2018 Williams-Hutchins Health Equity Award Recipients

1^st Place – Kelly Reyna

Project Title:  A County in Crisis: Housing as a Social Determinant of Health in Los Angeles County

Mentors:  Richard L. Zaldivar, Christopher Aono, and Hanna Paola Silva

Project Placement:  The Wall-Las Memorias Project (http://www.thewalllasmemorias.org/aboutexternal icon)

Project Details: Kelly interned at The Wall-Las Memorias Project, a community health organization in Los Angeles that serves low-income and hard to reach communities throughout Los Angeles, which educates community members on the importance of HIV/AIDS, substance abuse prevention, and community building in the LGBT community. She worked alongside the organization’s executive director and HIV program manager to address the health needs of the community and participate in advocacy and community engaged program planning. For her health equity project at UCLA, she was part of a team of scholars that examined housing as a social determinant of health and researched how the absence of adequate housing impacts community health. The group also explored the impact gentrification has on housing and homelessness.

During Kelly’s participation in the UCLA Public Health Scholars Training Program, she exemplified outstanding leadership and exceptional teamwork, problem solving, and critical and creative thinking skills. Kelly plans to pursue a career in the field of public health and is committed to advancing health equity.

Honorable Mention: Sierra MacEachron and Ayanna Smith

1^st Place – Joseph Haverlock

Project Title:  Disproportionality of Criminalization Among LGBTQ Youth: Drivers of Criminalization and Recommendations for Improving Health Outcomes

Mentors:  Dr. Marta Hernandez and Khushbu Srivasta

Project Placement:  New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH), Center for Health Equity

Project Details: In the United States, certain groups of people are disproportionately impacted by the criminal justice system, leading to an array of negative health outcomes. One of the most over-represented groups in the juvenile-justice system is LGBTQ youth of color, who experience much higher levels of discrimination than their heterosexual counterparts. In order to understand and combat this criminalization, Joseph examined the risk factors associated with LGBTQ criminalization such as discrimination, homelessness, and law enforcement, as well as the short-and-long-term effects of involvement with the system. To prevent further disproportionate criminalization of LGBTQ youth of color, efforts for criminal justice reform must include LGBTQ people when addressing discrimination, law enforcement, and policies.

Joseph spent his summer at the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene working on the Out of Safe Spaces Project in the Center for Health Equity. He worked on developing trainings focused on safe spaces for LGBTQ youths. As a result of his outstanding work, he was offered the opportunity to remain after the summer program ended. Joseph was later offered a position at the NYC DOHMH to continue his work.

Honorable Mention:  Reginald Woods and Julia Steele

1^st Place – Aubrey Alvarenga

Project Title:  Impact of PrEP Use on STI Rates in a Sample of Young People

Mentor:  Dr. Renata Arrington-Sanders

Project Details:  Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) is a strategy to prevent against contracting HIV infection.  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends PrEP for people considered at high risk of HIV infection.  PrEP is approved in persons ≥35 kg. Randomized and open label trials suggest that PrEP results in increased sexually transmitted infection (STI) rates in adolescents and young adults (AYAs). Yet, there is little applicable data on impact of PrEP on STI rates in adolescents.  Further research can shed light on sexual behavior misconceptions and PrEP use in AYAs.  The project assessed STI rates in the AYA population that received PrEP counseling and services at the Center for Adolescent and Young Adult Health located in the Johns Hopkins Harriet Lane Clinic and to examine STI risk with PrEP use.

Aubrey directly contributed to the knowledge of Baltimore’s youth population and use of PrEP, a relatively new drug that is being promoted to reduce STI rates. Aubrey’s findings were significant and applicable to the health disparities of this particular community and minority health research.

Honorable Mention:  Jacqueline Cabral and Raie Gessesse

1^st Place – Rezwana Uddin

Project Title:  The Forgotten Contributor: Paternity in Early Childbearing

Mentor: Dr. Cleopatra Caldwell

Project Details:  Contrary to stereotypes of Black fathers, studies show that Black fathers were more likely to care for their children’s needs than their Hispanic and White counterparts (Jones et al., 2013). Despite the growing data favoring young Black fathers’ involvement with their children, the myth of the missing Black father still exists in American society. This project accessed the perceptions of fatherhood for young Black males by analyzing how their relationships with the mother of their babies influence their views of parental roles.

Young, low-income, non-residential Black fathers face many barriers influencing involvement in their children’s lives. SPSS was used to analyze descriptive statistics including frequencies, central tendency, range, and skewness, along with bivariate Pearson’s correlations. Cronbach’s Alpha was used for reliability, and scales were developed based on acceptable categories. The results of the correlation matrix and multiple regression indicated that it is not the relationship with the mother of the baby (MOB) that positively shapes perceptions of fatherhood, but feelings of control over life and support from their mother instead. Young, Black first-time fathers will have more positive impressions of fatherhood and value their paternal roles if they have closer, more satisfying relationships with the MOB.

Honorable Mention:  Manuma’a Finau and Andrew Nguyen

IMHOTEP

1^st Place – Mahad Gudal

Project Title:  An Environmental Scan of Community Noise Ordinances to Inform a Noise Code Framework

Mentors:  Yulia Carroll, PhD; John Eichwald, MA; and Padmaja Vempaty, MSW, MPH

Project Details:  This project involved a systematic review of literature to identify current knowledge and gaps on effects of noise on health in animal studies. This research will supplement a CDC report on the  effects of noise on health, which serves as basis for establishing safe exposure levels to noise in non-work environments. The second part of the project included writing a paper using limited available data on how early in life exposures to noise affect health and hearing loss onset later in life. This project will serve as an evidence base for establishing early age groups to target and test for CDC’s noise and hearing loss prevention messaging campaigns.

Honorable Mention:  Rania Ali and Biftu Bussa

Public Health Leader Fellowship Program (PHLFP)

1^st Place – Justin Holman

Project Title:  Scratching the Surface: Qualitative Analysis of Violence Against Boys and Young Men in Efforts to Support OVC Programming

Mentors:  KaeAnne Parris, MPH and Viva Combs Thorsen, PhD

Project Details:  This project involved supporting the Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) technical unit within the Pediatric and Adolescent HIV team in the Maternal and Child Health Branch. Justin worked with branch members to analyze, summarize, and report OVC program data and to support the team’s data-driven technical assistance to implement programs. The work involved reviewing tools for program implementation including vulnerability assessment tools, job aids, standard operation procedures, data collection tools, monitoring and evaluation materials, and training tools as needed. Justin prepared responses for inquiries, reports, proposals and other documents that highlighted or summarized CDC’s and the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief efforts in reaching and serving OVC in resource-limited settings.

Honorable Mention:  Daniel Hamilton and Tamee Livermont