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Picture of black hands folded around a rainbow ribbon.
Photo by Anete Lusina

Himmelfarb Library’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee (DEI Committee) is proud to announce the release of the new LGBTQ+ Health Research Guide! The guide features resources that address LBGTQ+ healthcare in clinical and research settings and explores sexual orientation and gender identity barriers to accessing healthcare. You’ll also find general resources including links to LGBTQ+ health organizations at GW and in the DC, Maryland, and Virginia area. Relevant books, e-books, and journals from Himmelfarb’s collection, educational resources about pronouns and preferred terminology, and podcasts to help you learn about LGBTQ+ healthcare are showcased in the guide. 

Featured books from Himmelfarb’s Diversity and Disparities in Health Care Collection include:

Highlighted journals on LGBTQ+ health include:

Please note that some resources, such as e-books and journal collections, may require GW credentials to access.

The Researchers tab of the guide provides insight into useful MeSH search terms, links to helpful research-related guides, and information about conducting research. This tab also features published works related to LGBTQ+ health by GW authors in Himmelfarb’s Health Sciences Research Commons (HSRC).

The DEI Committee wants this guide to be a high-quality resource relevant to our community, and we encourage our users to share relevant resources for inclusion in the LGBTQ+ Health Guide through our Resource Suggestion Form. If you are a member of a GW organization and would like your organization to be featured in this guide, or if you’re interested in partnering with the DEI Committee, please contact the current committee chair, Brittany Smith, at bsmith91@gwu.edu. 

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Picture of a woman physical therapist working with an older woman of color. "Happy National Physical Therapy Month."

October is National Physical Therapy Month! This National Physical Therapy (PT) Month, we want to celebrate and acknowledge the fantastic work of Physical Therapists, Physical Therapist Assistants (PTAs), and PT educators. Himmelfarb Library is proud to provide resources to support PT research and learning to help further education and understanding within the field. Here are some great physical therapy resources provided by Himmelfarb Library:

Journals

Our journal collection includes some great PT titles! Here are just a few of what we offer:

  • American Journal of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation: This journal publishes cutting-edge basic and clinical research, clinical case reports, and in-depth topical reviews of interest to rehabilitation professionals.
  • Current Sports Medicine Reports: The official clinical journal of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), this journal focuses entirely on clinical sports medicine, including aspects of physical therapy such as training, prevention, and rehabilitation, and sport-specific illness and injury.
  • Journal of Physical Therapy Education: This journal publishes works of discovery, application, and integration and enriches academic and clinical PT education with evidence-based decision-making processes to prepare learners, support faculty and clinicians, and inform administrators.
  • Physical Therapy & Rehabilitation Journal (PTJ): This leading journal for research in PT and related fields publishes content for clinicians and scientists using a variety of interactive approaches to improve patient care.

Textbooks

We also have a great selection of textbooks on PT-related topics including human anatomy and mechanics, rehabilitation, evidence-based practice, exercise therapy, and patient care planning. 

Here’s a sample of textbooks from each of these topics:

Databases

Databases can be a great way to find journal articles, practice guidelines, and reviews! The following databases are great for physical therapy-related searches:

  • PEDro: Physiotherapy Evidence Database: Physiotherapy randomized trials, systematic reviews, and clinical practice guidelines.
  • DiTA, Diagnostic Test Accuracy: PT database includes primary studies and systematic reviews evaluating diagnostic tests used by physical therapists.
  • CINAHL: Authoritative coverage of nursing and allied health literature.
  • PubMed: Health sciences articles including clinical, basic sciences, and public health information.
  • Scopus: Interdisciplinary citation and abstract database.

Software & Tech Tools

Our PT collection is much more than just a collection of journals, databases, and books. We also have some great software, apps, and other digital resources to support PT teaching and learning! 

