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Social and Racial Justice

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Honoring Indigenous People’s Day

Social and Racial Justice

In honor of Indigenous People’s Day this Nerdy Girl would like to take the opportunity to acknowledge that right this second, she sits upon ancestral native land, in a place the Ho-Chunk people have called Teejop since time immemorial. My office sits in Agricultural Hall, on Observatory Hill. Two ancient native effigy mounds were destroyed Read more…

July is National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month.

Mental Health Social and Racial Justice

Mental health matters for all! Did you know that July is Minority Mental Health Awareness Month in the United States? Across the nation (and world), racial and ethnic minority communities contend with unique mental health struggles that urgently require our attention. Due to wide-ranging inequities across housing, transportation, healthcare, and related sectors, BIPOC Americans (a Read more…

We Need to Move the Needle on Black Reproductive Health. Like, Yesterday.

Reproductive Health Social and Racial Justice

“Can’t wait to write a tell all about my experience during my last two trimesters dealing with incompetent doctors at Montefiore [Hospital].” On April 17, 2020, Amber Rose Isaac logged into her Twitter account and aired her grievances for the last time. Just four days later, she died of childbirth complications from a severely delayed Read more…

Why do Those Nerdy Girls use phrases like “people with cervices” and “people who lactate” in your reproductive health posts? Why not just say “women”?

Health Policy Reproductive Health Social and Racial Justice

TL;DR: Our phrases include more people. When we exclude people by not naming them, they may lack access to critical information they need to make potentially life-saving decisions. We are science communicators. We take complicated scientific research and medical recommendations and try to make them easily digestible to our readers. As scientists, we must be Read more…

Why are people now sharing their pronouns?

General Health Social and Racial Justice

A: Pronouns are the words we use to refer to ourselves or someone else when not using a name. Gender pronouns specifically refer to people and possession i.e. she/her/hers, they/them/theirs, ze/zir/zirs, etc. The correct use of names and gender pronouns is a compassionate act that can make an important difference in someone’s life. The 2015 Read more…

Today, October 11, 2022 is the 10th anniversary of the International Day of the Girl.

Social and Racial Justice

This celebration was started by the United Nations in 2011 to “recognize girls’ rights and the unique challenges girls face around the world.” The International Day of the Girl: ✊Focuses attention on the need to address the challenges girls face ✊Promotes girls’ empowerment ✊Works to protect and fulfill their human rights Did you know? Globally, Read more…

Indigenous People’s Day: Vaccine Hesitancy Within Tribal Communities

Social and Racial Justice

To honor Indigenous People’s Day Those Nerdy Girls would like to ACKNOWLEDGE the understandable occurrence of vaccine hesitancy within tribal communities due to hundreds of years of broken treaties and medical tyranny like forced sterilization. We would also like to CELEBRATE that in the context of this justified mistrust, tribal communities have overcome some of Read more…

Threats to reproductive rights are a public health crisis.

General Health Health Policy Social and Racial Justice

This past week has been a sucker punch to women and science. Those Nerdy Girls are committed to providing actionable, factual science communication around public health crises. While the majority of our content to date has covered COVID-19, there are a number of public health topics that require further coverage. If we are not talking Read more…

We want to call your attention to a virtual event in Spanish!

Social and Racial Justice Vaccines

Hi all! We want to call your attention to a virtual event in Spanish, sponsored by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Community Engagement Alliance (NIH CEAL), UF Care2 Health Equity Center, our Spanish language site Querida Pandemia, and other organizations serving the Spanish-speaking community in the U.S. 📅When: Saturday March 27, 2pm EST To Read more…

How do we overcome mistrust in the vaccines, especially with Black Americans?

Social and Racial Justice Vaccines

A: As many as half of Black Americans have expressed reluctance to take the COVID-19 vaccines (1), which some attribute to the enduring legacy of the egregious Tuskegee Syphilis Study. Reticence to take the coronavirus vaccine is complicated. Listening and understanding history is critical. Contrary to many peoples’ understanding of the Tuskegee Syphilis Study, Black Read more…

Trauma and COVID-19

Mental Health Social and Racial Justice

Q: I’ve heard people using language about trauma and COVID-19. Can you explain? I know COVID-19 is bad… but what makes it traumatizing? A: COVID-19 has caused tragic loss for people around the world. What we consider to be a *loss* is very personal, and can be so emotionally intense that it creates traumatic responses. Read more…

You asked for more Heroes of the Pandemic. We’ve got ’em! Dr. Ala Stanford

Social and Racial Justice Vaccines Women in STEM

Tonight we’re honored to introduce Dr. Ala Stanford, pediatric surgeon and founder of Black Doctors Covid-19 Consortium in Philadelphia. Dr. Stanford has had an extraordinary career in medicine filled with both adventure and service. No stranger to “stepping up and stepping in”, she leapt into action in April, 2020 when she realized that Black Philadelphians Read more…

What is trust? Does trust impact the US COVID-19 vaccine response effort?

Social and Racial Justice Uncertainty and Misinformation Vaccines

A: Trust in our health system is influenced by our beliefs about its benefits and consequences to ourselves and others. Low trust can derail the best of public health and medical treatments. Trust in the US health system is complicated by experiences and historical events that non-majority communities. People need time, reliable information, and repeated Read more…