Article by: Diya Chadha Abortion and reproductive healthcare access at large have definitely been key areas of contention and policy focus under the Trump administration. Notably, the reform of Title X under the domestic gag rule and the passing of “heartbeat bills” in nearly 15 states have imposed serious limitations on women’s access to healthcare in the country. And, as much as we hail Supreme Court decisions to function as laws of the land, working to remedy some of the outdatedness of the Constitution, it is simply unreasonable to throw complete faith into the institution given how unorthodox politics have become. As can be seen with those aforementioned policy changes, it is clear that the legislative climate has become increasingly restrictive and less progressive, arguably working in the opposite direction of how it traditionally changes over time. Naturally, the interested portion of the public has been looking towards the 2020 candidates to see how they aim to combat the seemingly growing...
This summer I worked as a Legislative Assistant on the Government Relations, Advocacy, and Community Engagement (GRACE) team at the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) in Washington, DC. The mission of the ADL is to stop the defamation of the Jewish people and secure justice and fair treatment for all. Among the organization's core policy issues is protecting religious freedom by ensuring separation of Church and State. The ADL advances separation of Church and State by filing amici briefs in nearly every religious freedom case. Moreover, the ADL supports legislation such as the Do No Harm Act that ensures religious freedom cannot be misused to discriminate. Throughout my internship, I had the opportunity to attend hearings, write blog posts, and write public comments in response to different issues related to religious freedom such as LGBTQ equality and access to healthcare. Throughout college, my policy interests have been focused on domestic and global women’s health issues. My passion for reproductive health is rooted in...
Part 3: Mama, LLC In Part 2 of this Pelvic Health Physical Therapy, we were introduced to Dr. Laura Keyser, a physical therapist who specializes in maternal and child health. She also is the co-founder of Mama, LLC. Dr. Keyser was able to share some aspects of her work at Mama, LLC and to inform us of some projects the firm is working on. Mama, LLC is a physical therapy and public health consulting firm that specializes in domestic and international women’s and girl’s health. Mama, LLC partners with humanitarian organizations, professional organizations, educational institutions, and for-profit groups to meet maternal and women’s health needs around the world. The firm’s work includes but is not limited to education efforts, promotion and advocacy, research, and rehabilitation capacity building. When asked about her work at Mama, LLC, Dr. Keyser reports: “We see the health concerns of women and girls around the world as experiences on the same continuum. While women in low income, low resource settings...
Part 2: How Physical Therapists Are Helping Women’s Health on the Global Stage In January, I attended a presentation by Dr. Laura Keyser, a prominent figure in world of pelvic and global health. Keyser has been a physical therapist for 12 years and has developed public health expertise in maternal and child health. She also is the co-founder of Mama, LLC, which is a physical therapy and public health consulting firm that specializes in women’s and girl’s health. I had the wonderful opportunity to pick Dr. Keyser’s brain about global women’s health issues and how she sees physical therapy helping solve those problems. For the past ten years, Dr. Keyser has acted as a consultant to local and international organizations such as Global Strategies, EngenderHealth, the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, Panzi Hospital and Foundations and HEAL Africa DRC. Through this role she has developed rehabilitation programs and community outreach initiatives in many parts of Africa and south Asia. When asked about her first...
Part 1: An Introduction to Pelvic Health Therapy Services Throughout my studies in Duke’s Doctor of Physical Therapy program, I have become exposed to many different types of physical therapy that I never knew existed. In addition to the more common fields of physical therapy, such as orthopedics and neurological, physical therapists are critical health care providers for premature infants in the NICU, for injured dogs and horses, and for individuals with pelvic floor dysfunction. Pelvic health physical therapists can help treat patients with such as urinary or fecal incontinence, pelvic organ prolapse, dyspareunia (pain during intercourse), pelvic pain, chronic low back pain, sacroiliac joint dysfunction, and a variety of other conditions. To treat some of these conditions, physical therapists help relax spasming of pelvic floor muscles through manual therapy manipulations, strengthen pelvic floor muscles through biofeedback systems and exercise prescription, and re-educate the bladder with strategies such as bowel/bladder diaries or bladder voiding schedules. As such, physical therapists play a vital...
