Social Medicine Rounds

The Black Maternal Health Crisis places the United States far behind other high-income countries in the prenatal and birthing care for Black birthing people. What are the factors driving this and how can we apply solutions that will drive improvements in care for all populations? Join national and Bronx-focused birth equity experts in exploring these questions in our Sept. 24, 2024, Rounds.

Join us: Tuesday September 24 4:30pm ET.

Did you know healthcare workers have historically voted less often than their counterparts in the legal and teaching fields? We are working to change that trend by infusing healthcare with a sense of possibility around how to be civically engaged in health spaces. Our August’s Social Medicine Rounds highlighted the work of Vot-ER, Health Democracy Health People, and Civic Health Alliance in using civic engagement to address the structural inequities that drive health determinants and negatively impact patients.

Substance use disorders are at an all-time high in the United States, particularly following the Covid-19 pandemic. With significant inequities by race/ethnicity, geography, class and other social and structural factors, we are facing an addiction epidemic. Join the leads of clinical delivery and community service centers to discuss how clinicians, community members and those directly impacted by addiction can apply the principles of harm reduction.

June 18, 2024

Joined by author of Grief is Love, Marisa Renee Lee, our June Social Medicine Rounds featured how grief impacts our experience as patients and healthcare practitioners, and what we can learn from a practice of grief. This session provided insights from seasoned clinician Dr. Deborah Swiderski and trainee Dr. Mostafa Elhakim.

April 23, 2024

The Cross Bronx Expressway (CBE) has had a major impact on the social, economic, and health outcomes of the Bronx community since its construction in the 1950s. In addition to disrupting physical neighborhoods and degrading social cohesion, the CBE also led to increased rates of asthma and other respiratory and chronic illnesses. Through advocacy from local Bronx residents, a new effort is underway to re-imagine how some of the negative impacts of the CBE may be mitigated. Our April Rounds featured the collective advocacy, planning, and evaluation efforts underway, with speakers from the NYC DOHMH, Department of City Planning, and Department of Transportation.

March 26, 2024

Popularized by Atul Gawande’s New Yorker feature on Hot Spotters, Camden Coalition has long served as a trailblazer for how to center community and health determinants in clinical care delivery. Our March Rounds featured Camden Coalition's approaches to patient-driven community engagement efforts that drive innovative healthcare improvements.

February 20, 2024

Access to comprehensive reproductive healthcare is vital for the functioning of an equitable society. With challenges to reproductive rights across the US, various states are experiencing worsening of health outcomes for women and birthing people who may lack access to health-promoting services such as comprehensive family planning including abortion. Dr. Ghazaleh Moayedi, a board-certified OB/GYN, joined our February Social Medicine Rounds to discuss the unique challenges to abortion access in Texas, its impact on medical education and pregnancy care, and how to prepare for the possibility of similar restrictions across the U.S.

January 23, 2024

Our January Rounds with Take Back the Bronx (TBTB) explored the power of grassroots community organizing. TBTB is a local Bronx community care organization that addresses societal issues such as housing and food scarcity using an anti-capitalist, abolitionist lens. We considered how lessons from TBTB can impact healthcare workers' use of their unique privilege to advance efforts that protect their peers, patients, and communities.

November 28, 2023

From advocacy around housing access to classic medical-legal partnerships, legal supports have played a major role in how social determinants of health are addressed in medical care delivery. Our Nov 2023 Rounds included speakers Leah Goodridge, Esq. (Mobilization for Justice) and Nancy Parker, Esq. (Detroit Justice Center) for a conversation on how legal advocacy promotes good health.

October 24, 2023

The prison industrial complex disproportionately impacts racial and ethnic minorities, with lasting effects on social, economic and health outcomes for incarcerated individuals. Reintegration into the community after imprisonment is a particularly sensitive time, and ways to ensure safe transitions are an important part of medical care. Our October Social Medicine Rounds explored abolitionist perspectives on the U.S. criminal justice system and how clinicians and advocates can improve outcomes for those impacted by it.

September 26, 2023

Our Sept 2023 Social Medicine Rounds reviewed how Anchor Models can be used to drive wealth into communities via hiring, purchasing and community-led investments.

