Missouri Health Talks

‘When a group is stigmatized, when a disease is stigmatized - people are very afraid of talking about it or seeking health services.’

According to the CDC, Missouri currently has 125 diagnosed cases of monkeypox, but stigma could be preventing people from seeking help.Yerina Ranjit is a health communication researcher and scholar at the University of Missouri, and she spoke about how the stigma that comes from attaching a disease to one at-risk population can be harmful, as well as keep all people at risk of monkeypox from seeking care.

"For the last 19 years I had pretty much told myself, 'Okay, make your peace with the fact that you gave it to him.'"

‘Dad's dying. You have stage one colon cancer. Also, you may have given it to your child not knowing.’

Angie Rundle lives in St. Louis, Missouri, and her son, Chris, is a student at the University of Missouri. Their family shares a rare inherited genetic condition, called familial adenomatous polyposis, which causes cancer.They spoke about Angie’s own experiences with colorectal cancer and about how this condition impacted them as Chris was growing up.

'It's important to change the story and that's what TikTok was doing in raising awareness and educating people because ADHD doesn't present as just one thing.'

Shelby Lewis is a recent alum of the University of Missouri. She spoke about her experience growing up with undiagnosed ADHD and her journey to finally getting diagnosed and treated as an adult.

‘Overturning Roe [v. Wade] and attacking trans people is going to harm the healthcare system overall’

D. Ojeda is a Senior National Organizer for the National Center for Transgender Equality.They spoke about the close relationship that gender-affirming care and abortion have within the healthcare industry, and they explained how anti-transgender and anti-abortion rights legislation leave everyone, but especially transgender people – vulnerable within healthcare.

On the need for comprehensive sexual education post-Roe: ‘We need spaces where we're developing those skills’

Shaashawn Dial is the Director of Education and Community Relations with Planned Parenthood Great Plains, which is the local affiliate serving Mid-Missouri.She spoke about the need for quality, comprehensive sexual education especially now that Roe v. Wade has been overturned and Missouri’s trigger law, which bans nearly all abortions has gone into effect.

Medication-assisted treatment: ‘Counseling works on one part of the brain and the medication works on another part’

Heather Harlan is an educator from Columbia/Boone County Public Health & Human Services. She spoke about substance use disorders, as well as how medication-assisted treatment is a real option to consider for those affected.

Post-Roe v. Wade: ‘It's gonna further exaggerate the gap in the transgender and nonbinary community for knowing who and how to seek care’

Shira Berkowitz is the Senior Director of Public Policy and Advocacy at PROMO. They spoke about the importance of being inclusive when talking about the impacts of Roe V. Wade being overturned, as well as about the ways that this decision would impact already vulnerable populations – like trans and nonbinary Missourians.Just as a note - this conversation took place after the Dobbs draft decision was leaked, but before the official ruling in June.

'Having a forced birth would have really messed me up in so so many more ways than having an abortion'

Quinn Calvert is a Missouri resident who – in the past – had to travel from Columbia to St. Louis to get an abortion.They spoke about the ways that lack of access influenced their choices leading up to that abortion, and about the concerns they have if the procedure becomes even more inaccessible.As a note, this conversation took place after the Dobbs draft decision was leaked. But before the official ruling overturned Roe vs. Wade on Friday, June 24.

Jason Jarvis: ‘Try to teach your children that fire is a tool. It is not a toy. Very bad things can happen’

Jason Jarvis spoke with the Missouri on Mic team at Paquin Towers in Columbia in March. He spoke about fire safety and how guardians can have meaningful and helpful conversations about safety with kids – especially heading into the 4th of July holiday.

Jason Jarvis: ‘The only reason why I'm here is because I had a motorcycle helmet on.’

Jason Jarvis spoke with us at a Missouri on Mic event at Paquin Towers in Columbia in March. He spoke about some injuries that dramatically changed his life and made him passionate about sharing the importance of driving safely with others.Just as a note – this piece includes graphic descriptions of suicide and vehicular accidents.

