Pandemic in a Book Day 12 of 28

Today's book is The Patient and the Health Care System: Perspectives on High-Quality Care. It asks the big question - what does it mean to provide high-quality care with all its STEEEP components, safety, timeliness (access), equity, effectiveness, efficiency, and patient-centeredness) with the patient at the center? The pandemic reference is that it was published in 2020. As I reflect on it now, the big question that comes to me is - what does high-quality patient-centered care mean during a pandemic? We witnessed numerous examples of human kindness in healthcare but COVID-19 crushed our systems. How do we prepare ourselves and our systems for the next one?

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Apr 29, 4:40 am EST

Pandemic in a Book Day 11 of 28

Today’s book is my recent find - Rethinking Evidence in the time of Pandemics by Eivind Engebretsen and Mona Baker. The authors are Norwegian researchers in medical humanities. This book is available on Cambridge core open access where you can read it for free. The biggest takeaway for me was that there is such a thing called narrative rationality which is distinct from scientific rationality. Narrative rationality is behind decisions to not mask, not get vaccinated, etc. I found it helpful to understand this framework.

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Apr 28, 9:23 am EST

Pandemic in a Book Day 10 of 28

Today's book is The Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio. Set in Florence, Italy, in the 1340s, this classic is about a group of ten who we might call a pandemic pod of ten in current society. They connect in church during the plague pandemic and escape to the woods to flee disease and death and engage in revelry and regale each other with ten stories each.

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Apr 27, 13:18 pm EST

Pandemic in a Book Day 9 of 28

Today's book is The Orphan Collector by Ellen Marie Wiseman. Try reading this novel without shedding a tear. Set in the City of Brotherly Love in 1918, this gripping and heart wrenching story is about, well, you guessed it, the lives of orphans created by the H1N1 pandemic of the day. One way pandemics leave their mark on a society is by leaving a large number of children without even a single parent to care for them. Can you guess how many children became orphans during the COVID-19 pandemic all over the world? 10.5 million children as of May 2022. Thank you for your donation and support!

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Apr 26, 5:10 am EST

Pandemic in a Book Day 8 of 28

Today's book is US Wars and Diseases by Lee R McDowell. The author and his wife are the original Mayflower descendants and US historians in a way. This book is an excellent overview of military activity for 13 major US wars, and the associated diseases that extracted their toll on people living in the US, although one may nitpick some details. This is available on Kindle Unlimited and other avenues. Enjoy your day and thank you for your support. 

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Apr 25, 5:39 am EST

Pandemic in a Book Day 7 of 19

Today's book is Pandemic by Robin Cook. What better way to relive pandemic PTSD by settling down with a medical - public health thriller? Set in ~2012 in Northeastern US, this novel is a fun read that somehow also makes you ponder the big questions we are facing in infectious diseases today. Enjoy your day and thank you for your support. 

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Apr 24, 7:34 am EST

Pandemic in a Book Day 6 of 19

Today's book is The Next Day by Melinda Gates. This is a brilliant book about transitions. The author offers a deep microanalysis of her own major life transitions within a macro construct for her learnings and reflections on what she figured worked for her. During the recent COVID-19 pandemic, I have observed that several relationships hit the reset button personally and professionally. It turns out that Melinda is no exception. She initiated and navigated her separation and subsequent divorce during the pandemic even if the pandemic may not have had anything to do with it. The book is written very beautifully. Enjoy your day and thank you for your support. 

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Apr 23, 4:15 am EST

Pandemic in a Book Day 5 of 19

Today's book is The Iliad by Homer. Set in ~1190 BC in the ancient city of Troy, this classic has moving descriptions of the Achaean plague, and even more moving descriptions of the preventive measures of the day. The soldiers washed their hands in the sea, prayed to Apollo, and took other preventative measures like making peace with enemy camps. A brain treat for anyone interested in infectious diseases and more. Enjoy your day and thank you for your support. 

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Apr 22, 9:20 am EST

Pandemic in a Book Day 4 of 19:

Today's book is Bacteria and Antibiotics by Cara Florance and Jon Florance. Okay, there is no mention of pandemic in this book, but it does teach children fundamentals such as why we should clean our hands often, why antibiotics do not work for infections caused by viruses, and how bacteria develop drug resistance, and that there are good bacteria and disease-causing bad bacteria. A close friend gifted this book to my 2-year old son during the pandemic and it quickly became one of his favorite books.    Hope you enjoy reading this book to children and thank you for your support. 

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Apr 21, 3:44 am EST

Pandemic in a Book Day #3 of 19: Breaking Through by Katalin Kariko.

This memoir is a tale of hard work, persistence, being a woman immigrant in science, and dedicated pursuit of an important scientific question despite resource constraints and office politics and other challenges. Katalin’s story is very inspiring. The pandemic reference is that she is one of the key scientists who discovered the mRNA vaccine technology.   Hope you enjoy reading this book and thank you for your support. 

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Apr 20, 9:39 am EST

Pandemic in a Book Day#2: The Plague by Albert Camus

Day 2 of 19: Today's book is The Plague by Albert Camus. Set in French Algeria in 1849, this novel tells the story of Dr. Bernard Rieux who picks up initial clues of plague infections in his city and alerts the city public health authorities and subsequently collaborates with them while serving as the physician for patients who are dying in massive numbers. It is sure to put you in a reflective mode about a number of life questions, including responsibilities toward yourself, your family, and others around you.  Hope you enjoy reading this book and thank you for your support. 

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Apr 19, 4:27 am EST

Pandemic in a Book Day#1

Set in China in late 1400s, this book has descriptions of smallpox, smallpox "planting masters" who were invited to inoculate small childrens' noses with scabs of smallpox pustules that were wrapped in silk, and the status of women in medicine and society in general. An amazing read/ listen from cover to cover!

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Apr 16, 15:30 pm EST