Welcome to the Health Humanities Gallery!

We hope you enjoy this sampling of the creative, thoughtful, and moving work produced by students in the first ever offering of Health Humanities at Trent University, focused on everyday health, the arts, and social justice.

There are 4 sections so keep scrolling!!!

Public Health Humanities: COVID-19

We started the course thinking about the implications of COVID-19, which then rippled through our exploration of the role of stories, diagnosis, social justice, and the imagination in everyday health. The first set of projects in the gallery—two videos and a game—come out of these reflections on the effects of the current pandemic, created by students with experience working on the frontlines and by a future pharmacist.

A Global Pandemic from All Sides by Brittany Clement

The video I created was created with the intention to highlight some alternative thoughts of what it is like to be a nurse during a pandemic.

I wanted to use the video of my daughter learning how to ride a bike because this was one activity she was determined to learn while home from school during the beginning of the pandemic and her perseverance was a great visual to demonstrate the perseverance that we nurse’s have also been portraying during the pandemic.

I changed my scope slightly because when thinking about the pandemic we hear a lot of negatives, and while this video is not positive per say, I attempted to highlight some of the positive aspects we as nurses have experienced, such as a stronger bond with our co-workers.

Covidopoly Game by Cassandra Peeters

COVIDOPOLY is as self-explanatory as the name suggests. It combines the struggles of the novel coronavirus with a boardgame format and allows the player to interactively make their way through a month (or two) of living in the pandemic. While this game also has disheartening aspects, getting very close to running out of money, frequent use of masks, the ever present bills and expenses, it is also engaging.

One of the cards you can draw in this game is a money saver that allows the player to buy only frozen food at the grocery store instead of fresh food. By doing this they can pay $40 instead of the weekly grocery amount of $75, saving $35. This card demonstrates balancing health and financial sustainability which is very common in the lives of many.

COVIDOPOLY portrays a concept similar to narrative humility as it demonstrates existing hierarchies caused by the pandemic and shows how they affect different people and cause them to make certain choices. While understanding the current sociopolitical crisis the world is going through, it is essential to always instill some joy into life. The news educates people about the virus in a depressive and negative way but COVIDOPOLY seeks to educate through engagement and fun. This game reminds one of those stressors but allows them to relax, be competitive and make their way through a month, COVID19 style.

Year 2020: The Health Apocalypse by Paige Klingbeil

In this course, we have explored the topics of public health, social justice, storytelling and aging and I wanted to make a video that ties all of these together. COVID-19 was the most significant and impactful thing that occurred this year, so I mainly focused on how it has played a role in increasing the severity of these issues even more. I hope that this video shows that not only are all of these issues serious, but they are happening simultaneously and affecting thousands of people. I believe that although healthcare and healthcare research is becoming more innovative and advanced by the year, these issues are being overseen and ignored. The elderly, who are very important parts of our society, are struggling and being denied resources that they have rights to. Many Indigenous and low-income communities still do not have access to clean drinking water or sufficient healthcare, and COVID-19 is only making this issue worse. COVID-19 has emphasized the huge societal gap between communities as well as the inequalities in public health. Lastly, mental health issues have become extremely prevalent this year due to the mass amount of uncertainty and fear.

Diagnosis and Perspective

We devoted a module to thinking about how the clinical moment a diagnosis is uttered is such a small part of the broader experience of illness. Students free wrote their own diagnosis stories and took on the roles of characters in the articles we read to think about the power and emotional shifts involved in the process. These projects—4 videos and a game—offer reflections on what diagnosis means in broader day-to-day life, from students looking back on their past experiences of diagnosis and looking forward to how they can use those to teach others.

Diagnosis: The Identity Thief by Tess Smith

The diagnosis was cancer. The treatment was chemo.

The side-effects are a heart of armour and a strong-willed spirit.

‘Diagnosis: the identity thief’ is a short documentary-style mini film that was filmed solo. The piece runs 7 minutes and 55 seconds in length and uses recent film -- as well as an old video I dug up from the archives in 2012, and some old pictures from 2012 all the way up to date.