August 29, 2023

Our Aug Rounds focus on how health professionals can address social determinants of health, with leads from HealthBegins, a national health improvement organization, and the local NYC Dept of Health Bronx Action Center.

July 25, 2023

Our July Social Medicine Rounds covered how healthcare professionals, patients, and community groups may utilize civic engagement and advocacy to improve healthcare outcomes for all, and featured speakers from Civic Health Alliance, Healthy Democracy Healthy People, and Vot-ER.

May 30, 2023

Our May 2023 Rounds focused on policies for gun reform, community advocacy, and institutional support, with input from scholars, activists and community members impacted by gun violence on what the healthcare sector can do to address this public health crisis.

April 25, 2023

Our April Rounds, “Good Sex, Bad Sex - Queer Sexual Liberation in the Age of HIV PrEP & Novel Antiretrovirals” covered how advancements in HIV prevention and treatment are welcoming in a new age of sexual health care that is focused on patient-centered preferences. These advancements are enabling queer people to liberate themselves from decades of stigma associated with HIV and queer sex.

March 28, 2023

Our March Rounds, “Global Health Transformation: From Decolonization to Collective Liberation,” featured two speakers who examined how the global health movement may move beyond conversations of decolonization to one of true community-driven action and improvement.

February 28, 2023

The mental health crisis is at an all-time high, made worse by the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. Novel solutions are needed to ensure access and adequate treatment for all populations. This month’s Social Medicine Rounds will explore how community-led solutions are delivering mental health services to historically marginalized populations.

January 24, 2023

Our January 2023 Social Medicine Rounds “‘We Won’t Back Down:’ Health Communications in the Age of Misinformation,” featured leaders in clinical medicine and public health communication sharing how they’ve navigated the often vitriolic information landscape to ensure the public continues to get truthful and well-researched guidance on how to face various public health crises.

November 15, 2022

Our November 15th 2022 Social Medicine Rounds, “Learning from Community Partners: The Sex Worker’s Project” featured a deep dive into the groundbreaking work of Urban Justice Center’s Sex Workers Project, the first program in the country to focus on the provision of legal services, legal training, documentation, and policy advocacy for sex workers.

October 25, 2022

Our October Social Medicine Rounds explored how Black maternal health reflects embedded racial health inequities.

September 27, 2022

Our September Social Medicine Rounds covered "Climate Change and Health: Preparation and Advocacy to Achieve Climate Justice"

August 23, 2022

Our August Rounds, "So You Want To Be An Ally" covered how healthcare workers can partner with local community groups to achieve justice in economic collaboratives and prison reform.

June 21, 2022

Our June Social Medicine Rounds covered how Bronx physicians and residents can join in effective advocacy for disability rights.

Apr 26, 2022

Our April Rounds: “Incarceration and Transitions: The Urgent Need fro Criminal Justice Reform”

Mar 22, 2022

Our March 22nd Social Medicine Rounds, "Supporting Opioid Overdose Prevention Centers," featured members from the Department of Health discussing harm reduction techniques, including the country's first opioid prevention centers which opened in NYC in 2021.

Feb 22, 2022

Our February Rounds featured Dr. Bigby and student doctor Ms. Wooten discussing advocacy in medicine as trainees.

Jan 25, 2022

Our January Rounds featured a documentary-inspired discussion on how the Young Lords helped shape the social justice movement in the Bronx: "Social Justice Lessons from the Young Lords"

Dec 14, 2021

Our December 2021 Rounds featured Drs. Michelle Morse and Matifadza Hlatshwayo Davis, discussing "Health Equity and Public Health: Bridging the Healthcare, Community, Public Health Siloes"

Nov 23, 2021

Our November Social Medicine Rounds featured a conversation about barriers and facilitators to Covid-19 vaccine uptake in the Bronx.

Oct 12, 2021

Our October Social Medicine Rounds featured Dept of Family and Social Medicine graduate, Dr. Bhavik Kumar who discussed issues around abortion and trans rights and how central reproductive rights are to the socioeconomic success of a community.