  • BodyViz: Interactive 3D anatomy visualization tool that includes over 1,000 data sets from human and animal models in healthy and pathological states at different developmental stages.
  • Acland’s Video Atlas of Human Anatomy: 300+ videos of real human anatomic specimens in their natural colors.
  • NetAnatomy: Review basic concepts and study gross anatomy, radiographic anatomy, and cross-sectional anatomy.
  • Visible Body Human Anatomy Atlas: View specific structures and layers from head to toe in this online anatomy atlas.
  • Bates Visual Guide to Physical Examination: Content and clinical skills videos covering head-to-toe and systems-based physical examination techniques.

Find more great PT resources on Himmelfarb’s Physical Therapy Research Guide! 

With Humanities Highlights, Himmelfarb staff aims to spotlight useful books from our Humanities collection. This week, we’re showcasing “Stiff: the Curious Lives of Human Cadavers,” by Mary Roach. 
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With Humanities Highlights, Himmelfarb staff aims to spotlight useful books from our Humanities collection. This week, we’re showcasing “Stiff: the Curious Lives of Human Cadavers,” by Mary Roach. 

A copy of "Stiff" by Mary Roach sits on a shelf.

About the Book: The book that launched Mary Roach's science-writing career, "Stiff" investigates the contribution of human cadavers to science [with studies ranging from humane to grisly to wacky; from crash safety to the physics of crucifixion], as well as human burial practices [including alternatives to burial or cremation]. Written with humor and respect – and without sacrificing the ethical questions – Roach follows her journalistic interest while guiding readers along the various labs, morgues, and fields of rotting corpses in the industry.

Reasons to Read: If you like books that make you say "dang" a lot (or your preferred utterance), if you want to take a steady (but never overly macabre) look at death (and maybe get a party fact about Victorian medicine along the way), or if you want to understand the reality of cadaver testing for you or your loved one.

Reasons to Avoid: If you like your books to be focused [Roach encompasses the history of anatomy, organ donation, crash and ballistics testing, embalming techniques, funeral practices, and more.], or if you'd rather dial down the wisecracks in books about death.

Further Reading: 

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Red book cover
Latino, Hispanic, or of Spanish Origin+ Identified Student Leaders in Medicine

September 15 to October 15 each year is celebrated as Hispanic Heritage Month. In honor of the contributions of Latinx people to the health sciences, we spotlight the open access book, Latino, Hispanic, or of Spanish Origin+ Identified Student Leaders in Medicine. The acronym used to identify this population in the book is LHS+. This book, published under the auspices of the United Nations, traces the 50 year history of LHS+ leadership in the field. The volume was authored by members of the Latino Medical Student Association, a national organization which was formed from five regional associations that were founded in the 1970s and 1980s.

The book brings together personal narratives from LHS+ medical students and regional perspectives from organizations across the United States which led to the formation of the national body. The chapter "Tu Lucha es Mi Lucha" (Your Struggle is My Struggle) examines the development of a health policy initiative led by LHS+ medical students. Other chapters focus on the role of faculty/physician advisors who are partners in the success of LHS+ students, as well as the support roles of Student Affairs offices, and the role of Medical Education offices in training future practitioners to care for LHS+ individuals. The book also covers faculty development and advancement of LHS+ faculty in graduate medical education, which touches on topics such as culturally relevant faculty mentoring.

For those interested and engaged in medical education, or those wishing to gain more detailed insight into the history of LHS+ people in the graduate medical education field, this book is a unique and comprehensive resource.

References

Sánchez, J. P., & Rodriguez, D. (2023). Latino, Hispanic, or of Spanish Origin+ Identified Student Leaders in Medicine : Recognizing More Than 50 Years of Presence, Activism, and Leadership. (1st ed.). Springer International Publishing AG.

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Image of diverse group of people talking. Text about raising awareness for suicide prevention & treatment.
Image from the National Alliance on Mental Illness: https://www.nami.org/get-involved/awareness-events/awareness-resources/

September is Suicide Prevention Month - making it a good opportunity to raise awareness about suicide and suicidal ideation. If you or someone you know has thoughts of suicide, immediate help is available. Call, text, or chat 988 to speak to a trained crisis counselor.