Through this project, I’ve been able to contribute not only to the subject of health humanities, but also to my own sense of personhood, identity, and character within the life of diagnosis. As per Clare’s excerpt, used as my epigraph, in putting this film together I further experienced the ways my diagnosis wields my power and also inevitably puts me in a limited life where I can’t know my physical boundaries until I break them -- and by this I mean, for example, pushing my body too hard one day while having a good pain day, only to wake up the next day feeling horrible. Diagnosis has been severely disorienting for me, as a naturally strong-willed person, because a cancer diagnosis - and at no less at the age of 13 - is “supposed to” make you weak. It’s supposed to victimize you. When people talk about you, they’re no longer talking about you, they’re talking about the disease that has become you. Diagnosis is an identity thief.

‘Diagnosis: the identity thief’ is not what I planned it to be, but I’m happy that it isn’t. I thrive off of spur of the moment creativity. In fact, it’s what allows me to make the art that I do. If I planned out everything I put into my short film, I don’t believe it would have the same effect I’ve intended it to. By creating from a very raw, vulnerable, and truthful perspective, I invite my audience to view it in the same way.

Path to Diagnosis and Gaining Back Control by Steven McDermott

The journey in seeking answers for health-related issues can be a scary ride, mixed with fear, concern, and urgency. It can also be a journey of hope, strength, and overcoming one's distress. The anticipation of sitting in a doctor's office, waiting for that final outcome can be a terrifying experience. The results can define a person from that point on, for the better or worse. Some will find answers, solutions, and move on. Others will be riddled with many appointments, tests, or unfulfilled findings. The cold experience a lot of us are accustom to within the medical model also is displayed within my story. When I was looking for empathy or some kind words to help build the strength to conquer my toughest health battle ahead, they weren't delivered in that doctors' office.

My short diagnosis film was entirely filmed in my car. I decided to use my vehicle as the metaphor for losing control and gaining control back. It starts with myself typing my story out and then displays the road ahead of me while I drive and narrate my story, with the keys still typing within the background. The video shifts to the passenger seat when I feel I've lost control over my health. When I am convinced the medical model had failed me, I take my own approach to healing which the shot of the rear-view mirror resembles me looking back, reflecting on what I had just gone through. Finally, in the end scene, I take the wheel back over, I gained the control back, which is my health. I am the one navigating my own life from here on out, not my anxiety. I also incorporated the use of color to convey a story which we also covered in our content. It goes from a dark and gloomy color base to bright and vibrant when I take back ownership of the driver's seat.

I hope this inspires others to feel comfortable and in control of whatever they are going through.

Dr. Menon by Arianna Hunter

Although I might not have a ‘tough health story’, I thought I might share a little piece, it is a letter I wrote to one of the doctors I grew up with that took very good care of me.

The writing process is inherently reflective and insightful, and it forces you to make connections. Regardless of if one decides to use media to tell their story or not, I think simply writing about a situation can effectively start the healing process. If one chooses to share through media once writing process has already been done, the goal is to turn a simple story into a bigger media piece.

In the 21st Century the barriers to production have basically vanished. Today we can make videos and edit them straight from our mobile phones. I currently see very little digital storytelling, and I probably would have never known, about it until I attended this course.

I personally like to journal or write as if I am sending a letter to others, just so I can have a peace of mind.

I have been blessed to have good health and I thank God

The Visit by Tia Donovan

For my final gallery project, I decided to create a digital story focusing on diagnosis and perspective through a personal experience at the hospital. This format allowed for me to contribute thoughts and emotions, while using images and voice to make sense of my experience, allowing viewers and listeners to make their own connections. A key component to this story is the significance surrounding patient-nurse and/or patient-physician interactions, and how diagnosis is a pivotal moment for patients. It is important to understand how patient experiences can be enhanced by those around us — those whom we view as essential and important healthcare heroes. A simple, genuine interaction can go a long way. In my case here, it was a nurse who was memorable.

