User:Emahgoub/sandbox

A case study conducted by Kaela Jubas from the University of Calgary analyzes participants’ understanding of social issues such as health care from watching the TV show. Participants ranging from age 18 to 30 were shown episodes from the show and were asked what the greatest health care-related problems in their community was. Many of the responses were similar to scenarios presented on Grey’s Anatomy such as long wait times and patients who couldn’t obtain or afford health insurance. As Jubas states in her research, Grey’s Anatomy “helped participants imagine whom they see themselves as, aspire to be, or envision as friends, and the sorts of people who might be called upon to help them meet their health care needs.” The scenarios identified by the participants on the show highlights critiques on America’s health care system as well as the show’s impact on its viewers’ perception on social issues.

Grey’s Anatomy is recognized for its diverse cast in terms of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, and disability. Author Sarah Orem, a postdoctoral fellow of American Studies at Smith College, describes how American popular culture perceives black disabled women as a risk to the workforce while white disabled men are treated with respect. Dr. Miranda Bailey is the Chief of Surgery at the Grey-Sloan Memorial Hospital. She is an African American surgeon who suffers from OCD while balancing a home life with her husband and kid and running a hospital at the same time. Orem states that Dr. Bailey’s OCD shows a “black disabled women's ability to contribute to American capitalism.” Grey’s Anatomy aims to break these barriers of racial and disabled characters in order to spark a progressive change in popular culture. Grey’s Anatomy aims to break these barriers of racial and disabled characters in order to spark a progressive change in popular culture.

Denny Duquette is a recurring character in seasons two through five as a patient with congestive heart failure. He is placed on the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) connections to the hospital can get closer to the top of the organ waitlist. Izzie Stevens cuts Duquette's left ventricular assist device (LVAD), to elevate his position on the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) transplant list. In one study, it was found that TV shows that displayed these stereotypes about organ donation were correlated with a patient deciding not to donate organs despite the shortage of potential and compatible organ donors. Brian Quick highlights how the results of these fictional patients’ organ donation process influences a real person’s decision to donate organs, despite the shortage of potential organ donors.