Oakland High Students on the Value of ‘Cross-Cultural Medicine’

Bosnian Muslim funeral practices, Togolese views on mental illness, traditional Chinese medicine and postpartum depression among African American women are some of the topics addressed by Oakland High students in their publication, “Cross-Cultural Medicine, Volume 8.” It’s the latest installment of an annual capstone project for juniors in Oakland High’s public health academy, the essays in which – written by students, drawing from interviews they conducted and research they analyzed – both celebrate their own cultures’ approaches to medicine and examine mistrust of Western medical institutions. And it’s taught annually at the health sciences-focused Samuel Merritt University as part of its culturally competent care curriculum. We’ll hear from the students about the work they published and from the project’s creator, Jessica Forbes, who teaches at Oakland High School.

Guests:

• Skili Richardson, incoming senior, Oakland High School; author, “How to Care for a Woman Who Has Postpartum Depression;” illustrator, “Cross-Cultural Medicine, Volume 8″ front and back covers
• Charlene Kwan, incoming senior, Oakland High School; author, “Warmth from the Root”
• Nzubechukwu Ugo Egeonu, incoming senior, Oakland High School; author, “African Distrust of Western Medicine and Practices”
• Jessica Forbes, teacher, Oakland High School
• Sarah Koster, family nurse practitioner; professor, Samuel Merritt University