Health care inequality affects both availability of medical treatment and health outcomes due to circumstances such as ethnicity, economic resources and gender.

The racial and ethnic disparities across scientific research institutions, such as the lack of representation, are well documented.

Fundamental scientific research stands at the heart of medical advancements and patient treatment to enhance health outcomes. However, science alone cannot address inequality.

Two art projects, The Poetry of Science and The Peoples’ heART (Health Equity x Art), have come together to confront health equity and under-representation through the combination of science and art.

The Poetry of Science is an art project directed by Joshua Sariñana, PhD, and managed by Linsey Covino-Deaso, MFA both from Mass General Brigham (MGB) central marketing. The project pairs local poets of color with local scientists of color to create original poetry about the research and experiences of researchers and scientists.

The goal of the Poetry of Science is to create positive associations between people of color, the arts, the sciences and what it means to generate knowledge.

In the slideshow below, the first image of each set is is of the scientist, the second is an excerpt from the poem written about the scientist’s work.

Dr. Sariñana and Ms. Covino-Deaso are collaborating with Daniel Chonde, MD, PhD, a Radiology resident, and the executive director of The Peoples’ heART (Health Equity x Art), a health-care-community collaboration, which procures and exhibits art from the local community to help remedy health equity at Massachusetts General Hospital and beyond.

The Peoples heART creates a space within health care settings to reflect the community and staff that promotes patient inclusion and representation, with the ultimate goal to enhance treatment outcomes.

Dr. Chonde relays, “At Mass General we have world leaders pushing the boundaries of typical science; however, our goal is to approach the issue of how to make a clinical space more inclusive to issues of health equity with the same rigor as any scientific question.

“The Peoples’ heART tries to demonstrate an empathetic awareness, in part, by making amends in our health care institutions, to support the local communities that we are housed in.”

“When I learned about The Poetry of Science, I knew it was ideal for our spaces—it celebrates a diverse array of individuals, employs local artists, and the poetry adds another dimension to the larger emotional appeal,” says Chonde.

“There is a ton of potential for creating future projects using this model of collaboration between marginalized groups, visual artists, poets, and researchers as a way to explore experiences and highlight issues of health equity.”

By combining the intensity of poetry with vivid imagery, The Poetry of Science aims to strengthen the voices and experiences of distinct communities of color, by creating a novel language through poetry and photography to help fill the gap between the sciences, the humanities and now health care.

“In pulling together these voices and collaborative works, we offer a way for people of color to tell their story, emphasizing our place within the community and trying to figure out ‘Where do we fit in?’” says Dr. Sariñana.

“One of the more beautiful surprises in this project was the way in which the poetry strategically shone light on the nuances of the researchers and scientists featured, much in the way that subtle physical clues—the laugh lines, the wrinkles, the smirks, the glint in their eye—can when you first meet someone,” says Ms. Covino-Deaso.

“Each poem is precisely crafted to show important, and often hidden aspects of each person’s life, motivations, and beliefs.”

Fine art portraits and original poetry from The Poetry of Science are decorating space within the Mass General Cancer Center (see above) from now through to mid-November and the Coffee Central area by the lobby at Mass General as part of The Peoples’ heART later this fall.

Learn More

The Poetry of Science: Website | Twitter | Instagram

The People’s heART: Website | Twitter

About the Mass General Research Institute
Research at Massachusetts General Hospital is interwoven through more than 30 different departments, centers and institutes. Our research includes fundamental, lab-based science; clinical trials to test new drugs, devices and diagnostic tools; and community and population-based research to improve health outcomes across populations and eliminate disparities in care.
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