Just like other mental health conditions, suicidal thoughts can impact anyone. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), over 49,000 people died by suicide in 2022, equating to one death every eleven minutes (CDC, 2024a). Between 2000 and 2018, suicide rates increased by 37%, and returned to their peak in 2022 following a brief decline between 2018 to 2020 (CDC, 2024a). 

Knowing the risk factors of suicidal ideation and behavior is important for everyone. According to a 2016 review published in The Lancet, “approximately 45% of individuals who die by suicide consult a primary care physician within one month of death, yet there is rarely documentation of physician inquiry or patient disclosure” of suicidal ideation or behavior (Turecki, & Brent, 2016). 

While many individuals with suicidal ideation do not attempt suicide (Dlonsky, et al., 2016), recognizing the risk factors can help you identify someone in need of help and help you find the help they need. According to the CDC, factors that contribute to suicide risk range from individual, relationship, community, and societal factors and can include, but are not limited to the following:

Individual Risk Factors:

  • Previous suicide attempt
  • History of depression and other mental illness
  • Serious illness 
  • Job or financial problems
  • Impulsive or aggressive tendencies
  • Sense of hopelessness

Relationship Risk Factors:

  • Bullying
  • Family or loved one’s history of suicide
  • Loss of relationships
  • Social isolation
  • High-conflict or violent relationships

Community Risk Factors:

  • Lack of access to healthcare
  • Community violence
  • Historical trauma
  • Discrimination

Societal Risk Factors:

  • Stigma associated with seeking help and mental illness
  • Easy access to lethal means of suicide 
  • Unsafe media portrayals of suicide

(CDC, 2024b)

Some factors can protect people from experiencing suicidal ideation and behavior. These include, but are not limited to the following:

  • Effective coping and problem-solving skills
  • Strong sense of cultural identity
  • Support from loved ones
  • Feeling connected to others
  • Feeling connected to school, community, and social institutions
  • Availability of high-quality physical and behavioral healthcare

If you are interested in learning more about suicide prevention, Himmelfarb Library has a Suicide and Suicidology Collection that includes numerous books on this topic. Notable books from this collection include: 

References:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (2024a). Suicide data and statistics. https://www.cdc.gov/suicide/facts/data.html

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (2024b). Risk and protective factors for suicide. https://www.cdc.gov/suicide/risk-factors/index.html

Klonsky, E. D., May, A. M., & Saffer, B. Y. (2016). Suicide, suicide attempts, and suicidal ideation. Annual review of clinical psychology, 12, 307–330. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-clinpsy-021815-093204

Turecki, G., & Brent, D. A. (2016). Suicide and suicidal behaviour. Lancet (London, England), 387(10024), 1227–1239. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(15)00234-2

With Humanities Highlights, Himmelfarb staff aims to spotlight useful books from our Humanities collection. This week, we’re showcasing “An Anthropologist on Mars,” by Oliver Sacks. 
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With Humanities Highlights, Himmelfarb staff aims to spotlight useful books from our Humanities collection. This week, we’re showcasing “An Anthropologist on Mars,” by Oliver Sacks. 

A copy of "An Anthropologist on Mars" by Oliver Sacks is displayed on a shelf.

About the Book: "An Anthropologist on Mars" explores seven fascinating cases of mental conditions, depicting outliers who not only had a rare experience but the talent or background to make sense of it. Drawing from his direct contact with these patients, Sacks enriches the facts of these accounts with history and a strong narrative sense. These limit cases help us not only understand others with these conditions but human cognition itself.

Reasons to Read: If you like listicles but want something more robust and literary; "Anthropologist" is a set of seven attention-grabbing, memorable cases; except, unlike the average listicle (which features recycled content and minimal research), the stories in "Anthropologist" come from first-hand accounts and benefit from Sacks bountiful knowledge and narrative capabilities. Recommended if you enjoy thinking about creativity and the relationship between limitations and strengths.

