Humans have a tendency to overestimate our abilities and those of people we trust. It’s been called the Lake Wobegon effect, after a mythical place where “where all the women are strong, all the men are good looking, and all the children are above average.” It’s a punchline with a dark edge. Consider the following: According to […]
e-patient stories
Help the helpers
Please join me in honoring and learning from caregivers, first by watching Sarah Kucharski’s powerful, personal story: http://youtu.be/ivjlBstqu_o Second, watch my talk about the bigger picture and how people can help: http://www.viddler.com/v/14c53db8 Now: what’s your story? What roles do you see for caregivers in health care or in your own life? Please share your thoughts […]
Taking care (what I’m reading)
The following articles stopped me in my tracks this week, not least because they relate to my last report, “Family Caregivers are Wired for Health.” Please share what you’re reading — or your thoughts about these articles — in the comments. 1. Dementiaville: How an experimental new town is taking the elderly back to their happier […]
3 articles worth your time
Here are three articles spinning around in my head today: A Letter to Patients With Chronic Disease – written by Rob Lamberts, MD, in 2010, tweeted this morning by Ronan Kavanagh, MD. Key quote: “So when you approach a doctor – especially one you’ve never met before – you come with a knowledge of your disease […]
Have you ever wondered what it’s like to have Cystic Fibrosis?
Erin Moore, the mom-warrior who created that video, also wrote this essay: Are patients a distraction? I think not… Watch, read, cry, be inspired. I sure am.
The boy with a thorn in his joints (and the mom who turned over every rock)
When I was writing the Pew Research report, “Peer-to-peer Healthcare,” I switched back and forth between numbers and stories, national survey data and notes from my fieldwork among people living with rare conditions. I learned to scan my spreadsheet of rare-disease respondents for women’s names since they seemed to stop at nothing to protect their […]
Recent Comments