That being said, positive patient-centered interactions allow for patients to feel more comfortable when going through difficult times of diagnosis and all it carries. While my story doesn’t dive deep into my personal diagnosis, viewers and listeners are still able to relate to their own possible experiences in a health care setting and reflect on how they were treated in this time of need

It is not JUST the BLUES by Amy Vesters

The story that I originally wanted to describe was one of a personal one to me and was hard to come up with the proper words behind the emotion and relate it back to course content. I ended up making a collage, recording my story and had some other depicter words and phrases from my own history.

My reflection was based on module two, focussing on language matters. The deficits from a patient perspective with the interaction with the health professional is lacking. As we watched in “A Doctor’s Touch,” the human touch and interaction really does matter and is a key aspect in the patient to Doctor communication. It is nerving to seek medical attention to many people and if the patient is already feeling uneasy, the lack of patient empathy does not benefit the patient at any level.

The Game Played with People's Health by Kayla Labine Zhang

My experience is that an individual’s health is sometimes treated as a game. This visual presentation of the “game” health care professionals plays with individuals health demonstrates the need for narrative humility within the health care system. I have chosen to make an art piece which represents the difficulties and barriers to seeking medical help. This artistic piece should evoke the feelings and emotions of sadness and frustration when trying to get medical attention and or get a diagnosis. The reason it is so important that this artistic representation of the struggle’s individuals face when seeking medical help is so important is that often, people do not understand the difficulties and hopelessness associated with it. There is a high demand in school and work that which affects individuals having time to treat their pain. Within society, humility is often lost and forgotten as the pressures of society are weighing on everyone. Individuals must take a step back and see a small part of the health barriers affecting people of all ages, colour, culture, and sex. I acknowledge that my artistic representation of board game may come across as confusing since it is so specific to my journey through achieving a diagnosis for migraines. But I hope that it provides insight and perhaps allows for people to practice humility towards all individuals, as we are all facing barriers in life that affect all aspects of our health.

Health and Social Justice

Justice was part of every module in the course, but as we continued to think through everyday health in context, we made sure to focus directly on social justice and how it might inflect and transform health care. These projects—a digital booklet, a sculpture, and a storyboard—put health care and living with illness in a context that illuminates the social determinants of health.

Let's Go to the Dentist: No! by Yathusha Selverajah

The form I decided to use for my gallery project is a digital booklet. Using my parent’s outlook as well as my own viewpoint on dental health, I developed a short, icon-dependent booklet expressing the concerns of dental care in racialized immigrants, specifically those who are adults.

The first page expresses the concern of overlooked dental care, as a physical exam at the doctor always trumped going to the dentist in my immigrant household. Growing up, I followed my parents’ footsteps, instinctively believing that a doctor’s office visit was more important than a dental visit.

Then I began to realize that the disregarded dental care had deep rooted causes including language barriers, financial barriers, and the lack of relationship building I have witnessed my parents experience. Language barriers in communication result in misunderstandings, minimal open communication, and several negative feelings of inferiority. This has led to fear of judgement as well as withdrawal from dental care unless it was absolutely needed.

Financial barriers, which is not an issue in racialized families but predominantly observed in low-income families, lead to patients developing pre-determined ideologies. Thus, in any normal circumstance a dental visit is avoided whilst dental visit when in pain is responded with, “If I have to.” I then explain common phrases I hear and experience at the dentist and compare it to the uncommon phrases and experiences of my parents.

The lack of small talk, open communication, and robust dialogue between the dentist and my parents widens the gap of the dentist-patient relationship. Here, I think it is important to understand that as a first-generation, fluent English-speaking coloured child, I experience small talk and genuine open communication, allowing the trust and relationship to strengthen. When dentists talk to me about my parent’s health, this adds to the issue of lack of relationship building as indirect inquiry belittles my parents. Their experience, however, can be reflected in many families of colour with similar barriers that hinder their access to dental care The “only go when needed” responsive mentality is what prevents these individuals from seeing a dentist frequently to avoid accumulated oral health concerns.

