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LD9’s own Dr. Eve Shapiro, a UArizona professor emerita, is embarking on a multi-state bicycle “listening tour” to hear what people in rural areas of the United States think about the U.S. healthcare system. She is joined by her husband Dr. Paul Gordon, who is a professor, in the UofA Department of Family and Community Medicine in the College of Medicine
Eve and Paul started on May 19 in State College, Pennsylvania. From there, they will ride through Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and North Dakota, ending in early July.
Dr. Gordon is documenting his trip and experiences through his blog, bikelisteningtour, which he updates regularly.
As of June 21, Eve and Paul are now in Port Wing, WI. Here’s their summary:
- 1,405 miles covered
- 44,954 feet climbed
- 134.6 hours in the saddle
- 79,414 calories burned
This is Dr. Gordon’s second listening tour. He and another medical student went on a cross-country bike tour in 2016 to hear what people thought of the Affordable Care Act (also referred to as Obamacare).
“The focus of this trip will be on health care policy as opposed to the Affordable Care Act,” said Dr. Gordon. “We hope to learn how participants’ views of our current health care policy might influence their voting in 2020. Of course, we are also interested to learn how the current pandemic has affected their views about our healthcare system, as well.”
Dr. Gordon said the most central part of this work is gaining people’s trust so that they will tell him their thoughts and stories.
“Because of COVID-19, I fear that with social distancing and masks, trusting relationships will be more challenging to create. I also fear there won’t be as many people ‘out and about’ with whom I can speak,” he said. “However, it appears that there is growing openness to the role of government in providing greater social services, as opposed to the strong anti-government sentiment I encountered in 2016.”
Still, Dr. Gordon knows that in the age of COVID-19, connecting with people may be challenging. On his blog, he reflected:
“Face mask, social distance, fear of infection. How will I gain the trust and create the safe environment that will allow people to talk with me? How will I establish the intimacy and demonstrate the empathy needed with a mask over my face and at a social distance to ensure my safety and theirs?”
They will complete their listening tour around July 5, in Fargo, North Dakota.
Follow their journey here, https://bikelisteningtour.wordpress.com, or on the UArizona Health Sciences social media accounts (Facebook, Twitter and Instagram).
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