Group Opioid Prevention Project
I engaged in a leadership opportunity through the MPH program by participating in a group project with three fellow MPH students. Opioid abuse is a leading public health problem in the United States. Nearly 5 million people are involved in opioid addiction, leading to 17,000 deaths yearly, putting the nation on the verge of an opioid epidemic. Opioid abuse is a growing problem in Norfolk, Virginia, causing deaths from overdoses, crimes due to drug use, family stress, and babies born addicted to drugs. We worked together to investigate the problem in the community and try to recognize the depth of the situation and potential solutions. After studying the issue, we planned a possible prevention intervention program to make an impact on the local opioid crisis. We made a PowerPoint presentation about the finding and presented it to our professor and MPH class. I gained a community-engaged learning experience, assessed how communities are affected by the opioid epidemic and understood what factors put specific populations at a higher risk. I learned a concerted, national approach to preventing the opioid epidemic and how to develop effective policies for opioid prevention based on community experience and health planning models. The project taught me how to encourage other team members to give their best performance. I brushed up my communication, critical thinking, presentation skills, and ability to work as a part of a team. I developed public health program planning and community health research experience.
IPE Heart Disease Awareness Project
I worked with fellow dental hygiene students in a group project about heart disease awareness. We collaborated to provide medical information to heart patients to build awareness about heart health. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the Hampton Roads region. Low-income minority neighborhoods are disproportionately affected by heart diseases. As a part of the group, I investigated the social determinants of health responsible for poor heart disease outcomes. My primary goal was to examine the accountable Risk factor for increased mortality due to heart disease among low–income African American adults than white (17.5 vs. 13.7 per 100,000 person-years respectively). This project engaged me in a multi-disciplinary team or inter-professional collaboration. My involvement in this project allowed me to connect more with my fellow College of Health Sciences students at Old Dominion University. I gained experience with data handling, working for vulnerable populations, professional collaboration, and networking.
Capstone Project -Grant Application
Funding is always a challenge for every public health professional. Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) 2021 report ‘The Shock of Chronic Under-funding on America’s Public Health System’ suggest that the fund “is on pace to lose $11.9 billion – about a third – of its originally allocated $33 billion for public health authorities from FY 2010-2027.” My capstone-ILE project is based on a grant application for dementia-related training for hospital acute care staff. This project brings another opportunity for me to develop leadership skills during my MPH program. I am applying for the ‘Geriatric Training and Education (GTE) Initiative’ grant. The ‘General Assembly of Virginia’ systematically invested in the project that supports a dementia-related training program to improve the community workforce’s knowledge, skills, and attitudes about Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia (ADRD). Establishing workforce training is an essential public health service that has a long-term impact at the organizational, regional, and state level to build the dementia capability of Virginia. I learned primary leadership skills from this project and understand how to apply my learning in a professional setting to create an impact at the local, state, and national levels.