THE Porcelain Throne by Valentina Zuluaga Cuartas

Sanitation, and the absence of it, can affect lives. Toilets are crucial to building economic stability, improving health, and for protecting human rights and dignity (WHO, 2019). I grew up in a place with a lot of poverty, where many children had to defecate in holes and wipe with newspaper — this should not be the case, as this issue can be easily fixed with enough resources and governmental commitment.

So, with all that I learned in this course about using our own storytelling to highlight critical aspects about health, I write the story of a porcelain throne that is so exclusive, billions of people do not have access to one.

I created this toilet sculpture mainly out of toilet paper to highlight the importance of proper sanitation facilities for both physical and mental health, as well as for the improvement of people’s safety and dignity. Making the toilet seat out of toilet paper emphasizes that we have enough resources to “waste” toilet paper to make a fake sculpture. However, billions of individuals do not have access to enough resources to properly wipe their own bodily wastes.

Illustration of an Inner Affliction & Illustration of an Inner Healing by Anthony Galluzzo

Illustration of an Inner Infliction and Illustration of an Inner Healing are two storyboard style graphics reated to depict and give a brief explanation of some of the experiences individuals with post-traumatic stress disorder, PTSD, may have. Though there is some common knowledge about PTSD it is often understood poorly and missing important aspects of some individual’s journeys. PTSD is much larger than the individual event that the person experiences and rapidly can cause disruptions in the person’s life.

With how COVID-19 has changed the world and is affecting almost every person, it is an important time to consider how PTSD affects people and what is involved in the healing process. Many people in the healthcare industry, individuals that suffered directly with COVID-19, and individuals which are trapped in violent, abusive, and dangerous situations may develop PTSD. It is important to remind people what individuals may be struggling with and how difficult it is to overcome these challenges.

Within Health Humanities storytelling and listening to others is an important aspect of healing. Through my personal experience of extensive trauma, diagnosis of severe complex-PTSD I tried to show a small glimpse into the world of living with trauma and PTSD. My intent is not to instruct people to do something, to shame anyone for unhelpful behaviours or words, but to hopefully educate people a little and hopefully have people reflect on how they can better support people that may be in their lives. If this storyboard helps an individual be more understanding of others in society, I feel it has served an important purpose.

Creative Care and Aging

We finished the course by exploring a multitude of creative approaches to care and aging, a topic that affects all of us if we're lucky enough to live that long! Many students in the class already have work experience caring for older people, and others will likely start their careers with that focus. This module was full of examples of creative expression of critical thinking about the intersections between health, aging, and everyday life. The two featured project—a video and a comic—bring student experience into conversation with the course concepts.

The Memories Fade Away by Caitlynn Pollard

Through my piece I hope to offer another way of looking at dementia. Although it is hard on the family a lot of the time the patient is forgotten about. When my grandfather was ill, I complained about the added effort I had to put in; visits, phone calls, games etc. Although I was young, many people feel the same in similar situations. After becoming more educated about dementia I have realized that my grandfather had it worse than me. I hope that other people watching my digital story and relating to it make this realization as well. When understanding that both sides are struggling (family and patient) and accepting that they cannot control the disease I believe people will be able to cherish the time they have with their loved one more effectively.

Loss of innocence by Zaryn Duffy

I think a comic is a powerful way to put the images in my mind onto paper and express how this experience affected me and my emotions towards it. I believe that storytelling is very useful in the subject of health humanities as it shows the experience of an individual and makes it more real than just reading out of a textbook. This story about myself losing innocence and experiencing death was an extension of what I discussed for my Module 3 and 4 studio assignments. Within those assignments I mentioned my scar that will never go away and how I was put into a situation which made me lose a part of my innocence. Other than being an extension of storytelling, I believe this is an important subject to talk about especially in health humanities. It encompasses not only medicine but everything to do with health and my comic focuses on mental and emotional health. In a world of treating patients, it can be traumatizing to witness things such as death and most of the time you are expected to just forget about it and move on to the next patient, but that isn’t the reality. These things can and most likely will be with you forever and experiencing death young, as I did, took a piece of my innocence that I can never get back.

Questions? Comments? email sallychivers@trentu.ca

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