Volume 1: Radiation Effects and Events (Winter 2024)

Permanent URI for this collection

https://hdl.handle.net/1911/115333

For complete issues of Dialogues Across Health, Science, Humanities, and Archives, visit the journal’s website: https://dahsha.blogs.rice.edu/.  

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Themed Issue: Radiation Events and Effects

Front Matter (PDF)

Editorial (forthcoming)
—Melissa A. Bailar, Kim Dunn, Philip L. Montgomery, Tomoko Y. Steen, and Armin D. Weinberg

ARTICLES

Reporting Exposure: The Midwives of Nagasaki
—Clint Wilson (PDF)

Living in the Nuclear Age: A Course for Medical Students Outlining Key Aspects of Medicine and Health Effects
—Wayne X. Shandera (PDF)

An Overview of the Nuclear Age (forthcoming)
—Tom Kean

Houston-Semipalatinsk Partnership

Experiences, Observations, and Recommendations Related to Visits to the Semey Region of Kazakhstan from the Perspective of a Hospital Administrator
—Randall P. Wright (PDF)

The Houston-Semipalatinsk Healthcare Partnership: A Lesson in Science Diplomacy (forthcoming)
—Rishi V. Shridharan, Larry Laurfman, Sara Rozin, and Armin D. Weinberg

The Value of Interviews in Representing the Long-Term Effects of Radiation in Kazakhstan
—Annika Nambiar (PDF)

Back Matter

 

 

Editorial Board

Melissa A. Bailar, Lead Editor

Kim Dunn, Editor

Philip L. Montgomery, Editor

Tomoko Y. Steen, Editor

Armin D. Weinberg, Editor

Brooke Clark, Managing Editor

Manshi Patel, Journal Assistant

Browse

Browsing Volume 1: Radiation Effects and Events (Winter 2024) by Author "Wright, Randall P."

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Experiences, Observations, and Recommendations Related to Visits to the Semey Region of Kazakhstan from the Perspective of a Hospital Administrator
    (2024-04) Wright, Randall P.
    This community case study is based on personal experiences as the Methodist Hospital representative assigned to the American International Health Alliance (AIHA) project in Semey, Kazakhstan during 1995-1996. Although I had over twenty years of hospital management experience, the healthcare structure in Kazakhstan was functioning on a rudimentary level, which made my background of limited help. Specifically, the transition from a Soviet Republic to an independent nation had disrupted the economy and left the healthcare system in shambles. Over three visits to the region—Feb 1995, Aug 1995, and September 1996—I was able to see cultural and economic barriers to changing the healthcare structure to a more efficient, all-encompassing medicine model. In broad terms, the lessons I learned were: (1) how poorly prepared I was to help with the terrible conditions in the Semey hospitals; (2) the difficulty presented by dependence on translation, which limited development of strong personal relationships with the Kazakhs; (3) the need to balance various Kazakh interests and the competition among hospitals and entities over control of the AIHA project; (4) an appreciation for Bishop Woodrow Hearn and Dr. Armin Weinberg, who first saw the needs and opportunities to help this region; and (5) missed opportunities to make my role more productive, such as contacting non-government organization (NGO) representatives on the ground prior to travel. The goal of this case study is to share what I learned and experienced during the visits, working as part of an international program that crossed cultural and governmental lines, and these lessons remain relevant today.