COVID-19: Public Health, Policy, and Culture

What is actually required for a nation to become fully COVID-free?  In this episode we explore this topic with Dr. Michelle Dickinson, nanoengineer and owner of Nanogirl Labs in New Zealand.  We hear about what it's like to live on an island officially declared a COVID-free nation. Dr. Michelle tells us what the magic formula is to creating a COVID-free nation -- where a unified message and a cohesive culture of working together can make all the difference.  Instead of the problems of growing rates and counts of the virus, they face new challenges of how to move forward in an outside world where the pandemic continues to ravage the well-being of populations.

Learn more about Dr. Michelle Dickinson at www.nanogirllabs.com

What is it like to serve in public office in a large and diverse city during the pandemic?

In this episode, we speak to Assemblymember Luz Rivas, who represents Assembly District 39 in the City of Los Angeles, in a region of the San Fernando Valley. This is a region where there is a population of Hispanic/Latinx and Spanish speaking neighborhoods who face the challenges of navigating information, administrative paperwork, and providing essential services to the region.  In this interview with Assemblymember Luz Rivas, we hear about how information about public health updates is actively shared with the community.

How has the pandemic impacted your mental health? In this episode, we speak to Dr. Araceli Lopez Arenas, who talks to us about her experiences in mental health counseling therapy during the pandemic, where she often serves the Latinx population in Southern California. We talk about how the pandemic had both positively and negatively impacted mental health, the context of mental health services for Latinx , and also the journey of navigating and accessing mental health services.

Visit the COVID-19: PPC podcast home at anchor.fm/covid19ppc

How does COVID-19 relate to the current social justice and national unrest in the United States? In this episode we speak to Sharon H. Chang, photographer, author, and activist in the Pacific Northwest.  We discuss health disparities affecting Black and Latinx populations, in addition to stigma and negative perceptions of people of color when wearing protective masks in public during the pandemic.  Sharon discusses her current activism photography projects supporting people of color and racial justice. To learn more about Sharon H. Chang, visit sharonhchang.com

https://www.racialequitytools.org/act/strategies/racial-reconciliation-and-racial-healing

https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/social-justice-resources/

https://www.dialoguesondiversity.com/social-justice-resources

www.anchorfm.covid19ppc

aprilmorenophd.com/covid19ppc

What exactly is contact tracing and why are people talking about it so much? How does this process help to improve public health? In this episode we speak to Gabriela Calvi, a public health professional tasked with contact tracing for the Spanish speaking population at her county agency in Texas. She tells us about her work as an advocate and podcaster for the Spanish speaking community with her podcast, Buenos Dias Salud, and her work in researching and helping COVID-19 patients track the location where they were infected with the virus. We also discuss health equity and the need for culturally competent and equitable care for patients with all ethnic and language backgrounds.

In this episode we had the opportunity to speak to an educator living in Gallup, McKinley County, New Mexico during this pandemic. We hear about the  pandemic spread and its severity disproportionately affecting Native American populations in the region, despite the proactive efforts of state level policy. We also learn about some of the multicultural history and background of the region, in addition to some of its additional challenges of air quality, education and other economic risks adding to the challenges of the pandemic.

The episode was recorded just a few days before the current news about the closure of roads into Gallup at the current time:

In this episode we learn about the measures for protection in Shanghai, China during the pandemic. What is it like to travel from another country into China, and what are quarantine practices like? We had the chance to speak to an international family visiting Thailand for an unexpected extended vacation as the pandemic began, the process of safety protocols on the return to China, and the proactive perspectives of time with family, exercise, and time for kids to connect with friends and classmates online.