Three students in the BS-MPH program—which allows students to count undergraduate credits towards their master of public health degree— are preparing to embark on an exciting summer of research. Adele Carr and Anu Sangraula were selected to work on research projects with the Maryland Department of Health, and SPH student Taliah Hodges will be working on the Community-Engaged Research Project with the PATIENTS program at the UMD School of Pharmacy.
The projects are funded through MPowering the State, which promotes collaboration through the University of Maryland, College Park and the University of Maryland, Baltimore. The summer research projects are made available to UMD School of Public Health master of public health or doctoral degree students, as well as students at the University of Maryland, Baltimore pursuing a medical degree, MD-MPH degree, or master of public health degree. Students were selected through a competitive process and will receive a $6000 stipend for these projects.
Carr will be researching the impact of community health workers on health outcomes and health. She’ll develop a literature review and present findings to stakeholders.
“Community health workers aim to bridge the healthcare gap for underserved and rural communities by assisting community members with maneuvering through Health and Human Services, increasing healthcare knowledge by informing people of resources and services that are available to them, and promoting self sufficiency,” Carr said. “It sounds like this will be an amazing opportunity to learn a lot more about the community health worker program and to be able to apply what I've learned in my graduate studies to real life.”
Meanwhile, Sangraula will be helping to develop a family outreach program for local overdose fatality review teams in Maryland.
“Basically, the research is going to be focusing around this process of protocol for collecting data from families and loved ones who had a fatal or near fatal overdose—spending time researching and working with others to develop this guide for conducting family interviews,” she said. “It's going to be a great experience and I'm excited to work, to do something that hopefully will make a really positive difference.”
Hodges said that she feels prepared to start her work on the community-engaged research project in part because of her current internship with Health Resources and Services Administration in Rockville.
“I'm excited to see the community side of access to care because I've already seen the federal side of it,” she said. “I'm excited to like how the two intersect and to get community experience.”
All three students are looking forward to the research experience this summer setting them up for success in their future public health academic and career goals. Carr said she plans to go to medical school after she receives her MPH in 2023.
“I want to be the type of physician who really understands what's going on in the community,” she said. “I want to be able to advocate for programs and policies and interventions that bridge the gap between communities and the medical and public health community. I really see myself advocating for something like the community health program. It's just really exciting to me to be able to get a head start on this work early on.”