Tag Archive for: journalism

Behind the Science: Racializied Women’s Physical Pain Dismissal


Interviewee: Negin Nia, B.A., M.J., University of British Columbia, Author/Editor: Romina Garcia de leon (Blog Co-coordinator).

Published: June 17th, 2022

In this week’s Behind the Science, we highlight work done by our current Blog Co-Coordinator at the Women’s Health Research Cluster (WHRC), Negin Nia. She is a recent Master’s graduate from the UBC School of Journalism who specialized in public health. Negin’s final research project in the program sought to examine the intersection between women’s physical pain, race, and treatment in North America’s hospitals and beyond.

Negin did not only complete a literature review but also released an audio documentary covering the lived experiences of racialized women. Her podcast was recently awarded the 2022 Radio Television Digital News Foundation JJ Richards Award. Read more about her project and the lived experience that drove this work. 

Can you please tell me about the work you have done during your Master of Journalism degree? 

For the last year in my program, I decided to focus my journalism specialization on health reporting. This work was driven by my lived experience but also because I believe health impacts every aspect of our lives. 

I did my final research project, which was a combination of a literature review, and an audio documentary on women’s physical pain, race and treatment. There is a lot of research that shows that women, especially racialized women, experience a heightened degree of discrimination, stigma and dismissal of their physical pain because of stereotypes and biases. This is particularly striking as women already experience more chronic pain than men. 

So, the audio documentary explores the lived experiences of many women, including my own story surrounding physical pain, race and accessing treatment across North America’s health care systems. And then the final literature review was more of a deep dive into why this is happening. It included the research in the statistics, whereas the audio documentary was more testimony with facts — they complement each other well.

What led you to pursue this work in the field of health? 

Back in 2020, I had to undergo open-heart surgery for a benign heart condition that I have had my whole life. The situation caught me by surprise because I was an outwardly healthy, 22-year-old. But I had been having a lot of heart palpitations during that year and the doctors kept telling me it was just my anxiety. 

Finally, I got referred to a cardiologist who took such great care of me and took my pain seriously. He scheduled me for an MRI, which is an uncommon test to run for my condition. Usually, it’s an echo scan. The MRI showed more than the echo scan did, that my heart condition had all of a sudden become severe with no explanation. I underwent surgery as soon as possible. 

That experience was super scary and shocking, but I have come out of it a lot stronger — it taught me so much. And just being in the hospital that week, and talking to other people who have been dealing with chronic health issues, really opened up my eyes to the disproportionate dismissal that women, people of color, and non-binary folk face in the healthcare system. 

Do you incorporate the knowledge you gained from your undergraduate degree into what you do now? 

I did my undergraduate degree at UBC in political science and law, and it taught me how to develop my writing skills. I also focused a lot on health policy during my degree. I originally wanted to become a lawyer, but after I started writing for the school newspaper, I realized that I love writing and journalism. 

That degree equipped me for a lot of what I’m doing now in my work at the WHRC, and it also gave me the skills to pursue my master’s degree and the work that has come from it. 

What are your next steps, and long-term goals? 

I’m very interested in pursuing work that’s meaningful, similar to what I did in my podcast. I enjoyed the aspect of sharing stories and highlighting the voices of marginalized and racialized groups — which is my passion. I think that it’s really important to do something you’re passionate about because it shines through your work. 

I’m also currently working at the Women’s Health Research cluster as a Blog Co-Coordinator, which has been amazing because it’s so enriching. Every week when we post blogs, there’s a new topic and I’m constantly learning about women’s health issues and people doing amazing work in the health field. 

How can people reach you and know more about your work?

My Twitter handle is @_neginnia. My podcast is titled “Let’s Talk About: Women’s Physical Pain, Race & Treatment,” and you can find it on Spotify.

Behind the Science: Working in the Women’s Health Field


Interviewee: Arrthy Thayaparan, B.Sc., M.J., University of British Columbia |

Authors/Editors: Negin Nia & Romina Garcia de leon (Blog Co-coordinators).

Published: May 20th, 2022.

The Women’s Health Research Cluster (WHRC) blog started back in 2020. The blog aimed to showcase work by women and gender-diverse people wanting to make a change in the women’s health field.

We spoke to Arrthy Thayaparan, one of the first WHRC Blog Co-coordinators, about her experience working for the blog. She shares what got her initially interested in pursuing work in women’s health.

Why did you decide to pursue work as a Blog Co-coordinator?

I have an academic background in both science and journalism. Therefore, I was seeking a job that would allow me to continue to learn and share stories in the science and health realm. When I found out about the blog through the UBC Work Learn website, I knew it was the perfect fit. I ended up applying to every single option available with the WHRC, but glad I was selected as a Blog Co-coordinator as it was a much better fit to help finetune my writing skills.

As a lover of science who was starting her journalism career, the WHRC was just a great way to help me learn and expand on those essential communication skills. It also let me stay in touch with the world of academia. I got to work with a thoughtful and energetic team, while also peering behind the scenes of a research cluster taking on valuable work in the field.  

Out of all the scientific fields you were exposed to, why women’s health?

I got into science journalism because I became aware of the lack of science-trained journalists who knew the field and could communicate it to a general audience. From there, I began to realize that women’s health is underrepresented, especially in the media. 

For example, there were a lot of worries and myths about fertility, pregnancy, and vaccinations during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. So, the WHRC prioritized this in our blog topics and got the conversation going. That realization and effort to engage worked out to our benefit since the pregnancy vaccination blogs are some of our most widely read blogs to this day.

What impact do you hope the blog will have in the field of women’s health going forward?

When the blog first started it was pretty small and we didn’t have too many readers or much engagement. Now, we can see how the work that we’ve done over the past two years has grown. Recently, we were voted the 9th top Women’s Health blog by FeedSpot

Seeing that growth in just two years was motivating for everyone on the team. I think with that momentum, the blog could go on to become a staple in women’s health awareness and education. This is especially true with how diverse the WHRC members are both globally and knowledge-wise.

Do you see yourself integrating women’s health into your future roles?

Oh, absolutely! I think working here has opened my eyes to so many topics within the field of science. I’ve always associated my best journalistic work with experts or researchers I have interviewed from the WHRC. For example, Dr. Jade Boyd was a huge help for one of my biggest stories last year on understanding overdose reversals in B.C. I covered what impact that had on frontline workers of the overdose crisis. I’ll always keep coming back to the WHRC and the blog to keep myself up to date and to stay connected. 

Is there anything else you would like to mention?

I’m grateful to everyone at the WHRC for having me on, the writers of the blogs for their passion, and the readers for allowing us to continue sharing this essential work. I’m especially thankful to Alex Lukey and Negin Nia, my blog co-coordinators, for bearing with me when things got stressful with school and supporting each other with the work.

Also, I don’t think enough credit is given to the support we receive from Katherine Moore, Director of Operations & Strategic Initiatives, and Liisa Galea, Cluster Lead. No matter what crazy idea we brought forward, like the Behind the Science series or creating a Medium page, they were always on board and excited. None of this would be possible without their vision or passion for knowledge translation and women’s health. I’m beyond grateful to have had the opportunity to work with them.

Other than that, I’m excited to see how the blog continues to grow, and I hope that one day I can write for the blog or about the blog.

How can people reach you?

People can follow me on Twitter (@ArrthyT) to keep up with my work. Feel free to message me to talk about potential stories or anything science-related.