Health Equity Journal Club & Advocacy Lab
We have started a journal club/advocacy lab, open to UCSD students and faculty where articles gathered for the Health Equity Thread Journal Repository are read and discussed to improve our delivery of care. In the following weeks, an advocacy lab is held to address issues discussed in the journal club.
Want to lead a journal club and advocacy lab? Please contact Dr. Weena Joshi (for UCSD) and refer to the step-by-step outline to guide you.
Archive
Genetic Testing and Tribal Communities: Contextualizing Barriers and Collaborating with Sovereign Nations (May 2022)
Students: Alec Calac, Justine Panian, Yasmin Zuch
Faculty Advisors: Dr. Dave Wilson, Keolu Fox, Dr. Lucila Ohno-Machado, Rene Begay
This session involved an overview of unethical medical practices and research within Native American communities, a discussion of the primary article investigating why some Tribal nations elected not to participate in genomics collection, and a reflection of one Native geneticist’s journey to harmonize her cultural beliefs with her professional work.
Healthcare for the Incarcerated (February 2022)
Students: Abyan Mama-Farah, Carmen Conroy, Genevieve Curtin, Jeff Ding, Kendahl Wallis-Lang, Morgan Desjardins, Nicole Rigler, Sophia Bylsma
Faculty Advisors: Ashley Smith, Elizabeth Vitanza, Dr. Gina Frugoni, Dr. Ian Jenkins, John Ballon, Luke Barrett
In this journal club, we discussed the history and privatization of the carceral system and how these inform the current state of healthcare access in prisons and jails. Our conversation centered on health issues that disproportionately affect the incarcerated and how to effectively address these as future practitioners.
Adolescent Mental Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic (January 2022)
Students: Alyssa Martin, Anna Mischel, Brianna Irons, Shamilka Seneviratne, Tanya Jain
Faculty Advisors: Dr. Desiree Shapiro, Dr. Eric Rafla-Yuan, Julie Woochuk, Dr. Kay Rhee, Dr. Tanya Vayngortin
This session discussed the increasing prevalence of mental health challenges in youth and adolescent populations throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. We then integrated these discussions into clinical practice and medical education with insight from Dr. Desiree Shapiro, a Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist, and other experts from San Diego County.
Policing in Healthcare (November 2021)
Students: Ashley Du, Benjamin Goldstein, Domonique Patterson, Jason Leddy, Umu Rogers, Visesha Kakarla
Faculty Advisors: Dr. Audra Meadows, Dr. Michelle Mcdaniel, Patrick Anderson
Police brutality is a matter of public health. We explored links between poor health outcomes and racist police brutality in the Black community.
Structural Determinants of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) (April 2021)
Students: Jessica Amalraj, Katja Lazar, Shamilka Seneviratne, Shreya Banerjee, Simran Gidwani
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Alexis Johnson, Dr. John Correa, Dr. Julia Sobel, and Dr. Maria Pelucio
Intimate partner violence (IPV) plays a large role in determining health outcomes. We explored neighborhood-level factors in IPV and discussed their role in designing interventions.
Gender-affirming Care for Adolescents and Young Adults in the Primary Care Setting (March 2021)
Students: Althea Hansel, Genevieve Curtin, Kendahl Wallis-lang, Lauren Ostrowski, Liam Fitzgerald
Faculty Advisors: Dr. David Inwards-Breland and Dr. Maja Marinkovic
Gender-affirming care can be a life-saving intervention for transgender and non-binary patients. We discussed barriers to gender-affirming care in a Primary Care setting (e.g., insufficient provider education, inconsistent use of protocols, and gatekeeping practices), focusing on a pediatric and adolescent patient population.
