others are having a hard time. “It was hard,” Maplewood’s Wilson Ekinde, a registered nurse at M Health Fairview St. John’s Hospital, told his Peters. “I cried a few times. But when I get home and shower, I don’t talk about it, especially with my kids. I have a story to tell, and I try not to talk too much because it burns me out.” Later that year, nurses went on strike to fight for better wages, staffing and patient care.
2. The U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, unfairly putting people of color at risk of harm, experts say.
On the day the Supreme Court announced its decision to overturn the Roe v. Wade ruling, a Sahan Journal reporter spoke with a local health expert about how the ruling will affect people of color. On a difficult day for these reproductive rights advocates, an expert made time to answer our calls.
I spoke with Dr. Rachel Hardeman, director of the Center for Anti-Racism Health Equity Research at the University of Minnesota. People who can’t afford the money, transportation or time off from work will be forced to travel out of state to get safe and legal abortions, she said.
“Oh, that breaks my heart,” she told me. Specified groups, as well as nonbinary people and people with low socioeconomic resources, will suffer the most.”
Another expert spoke on a media call about her last abortion in South Dakota.
“The last time I had an abortion in South Dakota, the last patient I saw had a very similar story to many I see,” says Planned Parenthood North. Dr. Sarah Traxler, Chief Medical Officer for Central Province, said, “She is a young mother who already has a child and is struggling to make ends meet, and would not want to bring another child into such a situation.” I couldn’t imagine coming. She was able to make the right decisions for herself and her family…for a woman in South Dakota, this is no longer a reality.”
I also wrote about how Minnesota protects abortion access and how to access services safely.
3. Minnesota Muslims have found a safe place to recover from alcoholism: a mosque.
Because Islam prohibits the consumption of alcohol, Muslims often face the extreme stigma of alcoholism.but nurse Munira Malimisak did not stop bringing substance abuse treatment to mosques.
Joey Peters reported on a Muslim support group that gathered 60 people at two local mosques to discuss addiction. Because of the stigma associated with substance abuse, the group provides a lifeline to many in East African communities who are committed to speaking publicly about the issue.
Four. ‘Laid back mind’ turns into ‘unique mind’: Minnesota Somalis have created a new term for defining autism and building acceptance.
Until recently, there was no word for “autism” in Somali. Reporter Hibah Ansari spoke with local parents who hoped more positive language about neurological and developmental disorders would help remove the stigma.
one of the words Mangarwhich translates to “unique mind”.
Anitha Hussein told Ansari that the term positively describes her children.
“We have to teach society, and for that we have to come up with a language,” she said. “Somali people are a more talkative, more verbal community. For example, they compose poetry.
However, there is still much work to be done. Misconception that measles vaccine causes autism Year-end regional clusters of measles cases.
Five. How much will COVID affect Black and Latinx people? A new brain project at the University of Minnesota looks for answers. This process begins with changing who participates in COVID research.
Back in the early days of the pandemic, Dr. Gilin Oz, a professor and brain researcher at the University of Minnesota, said: I realized that research into how the new coronavirus affects the brain needs to start as soon as possible. In addition to the direct impact on patients who develop neurological problems, she knew that a widespread virus affecting the brain could threaten ongoing brain research. If 90% were infected with COVID, how would brain researchers distinguish between COVID-related problems and independent brain problems?
And as it quickly became apparent that people of color were disproportionately affected by COVID-19, Oz and colleagues committed to gathering a diverse cohort of black and brown participants. Did. “We don’t want to learn about COVID long with just the white population,” she told me.
Early results from the study are likely to be published in the new year.