Reasons to Avoid: While eloquent and readable, the book is aimed at general readers (and therefore contains broad overviews of neurological conditions that might be redundant to researchers); moreover, Sacks interacts with patients in a "gonzo journalism" kind of way, embedding himself in their lives outside of a clinical setting. This gonzo psychiatry makes excellent reading but may be of less clinical use.

Further Reading: 

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Did you know that Himmelfarb has a (not so) secret collection? 

On our first floor, tucked in the corner, is our Take a Book, Leave a Book section. 

An arrow points to a corner in the Himmelfarb library where the Leave a Book, Take a Book section is located.
The Corner in Question

Take a Book, Leave a Book functions exactly like a Little Free Library. It's an unmanaged community resource to find new books and deposit old ones. So, feel free to donate unwanted books or take a title or two that catches your eye (especially since it might not ever show up again!). Who knows, you might finds some gems.

Rows of books are displayed that are free to take.

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With Humanities Highlights, Himmelfarb staff aims to spotlight useful books from our Humanities collection. This week, we’re showcasing “Everyman,” by Philip Roth. 

A copy of "Everyman" by Philip Roth sits on a shelf.

About the Book: Winner of the Pen/Faulkner award in 2007, Philip Roth’s slim novel portrays a man’s life in miniature that begins with the main character’s funeral. Eschewing conventional narrative structure, Roth weaves in and out of memories, forming a tapestry of regret and loss as the main character pursues a long-forestalled art career amidst health failure. Everyman is a novel that collapses personal history with medical history, investigating the way disease and aging shape us. 

Reasons to Read: if you’re looking for scathing insights into complex emotions around aging and the disappointments of aging, brisk novels that offer an easy entry point into an acclaimed author’s oeuvre, or novels built around poetic (and surprisingly, often funny) moments rather than plot. 

Reasons to Avoid: if you don’t like novels that lack chapter breaks, stories about serial philanderers who can’t stop philandering (even in the retirement home), or if you prefer developed characters rather than generalizations. 

Further Reading: 

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Comic books have enjoyed popularity for well over a century, and according to a March 2024 report by the market research firm IBIS World, graphic novels are the most popular product in the $2 billion-a-year comic book publishing sector. 

Within the graphic novel sector is a subgenre known as Graphic Medicine, a term coined in 2007 by Dr. Ian Williams, a cartoonist and the founder of a website of the same name. Graphic Medicine provides comprehensive information about the genre, including reviews of new publications and podcasts. Since 2010, they have also sponsored an annual conference – the 2024 conference just wrapped in Athlone, Ireland.

Graphic medicine is also a subset of the field of narrative medicine, which centers patient narratives in clinical practice, research, and medical education. One practitioner within this field is Dr. Benjamin Schwartz, who completed his medical training, but is now a cartoonist for the New Yorker, and a professor of narrative medicine at Columbia University. You can read an interview with him at the website, Doctors Who Create. You can view some of Schwartz’s work for the New Yorker here.

Some graphic works in Himmelfarb's collection include: Graphic guide to infectious disease, The Infographic guide to medicine, and Clinical Ethics: A Graphic Medicine Casebook.

Did you know you can also search for graphic medicine in PubMed? A search of the medical subject heading, “Graphic Novels as Topic” will help you find both comics published within journals, as well as articles which, for example, examine the impact of comics on public health.

Himmelfarb’s Reference and Instruction Librarian Rebecca Kyser, herself a cartoonist, suggests the following titles to help you delve into the world of graphic medicine:

Kid Gloves: Nine Months of Careful Chaos, by Lucy Knisley (available to borrow through our local consortium) follows the cartoonist as she goes through the process of trying to become pregnant, being pregnant, and her birth experience. As she chronicles her own experiences with miscarriage, morning sickness, and preeclampsia, Knisley also explores the history of pregnancy, women’s health, myths and superstitions around miscarriage and pregnancy, and the decisions that factor into the choice to have kids in the first place. Entertaining, emotional, and well-researched, this is a great book for anyone, regardless if they plan to have kids, have kids, or never intend to have kids at all.

