PANDEMIC ACADEMIC PARENTING: Finding the Radically Queer Within Our Mundane, Monotonous, and Sometimes Homonormative Experiences

Though we are at different institutions in different areas of the country (a public liberal arts university in the rural Midwest, a public research university in the southwest, and a private federally chartered university in the mid-Atlantic), and work in different fields (teacher education, counselor education, and psychology) our lives during the pandemic illustrate similarities between queer academic parents. In heterosexual relationships with cisgender partners, that parent is often the mother. [...]much of the advice to mothers (gestational parents) seems to be, according to Alice, "'How to get 'Dads' involved as if Dads need all this special treatment and structure for how to parent their own child. Additionally, throughout this process I recall my mother frequently commenting on how my cisgender male family member's wife was not as involved in the parenting as 'she should be' and that it was 'impressive' that he was 'doing a lot.' COUNTERING GENDERED NORMS AND ENMESHMENT As Shane discussed above, we have found that the lack of societal definition for queer parenting roles, while freeing, can also lead to "our roles

MOTHERSCHOLARS WITH DISABILITIES: Surmounting Structural Adversity During COVID-19

Examples of barriers that individuals with disabilities face can be physical and environmental (e.g., lack of building access for wheelchair users), organizational (e.g., legislation), information-accessible (e.g., lack of closed captioning and/or American Sign Language (ASL) for someone with hearing loss), or attitudinal (e.g., discrimination). Since automatic transcription is not yet available at the start of the pandemic on my university's videoconferencing platform, I take out my smartphone and open an auto- matic transcription app. An additional issue I faced as a new mom is caring for my child during these already exhausting meetings. Since my husband and I did not use our childcare during the beginning of the pandemic, my one-year-old daughter stayed home while we worked. The meetings lead to greater levels of fatigue due to the increased load of listening. [...]I felt as if my lessened ability to separate the two sets of conversations made it hard for me to keep my work persona separate from mine as a mother.

Academic mothers with disabilities: Navigating academia and parenthood during COVID-19.

Academic mothers (including nonbinary, trans, and genderqueer parents) have always faced challenges in their profession due to systemic barriers and a "motherhood tax"; however, COVID-19 has exacerbated already existing inequalities (Oleschuk, 2020). This study examines how the pandemic has affected academic mothers with mental health and physical disabilities, as these voices often remain hidden and unheard in academia despite increased awareness of their presence (Brown & Leigh, 2018; Kelly & Senior, 2020). Here, we share the voices of 23 participants using a qualitative methodology drawing from social justice and feminist theories to highlight the lived experience of academic mothers with mental and/or physical disabilities and their experiences as a scholar and parent during COVID-19. Understanding the lived experience of this intersectional population can provide invaluable insights into ableist privilege within higher education, especially in the context of COVID-19 which has substantially disrupted work and homelife routines.

Analysis of the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Multidisciplinary Management of Breast Cancer: Review from the American Society of Breast Surgeons COVID-19 and Mastery Registries.

BACKGROUND: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has resulted in rapid and regionally different approaches to breast cancer care. METHODS: In order to evaluate these changes, a COVID-19-specific registry was developed within the American Society of Breast Surgeons (ASBrS) Mastery that tracked whether decisions were usual or modified for COVID-19. Data on patient care entered into the COVID-19-specific registry and the ASBrS Mastery registry from 1 March 2020 to 15 March 2021 were reviewed. RESULTS: Overall, 177 surgeons entered demographic and treatment data on 2791 patients. Mean patient age was 62.7 years and 9.0% (252) were of African American race. Initial consultation occurred via telehealth in 6.2% (173) of patients and 1.4% (40) developed COVID-19. Mean invasive tumor size was 2.1 cm and 17.8% (411) were node-positive. In estrogen receptor-positive/human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negative (ER+/HER2-) disease, neoadjuvant endocrine therapy (NET) was used as the usual approach in 6.9% (119) of patients and due to COVID-19 in an additional 31% (542) of patients. Patients were more likely to receive NET due to COVID-19 with increasing age and if they lived in the Northeast or Southeast (odds ratio [OR] 1.1, 2.3, and 1.7, respectively; p < 0.05). Genomic testing was performed on 51.5% (781) of estrogen-positive patients, of whom 20.7% (162) had testing on the core due to COVID-19. Patients were less likely to have core biopsy genomic testing due to COVID-19 if they were older (OR 0.89; p = 0.01) and more likely if they were node-positive (OR 4.0; p < 0.05). A change in surgical approach due to COVID-19 was reported for 5.4% (151) of patients. CONCLUSION: The ASBrS COVID-19 registry provided a platform for monitoring treatment changes due to the pandemic, highlighting the increased use of NET.

Food Worry in the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Population During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

OBJECTIVE: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID) pandemic has highlighted preexisting health disparities, including food insecurity, in the deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) population. We examined factors associated with food worry during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: We collected survey data on worry about food shortages, worry about contracting COVID-19, and concerns about DHH people staying home and being lonely from April 17 through May 1, 2020, via a bilingual American Sign Language/English online survey platform. The sample consisted of 537 DHH adults living in the United States. We examined the relationship between demographic characteristics and food worry. We used logistic regression and model fitting to predict the likelihood of experiencing food worry. RESULTS: The mean (SD) age of survey respondents was 47 (16), and 25% of the sample identified as people of color. Forty-two percent of survey respondents had a high level of food worry. Increased worry about contracting COVID-19 and concerns about DHH people staying home and being lonely among DHH younger adults or those without a college degree predicted food worry. Gender and race/ethnicity did not contribute to the model for food worry. CONCLUSIONS: Food worry was explained by multiple, intersecting factors, including demographic variables, worry about contracting COVID-19, and concerns about loneliness. Interventions or programs implemented by DHH-serving organizations as well as government programs, social service providers, and food banks should be fully accessible to subgroups of DHH young adults without a college degree who are at risk for food insecurity.

The care of patients with Duchenne, Becker, and other muscular dystrophies in the COVID-19 pandemic.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has resulted in the reorganization of health-care settings affecting clinical care delivery to patients with Duchenne and Becker muscular dystrophy (DBMD) as well as other inherited muscular dystrophies. The magnitude of the impact of this public health emergency on the care of patients with DBMD is unclear as they are suspected of having an increased risk for severe manifestations of COVID-19. In this article, the authors discuss their consensus recommendations pertaining to care of these patients during the pandemic. We address issues surrounding corticosteroid and exon-skipping treatments, cardiac medications, hydroxychloroquine use, emergency/respiratory care, rehabilitation management, and the conduct of clinical trials. We highlight the importance of collaborative treatment decisions between the patient, family, and health-care provider, considering any geographic or institution-specific policies and precautions for COVID-19. We advocate for continuing multidisciplinary care for these patients using telehealth.