Power and money exert control in all spheres, and healthcare is no exception. This issue has authors showing how the powerless are affected in myriad ways: financial clout influences our health right from the framing of diagnostic criteria, as an editorial explains, to the pharma promotion of opioids, globally. Gaza’s healthcare systems have been systematically pounded to rubble; Indian transgender individuals struggle for access to gender-affirming surgeries and the right to menstrual health. Fearful of financial pressure, the most deprived healthcare workers, the ASHAs, pray that greed will never corrupt their work ethic.
A research article evaluates the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on research and how systems were developed to expedite publication; another studies and compares trends in medical ethics publications in the EMRO countries. An author lays out the reasons why researchers can no longer afford to publish their work, and an oncologist shares her experience of maintaining a delicate balance between clinical detachment and a genuine connection in patient care.
And amidst the earth’s failing health, two authors urge that planetary health education should be an essential part of medical curricula. All this and more, with thought provoking reviews to capture your attention.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Cover credit: Pedaller on the Beach, courtesy Dr Prashanth YM