The Nib (website): The Nib used to be a magazine publisher of anthology comics, usually all revolving around a specific issue, as well as daily comics. While the magazine stopped publishing last year, the entire site is still live for those who wish to buy back issues or view any of the older strips, which sometimes feature medical themes. There’s plenty to check out such as a comic regarding the Covid-19 pandemic’s impact on the Navajo Nation, living with OCD during Covid-19, and the high maternal mortality Black women face.

Comics for Choice, Second Edition  (anthology, currently on New Books Shelf) Published after 2021, this anthology takes a look at the history of abortion in the United States from a range of perspectives. From personal stories about their own abortions to narratives about those who sought to provide access even when the procedure was entirely illegal, this collection showcases the multiple ways reproductive choice and access impact everyone.

Memento Mori by Tiitu Takalo (coming soon to DC Public Library). Takalo, a cartoonist from Finland, tackles her own experience dealing with a cerebral hemorrhage with honesty and a dynamic drawing style. Using color to reflect her own emotions, Takalo takes us through her frightening medical emergency, the monotony of the hospital, and her struggle to access proper health care upon her release. It’s an engaging story bringing to light the reality of an experience most people rarely face themselves

Lighter Than My Shadow by Katie Green (available at DC Public Library). Mental health conditions can be hard to understand, especially given that the symptoms are often internal. By using comics as her medium of choice, Green gives physicality to her own battle with an eating disorder in her teens and college years. Black scribbles follow her from page to page, growing more busy and large as her anorexia worsens. Later, a mouth on her stomach grows and grows as she struggles against the urge to binge food. It’s a difficult read at times – as it should be given what Green was facing – but it explores her own battle with empathy and thoughtfulness.

For a break from studying, or for a way to see the health professions from a different perspective, dive into some graphic medicine!

References

Comic book publishing in the US - market size, industry analysis, trends and forecasts (2024-2029): IBISWorld. IBISWorld Industry Reports. (March 2024). https://www.ibisworld.com/united-states/market-research-reports/comic-book-publishing-industry/#IndustryStatisticsAndTrends Accessed 7/23/2024

With Humanities Highlights, Himmelfarb staff aims to spotlight useful books from our Humanities collection. This week, we’re showcasing “The Healing of America,” by T.R. Reid.
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With Humanities Highlights, Himmelfarb staff aims to spotlight useful books from our Humanities collection. This week, we’re showcasing “The Healing of America: A Global Quest for Better, Cheaper, and Fairer Healthcare,” by T.R. Reid.

A copy of The Healing of America sits on a Shelf

About the Book: A unique and grounded book on comparative policy: author T.R. Reid takes his ailing shoulder to healthcare systems around the world, creating a highly personal/practical look at different healthcare options [a healthcare Big Mac Index of sorts], all while informing the reader about the systems themselves. Morally-minded but never overwrought, “The Healing of America” lays out practical steps for improving America’s healthcare system that appeal both to a love of efficiency and a concern for human flourishing. 

Reasons to Read: If you want to educate yourself about policy but would rather read about anything else, “The Healing of America” is exceptionally readable and filled with concrete examples. If you’re looking for a hopeful take on the subject, Reid provides simple and tested adjustments to improve healthcare and delivers them with the pluckiness of someone who believes victory is possible. 

Reasons to Avoid: If you want to avoid jealousy over almost anyone’s healthcare system but our own. If you’re less interested in Otto Von Bismarck and just want to read about policy, you might begrudge the frequent history lessons. And if you would rather have the most succinct reading, the book (like many of its kind) becomes repetitive at points.

Further Reading: 

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