Key Insight
1. Creating Inclusive Campus Communities: In
my HPEB 301: Practicum in Health Promotion
course, I learned about the Health Belief Model,
which provides a framework to understand
social determinants of health and barriers to
seeking care. This model helped me develop
campus events as a Changing Carolina Peer
Leader to raise awareness and education on
health topics for students. As a future
healthcare provider, my experiences in the
Professional and Civic Engagement pathway will
allow me to understand each patient’s unique
situation and create a comprehensive treatment
plan accordingly.
2. Breaking Barriers through Health Advocacy:
Through WGST 113: Women’s Health, I learned
about disparities in the healthcare, which
inspired me to pursue a career in medicine in
medicine. MedEx Academy, a summer
internship for pre-health students, allowed me
to shadow healthcare providers and learn about
the importance of health advocacy to promote
equity and rebuild trust in the healthcare
system. I now use this knowledge to advocate
for patients in my current job as a medical
assistant at Palmetto ENT & Allergy.
3. Empowering Communities for Positive
Change: By using the concept of community
organizing taught in my HPEB 553: Community
Health Problems course in my role as president
of Y-IMPACT, a service organization on campus, I
was able to work with my team to develop
unique, impactful, and COVID-19 safe service
events. Through Alpha Epsilon Delta, I went on a
medical mission trip in which I used community
organizing along with the rest of my team to
create our action plan for the free medical clinic.
Application to Solution
MUST will use the Health Belief Model to better
understand the social, economic, and systemic
barriers populations that are most at risk for STD
contraction face. The plan is to use this
information to bridge the gap to make STD
testing and treatment more accessible. The
mobile testing unit will do this by creating testing
sites at convenient locations around Richland
County to provide low-cost medical care. It will
also provide extensive patient education through
social media platforms and the Stop the Stigma
initiative, which will encourage health-seeking
behaviors such as safe-sex practices and
counseling on contraceptive use.
The principles of the MUST Project will be based
on health advocacy and promotion of
vulnerability. My plan is to create MUST as a safe,
inclusive, and judgement-free space for people to
seek treatment I will also ensure that patients are
included in developing the treatment plan and
have a voice in their own care. To do so, I will use
the patient care skills I have gained through my
Professional and Civic Engagement pathway
experiences. These practices will help to
destigmatize STDs and improve patient health
outcomes.
I can work to empower individuals in my
community by helping them make a change and
work with them to create unique and relevant
solutions public health issues. MUST will partner
with community organizations and schools to
provide education and resources to underserved
populations. I will promote this process by
building upon the knowledge I have about
outreach and community engagement programs
from my experience as the president of Y-
IMPACT.