Aging in place: 'It starts with a question of: What would you like? What does life mean for you?'

Alisha Johnson is a Care in Aging Post-Doctoral Fellow at the Sinclair School of Nursing here in Columbia. She spoke about aging in place, and what that means for older adults and long-term care facilities.

‘In winter, everybody's like, “Oh my gosh, they're gonna freeze to death,” but you never hear in the summertime, “Oh my gosh, they're gonna overheat and blackout.’

Darren Morton and John Trapp both work to combat homelessness in Columbia. Darren is the Managing Director at Turning Point, and John is a principal at 4-A-Change.They spoke about the post winter needs of the unhoused community in Columbia and about some of the barriers they face year-round.

“We don't want to warehouse our older adults and all of their wisdom and knowledge away in homes.”

Alisha Johnson is a Care in Aging Post-Doctoral Fellow at the Sinclair School of Nursing here in Columbia. She spoke about the culture of aging in the United States and how that can impact older adults.

With Long COVID: ‘If I stood up to do dishes, I felt like I was gonna have a heart attack. It was crazy.’

Joelle Thompson is an elementary school art teacher from Independence, Missouri. She spoke with the Missouri on Mic team at the State Fair last August.She contracted COVID-19 in September 2020 and shared about her experiences with long COVID and some of the lasting health effects she’s dealt with since then.

“We both have a chronic illness called fibromyalgia. Basically that just means we're in pain – 25/8.”

Lisha Taylor and Leah Freeman are a mother and daughter duo who spoke with the Missouri on Mic team at the Daniel Boone Regional Library in February.They spoke about a health challenge they both share – fibromyalgia, and about a few of the ways this chronic disease impacts their daily life.

The Mid-Missouri Afghan Community: “I'm really hoping that together – all of us will be able to form a strong community, which will be able to depend on each other."

Lima is a freshman at the University of Missouri and a refugee from Afghanistan. Her family came to Mid-Missouri many years ago on a special immigrant visa, or SIV.Since her father worked with the US and Afghan military, we are omitting her last name and the town they live in for safety.We met at a recent baby shower for expectant and new Afghan moms in Columbia where she was interpreting – English to Pashto. She spoke about what it was like coming to the US as a child and about what the rest of...

"There's people out there right now that got frostbite because they're too afraid or too ashamed to come in and say, ‘I need help.'"

Tyrone Seals, Sr. lives here in Columbia and is currently experiencing homelessness. He spoke with KBIA’s Missouri on Mike team at the Daniel Boone Regional Library, which serves as a day warming center for the community, on February 19th.He spoke about some of the realities of homelessness and how winter weather is impacting the lives of unhoused Columbians.

Alpha Gal: 'I'm just kind of – I'm waiting for it to come back, and it's scary.'

Wendy Rich is from Joplin, Missouri, and was diagnosed four years ago with alpha gal – a tickborne illness that causes allergic reactions to red meat and other products made from mammals. It is transmitted though the bite of a Lone Star tick.Since then, Rich co-founded the Joplin Alpha Gal Awareness group to support others who have been diagnosed with or are looking to learn more about the illness.

Tickborne Illness: ‘You've heard the expression, ‘the feeling of impending doom,’ but you don't really get it until you're having this reaction.'

This week we hear from Debbie Morris. She lives in Long Lane – a small town of about 1,000 in south central Missouri. She was diagnosed with alpha gal, a tickborne illness that causes a severe allergic reaction to animal byproducts in June 2020.She spoke about how the disease has impacted her life – including in some unexpected ways.

‘We really don't know enough about our bodies. We don't know enough about our reproductive systems.’

