6 Ongoing Challenges with COVID-19
Unit Authored by:
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Jennette Allen-McCombs, PhD, LMSW. Assistant Professor, Department of Social Work, York College – City University of New York.
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Sharon Beaumont-Bowman, SLP.D. Graduate Program Director, Department of Communication, Arts, Sciences and Disorders, Brooklyn College.
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Michael Bergen, AuD, CCC-A. Director, Speech Language and Hearing Center, Brooklyn College and CUNY Doctoral Audiology Program, Founding Faculty Member.
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Clarence Chan, PT, DPT. Director and Professor, Physical Therapist Assistant Program, LaGuardia Community College – City University of New York.
Goals:
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To identify ongoing challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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To provide evidence of the personal experiences of individuals affected by COVID-19.
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To suggest personal, health and social lessons learned through COVID-19.
These varied experiences of the disease affect not only individuals, but the family and community as well.
The patient stories presented below provide some evidence of the significant effect of COVID-19 on human lives. COVID-19 also presents many challenges to the public health system in the United States. From the initial crisis to the present day, there is confusion about guidelines for mask-use, testing, care, and treatment. This is confounded by the misinformation and disinformation that proliferates through social media. Ultimately, the public’s confidence in science, the government and the health care system are affected. Indeed, some health communication experts state that there is parallel pandemic of COVID and misinformation/disinformation. These and other ongoing economic, social and health challenges illuminate the inequity and injustice that exists in our society, but was long present before the emergence of COVID-19. Clearly, there are lessons to be learned from the pandemic and it is hoped that COVID-19 will provide an opportunity for individuals and society to move toward a more just, cohesive, and healthier existence.
Johns Hopkins Medicine collected patient stories that captured individuals’ experiences during COVID. NBC News published a collection of illustrated narratives titled “COVID Chronicles.” It describes the COVID-19 challenges through the lens of the patients and the health care professionals that were caring for them.
CUNY students’ experiences associated with COVID-19
Brooklyn College collected a series of “Autoethnographies of a Pandemic from Brooklyn’s Epicenter” with personal accounts of COVID experiences among Black communities, immigrant communities, poor Americans, and undocumented individuals. These autoethnographies, written by students are available through the Brooklyn College COVID-19 archive. This project was also associated with the collections from the Brooklyn COVID project, a collaboration between the Brooklyn Historical Society and Brooklyn Public Library.
A LaGuardia Community College student examined the pandemic with a study on how the case rate and death rate from