Kenworthy on international panel

Dr. Nora Kenworthy, Assistant Professor in Nursing & Health Studies, joined an international panel presenting on Philanthropy, Corporations, and NGOs: Implications for Health Equity during the 2018 Political Origins of Health Inequities and Universal Health Coverage held in Oslo, Norway. The conference, sponsored by the Independent Panel on Global Governance for Health, examined the political determinants of health, including: national political struggles to achieve equity; international trade and investment agreements; data and knowledge production; financial sector structures; and health care privatization. The conference brought together researchers, policy makers, activists, and business people from around the world who are engaged in cutting-edge work on issues related to achieving universal health coverage.

Dr. Kenworthy’s presentation looked at the implications of crowdfunding and how they fuel the inequities in healthcare funding and reinforces marketization and corporatization of healthcare trends. It questioned whether crowdfunding feeds distrust of healthcare systems and exacerbates healthcare problems within the U.S. and abroad. Since technology (and the algorithms that drive it) is not neutral or equally accessible (consider the patient who has had a stroke and lost some amount of motor function), some health needs become more and more visible, while others are driven to invisibility. All of this continues to shift the broader conversation and public values related to health coverage in many countries, equating campaign success with “worth and deservedness.”
Dr. Kenworthy’s talk can be found at: https://scandicstolav.play.livearena.com/single/Live/62f3152d003a4825e48cf7d6e538ef59. Her talk begins at 2:52.