Timely Approaches
(Asynchronous)
Public in Public Health View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Le Thao Chi Vu
The Coronavirus Pandemic is giving us an old perspective anew on public health: “health for the people” and “health by the people.” The former deals with institutions’ responsibility in providing public health environment and the latter calls attention to individuals’ lifestyles to improve their health. The current pandemic places this public health perspective under scrutiny. The Coronavirus is not the first case where individuals’ responsibility towards public health has become a focal point. The correlation between one’s behavior and its consequences may be well-established in the case of the Coronavirus. However, individuals’ attitudes towards the public for the sake of public health continues to evade our attention. We pay attention to this void in public health issues. A survey with open-ended questions in April among 22 Vietnamese and 26 Japanese reveals the differences in attitude between them towards the Pandemic, and how they see their responsibility and that of their respective governments in handling the Pandemic. The survey also suggests the differences in their orientations towards the public: to the Vietnamese, the public is the sphere of government responsibility, freeing them to engage in promoting their personal interest. Whereas to the Japanese, the public is a sphere where they refrain themselves from becoming its intruders. The recent history of each country offers convincing explanations for the two different orientations towards the public. As such, the research calls attention to the role of education in orienting people to “health” in public health and to the “public” in public health.
Examination of Ageism During the COVID-19 Pandemic View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Cherrie Park
Concerns are on the rise that ageism has heightened amid the COVID-19 pandemic globally. COVID-19 and heightened ageism could be a formidable threat to older adults’ mental health as well as physical health, leading to marginalization, segregation, and abuse of the older adults. Regardless of the magnitude of the problem, studies with empirical data are few yet. In order to confront the adverse consequences of ageism with effective interventions, it is critical to examine the extent ageism has heightened since the onset of COVID-19 and what the main causes are. Accordingly, this study addresses the following research questions. First, has ageism significantly heightened after COVID-19? Second, what types of ageism are prevalent in relation to COVID-19 (e.g., affective, cognitive, behavioral)? Third, which factors of the pandemic influenced the formation or change of ageism? In order to answer these questions, surveys were conducted by participants aged 18 to 59 in the US. The participants were asked to answer what their responses to the scale would have been prior to COVID-19 and what their responses are after COVID-19. Findings of this study are significant because they discuss a timely and globally occurring problem. In addition, ageism is expected persist even after the pandemic ends, negatively affecting quality of life among the older population. Therefore, ongoing attention to this problem is crucial. Based on quantitative data drawn from the surveys, this study will advance the development of successful anti-ageist practices.
Creative Contributions during COVID-19: Connecting with Health Care Communities through Music during COVID-19 View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Mary Perkinson
During these unprecedented times, many of us can relate to the effects of social isolation. As a result of the pandemic, many of us have experienced stress, fear, and anxiety. Despite these unsettling feelings, knowing that we are living a shared experience provides comfort and a collective feeling that we are in this together. For those receiving care in health care facilities or care homes, feelings of grief, fear, stress, and anxiety are experienced on most days. These feelings are often heightened by isolation, a common experience, especially among marginalized group such as people of color and the elderly. This paper gives an overview of several programs that aim to contribute to the environment of care for patients, caregivers, and staff in area health care facilities. Special attention is paid to those disproportionately affected by the pandemic, including the elderly and people of color. A framework will be shared that enabled program facilitators and partners, including faculty artists, music students, healthcare providers, and healthcare program facilitators, to pivot in unison and deliver remote programing in order to continue to serve our most vulnerable populations through music.
Acting Away to Freedom: Drama Therapy in West Bengal Prisons
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Priyanka Bhattacharyya
Research on criminal law and criminal corrections, although are vast in the context of Europe and America, yet remain scarce when it comes to India (Albrecht, H. J 2005). Indian prisons have been portrayed as being brutish, unhygienic, and overcrowded, which has urged the government to introduce various reforms in order to make the Indian penal system more humane and also respect the basic needs of the prisoners. Many Acts and Reforms have been introduced in India like the West Bengal Correctional Services Act of 1992, which have significantly worked to improve the inmates’ well-being and also paid attention to the rehabilitation of the inmates which helped in their social integration (Roy 2003). All this have made the Indian Penal System more ‘flexible’ in the recent years (Albrecht, H. J 2005; Vibhute 2005). An important outcome of the Act of 1992 had been the introduction of the Culture Therapy, which along with several infrastructural and social changes introduced within the prison were seen to revolutionize rehabilitation and significantly improve the degenerate mental health of the incarcerated and at the same time reduce recidivism. The field work took place in Durgapur Sub-Correctional Home in West Bengal were a host of factors were seen to health and wellness amongst the inmates. I have categorized my research on three broad topics namely: Infrastructure and Rehabilitation; Arts therapy and Consciousness-building in Rehabilitation; Social Connections and Rehabilitation and I have used these ‘tropes’ to analytically engage with rehabilitation in West Bengal Correctional Facilities.
How to Keep LGBTQ+ People Safe on Dating Apps: Examining App Users’ Strategies and App Companies’ Responsibilities to Promote the Safety, Health, and Wellbeing of LGBTQ+ People View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Christopher Dietzel, Matthew Numer
Smartphone-based dating apps are popular among LGBTQ+ people because they offer safe spaces for them to explore their identities, foster connections, build community, and pursue sexual encounters. Despite this, LGBTQ+ people experience sexual violence (Dietzel, 2021) and homophobia and transphobia (Albury et al., 2020) through their use of apps. Racialized LGBTQ+ people are targeted because of their race and ethnicity (Dietzel, at press). Sexual health is also a concern, as app use has been linked to the transmission of sexually transmitted blood-borne infections and HIV (Numer et al., 2019). App companies have responded to these concerns by launching public campaigns, developing new in-app features, and sharing resources on their websites. And with the COVID-19 pandemic, app companies have paid increased attention to users’ needs by publicizing public health guidelines, emphasizing mental health, and encouraging positive sexual health (Myles et al., 2021). While app companies should attend to the safety, health, and wellbeing of their users – and provide support that is tailored to LGBTQ+ people’s needs – the responsibility of app companies in providing such services should be examined. This study examines the strategies and methods that LGBTQ+ people employ to promote safety, health, and wellbeing in their experiences with dating apps. This paper also scrutinizes app companies’ responsibility in attending to their users’ safety, health, and wellbeing and considers whether app companies, as for-profit corporations are best positioned to support LGBTQ+ people’s needs.
COVID-19 Vaccine Perceptions : Narrative about the Danger to Get Injected
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Beldi Alcantara Maria
The objective of this work is to demonstrate how indigenous Pentecostals built a dynamic narrative of rejection of the COVID-19 vaccine. The introduction of vaccination in the indigenous reserve had little acceptance at the beginning, however, over time the population saw that there was no transformation of indigenous beings, at this time, the pastors change their discourse and start to play the threat of this type of treatment. In which is those who took the vaccine did not transform, then their future children may be born deformed. The consequence of this type of narrative meant that many indigenous people did not take the second dose of it. What is the logic of the symbolic effectiveness of this narrative if the indigenous population of the Dourados' Reserve accepts other types of vaccines, such as measles, BCG, etc.