Earlier this month, I looked up from my computer screen and realized that it was December 1st. It felt like 2018 had flown by, almost as fast as it came. As excited as I am to move towards the 2020 elections with the potential for positive change, I think it’s important to take some time to look back at this year’s events that I perceived to be the good, the bad, and the ugly in the larger conversation of reproductive justice. When I think of 2018, I think of multiple, and often emotionally exhausting conversations about sexual and gender-based violence. From the heartbreaking discovery in Northern India that sparked protests throughout the country to the United Nations’ report that 50,000 women a year are killed by intimate partners, news headlines this year have been pretty grim. We all watched in horror as the of the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing unfolded, bringing with it, memories of Anita Hill’s similarly traumatic experience decades...
October 28, 2018 was not merely a day of yellow sunlight and cool fall air, but rather, the origin of a radical transformation of my being facilitated by Progress Period, a menstrual activism club at Duke University. The screen of my phone reported “12:27pm,” lighting anew a sense of urgency beneath my already frantic feet. The event was set to begin at 12:30pm and with the panicked realization that I was indeed going to be late, I barreled down the stairs towards Schiciano Auditorium. At 12:29pm, just as I allowed myself a breath of assured relief that I would make the event on time, I was stopped dead in my tracks.
“Outside the (tampon) box: menstruating isn’t just for women,” declared a flyer taped to the glass door.
Confusion clouded my awareness and my mind raced with questions, relegating my aspirational punctuality to a non-possibility. Among this maelstrom of questions, the loudest bubbled to the surface: Is menstruation not a qualifier of womanhood?...
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Universal Health Care (UHC) is aimed at ensuring that all people are able to receive medicine and treatment without suffering financial hardships. Kenya is working to implement this healthcare strategy, with the goal of allowing more Kenyans access to healthcare in public health facilities. Additionally, Kenyans will be able to access the same services in private hospitals without digging very deep into their pockets. Despite this bold move by the Kenyan President to create affordable healthcare for all, human resources, finance, essential medical products, technologies and service delivery remain challenges. The story of a woman under the alias of “Dorothy” exemplifies the financial challenge in assessing care at treatment sites. Dorothy was enrolled in a study looking at integrating HPV testing into community health campaigns, and was ultimately referred to a selected health facility in Kisumu where she was booked for treatment. After she received treatment, she further was referred for biopsy testing. But,...
A United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) report in Kenya shows 378,397 adolescent and teenage pregnancies for girls ages 10-19 between July 2016 and June this year. More specifically, there were 28,932 girls ages 10-14 and 349,465 girls ages 15-19 who became pregnant. The counties with the highest number of teenage pregnancies begin with Narok, where 40 per cent of its teenagers became pregnant. The list goes on to include the counties Homa Bay at 33 per cent, West Pokot at 29 per cent, Tana River at 28 per cent, Nyamira at 28 per cent, Samburu at 26 per cent, and Migori and Kwale both at 24 per cent. Teenage pregnancies have been linked to poverty. Many people believe girls in poverty engage in “transitional” sex to meet basic needs. Others blame “absentee parents” or a lack of parental guidance and exposure to information on the Internet - both which can lead to curiosity and therefore teenage pregnancy. Yet, others even say these...
As a student physical therapist, my future career is primarily to serve individuals with short-term or long-term physical disability. Working with individuals of various forms of physical disability such as those with cerebral palsy, to stroke survivors, to amputees, I have become more aware and appreciative of buildings and spaces that are physically accessible with ramps, elevators, and ADA bathrooms. However, despite my acute awareness of physical accessibility for individuals with disability, accessibility to sexual and reproductive health for this population was not something that crossed my mind until I stumbled on the anecdote by Stella Chiwaka. Chiwaka, born with albinism, was denied contraceptives at a local health center in Malawi and was told by a health provider that “People like you should not have sex”. As a future health provider, I found this discriminatory act appalling. People with disabilities, just as those without disabilities, have the right to make their own choices--including choices regarding their sexuality and sexual health. To...