Evonnia Woods is the Senior Outreach Producer for Reproaction, an advocacy organization focusing on reproductive justice.In Missouri, Black women experience a higher rate of severe maternal morbidities – things that impact the quality of life – than white women, according to the Missouri Department of Health & Senior Services.She spoke about how barriers – like a lack of comprehensive sexual education and a limited knowledge of one’s body can lead to unintentional pregnancies and sometimes p...

Black Maternal & Infant Mortality: ‘The most vulnerable among us are the most directly affected by the policies.’

Evonnia Woods is the Senior Outreach Producer for Reproaction, an advocacy organization focusing on reproductive justice.According to the Missouri Department of Health & Senior Services, Black women are four times more likely to die within one year of pregnancy than white women in Missouri.She spoke about the way that intersectional issues – like transportation, poverty and racism – can contribute to Black maternal and infant mortality.

Insomnia & Sleep Hygiene: ‘You definitely don't want to do anything that's going to mess up your chances of falling asleep and staying asleep.’

Ashley Curtis is the lab director and principal investigator at the Cognition, Aging, Sleep, and Health Lab, or CASH Lab, at the University of Missouri. She studies the relationship between sleep conditions and cognition.She spoke about the misconceptions about insomnia and about some of the ways that sleep hygiene practices could improve everyone’s sleep health.

‘It's preventable. We have Black mothers dying at three to four times the rates of white women, and it doesn't have to be like that.’

April Mickens Jolly is the Vice President of Health Equity & Culture at Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region and Southwest Missouri – and a Black mother.According to the Missouri Department of Health & Senior Services, Black women in Missouri are 4 times more likely to die within a year of pregnancy than white women.

COVID-19 during the holidays: ‘Really, it’s about taking care of each other.'

Sara Humm is the public information specialist for Columbia/Boone County Public Health and Human Services.She spoke about the continued presence of COVID-19 throughout Missouri, and about – some of the ways – people can do their best to keep their family, friends, and community safe during the holiday season.

Alcohol & Sleep: ‘If you can reduce your drinking, it will probably help your sleep, also.’

Mary Beth Miller is the lab director and principal investigator for the Health Intervention and Treatment Research Lab, or HIT Lab where she studies the relationship between alcohol and sleep.She spoke about how drinking alcohol can impact the quality of sleep people get each night and how it may even be the reason you are waking up.

Loss During the COVID-19 Pandemic: 'It’s just this very large reset and reminder of every day – of counting every day.’

Lisa and Gary Kremer spoke with KBIA’s Missouri on Mic team at the Missouri State Fair back in August. They reflected on how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the way they live their lives, and Lisa reflected on losing her mother in the winter of 2020 to the disease.

COVID-19 & New Mothers: ‘There's a lot of guilt with the mothers.’

Dr. Olugbemisola Obi is the medical director for the NICU, or neonatal intensive care unit, at MU Health Care in Columbia.She says the hospital has seen some mothers lately who are very sick from COVID-19 – so sick in fact that their babies are delivered pre-term. She spoke about the impact that having a premature baby in the NICU – while also being COVID-19 positive – can impact a family.

Accessibility in Columbia: ‘Sidewalks are not just for people with disabilities, they impact everyone.’

Lydia Olmstead and Dr. Jacque Sample work together on the Columbia Disabilities Commission. Lydia is a person who happens to be deaf/blind, and Dr. Sample has a son with a disability.They spoke about Columbia’s sidewalks and about improvements that would make the community more inclusive – and perhaps even more environmentally friendly.

‘The reality is that it's alcohol as the number one thing used for a drug-facilitated sexual assault.'

Matthew Huffman is the Public Affairs Director for the Missouri Coalition Against Domestic & Sexual Violence, and Joan Masters is the Senior Coordinator of Partners in Prevention – a coalition of 24 Missouri colleges and universities working toward healthy and safe campuses.They spoke about drug-facilitated sexual assaults and how those have changed during the last few decades – from perpetration using illegal substances like rohypnol, or roofies, to legally obtainable drugs and even – just ...