The Latest Research, Commentary, And News From Health Affairs
Friday, June 25, 2021
Dear John,
June’s Narrative Matters essay recounts the stigma and shame one mother faced after testing positive for COVID-19 shortly before giving birth.
With COVID-19, I Faced Stigma And Shame
“That nasal swab changed my entire birth experience,” writes June’s Narrative Matters author, Sara Edmond. She tested positive for COVID-19 one day before her scheduled cesarean delivery.
In her essay, Edmond describes her attempts earlier in pregnancy to understand the protocols around giving birth for those who test positive for COVID-19, and the dismissive tone with which she was met by health care providers. When she did test positive, Edmond faced consistent judgement and questioning of her behavior by hospital staff.
As a clinical health psychologist who specializes in patient-provider communication, Edmond explains, “Shame-induced stigma is an ineffective tool for motivating behavior change and does not encourage future risk reduction, and most health care providers should know this.”
Today on Health Affairs Blog, Rena Conti and coauthors propose four reforms to address the incentives that drive high prices—even in the absence of clinical benefit—for prescription drugs paid for through Medicare’s Part B.
In a GrantWatch post, Shao-Chee Sim and Andrea Ducas discuss a collaboration between the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Episcopal Health Foundation to address challenges in the safety net and rural health care.
Unpacking Apple's Health Care Efforts And Digital Health's Overall Maturity
Listen to Health Affairs' Jeff Byers and Exits & Outcomes' Brian Dolan discuss Apple's moves in health care and the overall maturity of the digital health industry.
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