Achieving Better Health Through Information, Empowerment and Self-Advocacy [Podcast Series]
[:55] Dr. Bantham introduces her guests, Dr. Mary O’Connor and Kanwal Haq
Dr. Mary O’Connor and Kanwal Haq are Co-Authors of Taking Care of You: The Empowered Woman's Guide to Better Health.
[1:31] Advancing health equity and empowerment
“I fundamentally came to realize that while we need so many changes on multiple levels to advance health equity in the United States, we also need to advance the empowerment skills of patients and women in particular to advocate for themselves for better health care.”
[4:11] A guide for better self-advocacy
“We created this book as a tool to help women, as a tool that's literally in their hands, that can help guide them to become better advocates. And so with that, the clinical chapters, each one, it explains, What is the condition? Can it be prevented? How is it treated? Questions to ask your healthcare team. Why this matters to women?”
[7:05] Achieving better health
“So for the here and now, probably the best, the best way to advance better healthcare for women is for women to be better informed patients and to be more proactive in feeling that they have the strength of using their voice. And so that's why we focused a lot on language to help those, help women feel more secure in asking questions because the power differential is very real, right?”
[9:35] Behind-the-scenes process
“Everyone poured a lot of love and their expertise into this because we went with them of like, if you could sit down with every patient that you have, what is it that you want them to know if you had all the time in the world, and you wanted to make sure. And so they really, they really poured that into this text.”
[12:47] Impacting how women receive healthcare
“We're highlighting that these are differences that people need to be aware of. Why? Because it impacts the way women receive care. And that impacts, honestly, and I don't mean to make this sound dramatic, but it impacts whether women live or die.”
[15:16] Addressing social determinants of health
“The first section of laying the landscape of what is women's health and kind of understanding the conditions in which we work, we live, we play, how much this impacts us, right? And like why public health is so vital.”
[18:24] Moving wellness into communities
“And we simply have to stop expecting the current “healthcare” system to deliver on health. It's not structured that way. It can't do it that way. Doctors and nurses are not trained to do that. And we need to move wellness into communities and leave sick care for the sick care system. And that is a fundamental mind shift that needs to happen if we're going to change the disastrous trajectory of health conditions and chronic conditions in the United States.”
[21:06] Movement and physical activity
“I'll just emphasize that it's never too late to start moving. I think one of the misconceptions that people have, particularly women is, if I'm unfit or I'm overweight or I don't exercise, it's kind of too late for me. That is absolutely not true. Any time is the right time.”
[23:17] Creating a community of self-advocates
“Through the process of this book, I think I became a better advocate for myself. And I started exercising more, I started asking more questions, I started becoming more engaged. And I think it was also this book, not only did it give me tools, but it gave me this community of other women who were engaged in writing and reading this text and moving towards the same thing, and I think that's really, really powerful.”
[26:21] Changing the health of women, families and communities
“It's important that we all understand that we're all in this together, a rising tide lifts all boats, and the better the health is and the better the health behaviors of anyone in the family in general, the whole family benefits.”