Methamphetamine Use and the Emergency Department (January - February 2021)
Students: Patrick Loehr, Shady Soliman and Tyler Kirchberg
Faculty Advisors: Luke Barrett MSW and Dr. Benjamin Liotta
We discussed meth and opioid use and emergency medicine, focusing on intersections with housing insecurity, income instability, sexually transmitted infection, and social services. Featured paper:
Disparities in Health Informatics (December 2020)
Students: Jonathan Hong, Laurie Simon and Sid Machiraju
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Mario Bialostozky
Data issues are health issues: touching virtually every component of health care delivery from public health policies all the way down to a particular lab value. As the field of health informatics continues to grow, we must be wary that in many situations, not all health data is created equitably. Data gaps can lead to profound downstream impacts on how we understand our patients, particularly our most vulnerable ones. We discussed research on disparities in health informatics and what steps can be taken to close these gaps with the below paper:
eGFR Race Based Equation (October 2020)
Students: Alec Terrana, Claire Conklin, Kiley Rucker, Nyah Rodman and Tanya Ngo
Faculty Advisors: Dr. Pranav Garimella and Dr. Dena Rifkin
We discussed the use of race in the creatinine eGFR equation and alternative equations and lab measurements through the below articles:
History
Over the summer of 2020, 27 students curated a repository of primary literature journal articles that emphasize health disparities, structural inequities or new understandings in promoting equitable health care. Articles were assessed for inclusion of topics of naturalization of structural inequity, structural racism and explicit suggestion for change. Topics were chosen based off of the UCSD preclinical organ blocks.
Blocks are divided into the following:
- FOM/Oncology - MBB
- Cardiology - ERM
- Pulmonary - Immunology
- GI - Hematology
- Renal - Microbiology
- MSK - Dermatology, Rheumatology and Arthritis
The repository has been added into the syllabus for the Health Equity Thread and students are able to get credit for reading the writing responses to articles. You can find the repository here!
We have started a journal club/advocacy lab, open to UCSD students and faculty where articles gathered for the Health Equity Thread Journal Repository are read and discussed to improve our delivery of care. In the following weeks, an advocacy lab is held to address issues discussed in the journal club.
Want to lead a journal club and advocacy lab? Please contact Dr. Weena Joshi (for UCSD) and refer to the step-by-step outline to guide you.
Archive
Genetic Testing and Tribal Communities: Contextualizing Barriers and Collaborating with Sovereign Nations (May 2022)
Students: Alec Calac, Justine Panian, Yasmin Zuch
Faculty Advisors: Dr. Dave Wilson, Keolu Fox, Dr. Lucila Ohno-Machado, Rene Begay
This session involved an overview of unethical medical practices and research within Native American communities, a discussion of the primary article investigating why some Tribal nations elected not to participate in genomics collection, and a reflection of one Native geneticist’s journey to harmonize her cultural beliefs with her professional work.
- Chadwick, Jennifer et al. “Genomic Research and American Indian Tribal Communities in Oklahoma: Learning From Past Research Misconduct and Building Future Trusting Partnerships." American Journal of Epidemiology, Volume 188, Issue 7, July 2019, Pages 1206–1212.
Healthcare for the Incarcerated (February 2022)
Students: Abyan Mama-Farah, Carmen Conroy, Genevieve Curtin, Jeff Ding, Kendahl Wallis-Lang, Morgan Desjardins, Nicole Rigler, Sophia Bylsma
Faculty Advisors: Ashley Smith, Elizabeth Vitanza, Dr. Gina Frugoni, Dr. Ian Jenkins, John Ballon, Luke Barrett
In this journal club, we discussed the history and privatization of the carceral system and how these inform the current state of healthcare access in prisons and jails. Our conversation centered on health issues that disproportionately affect the incarcerated and how to effectively address these as future practitioners.
- Baćak, Valerio, and Greg Ridgeway. “Availability of Health-Related Programs in Private and Public Prisons.” Journal of correctional health care : the official journal of the National Commission on Correctional Health Care vol. 24,1 (2018): 62-70.
- Yanes-Lane, Mercedes et al. “Using the barriers and facilitators to linkage to HIV care to inform hepatitis C virus (HCV) linkage to care strategies for people released from prison: Findings from a systematic review.” Journal of viral hepatitis vol. 27,2 (2020): 205-220.
Adolescent Mental Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic (January 2022)
Students: Alyssa Martin, Anna Mischel, Brianna Irons, Shamilka Seneviratne, Tanya Jain
Faculty Advisors: Dr. Desiree Shapiro, Dr. Eric Rafla-Yuan, Julie Woochuk, Dr. Kay Rhee, Dr. Tanya Vayngortin
This session discussed the increasing prevalence of mental health challenges in youth and adolescent populations throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. We then integrated these discussions into clinical practice and medical education with insight from Dr. Desiree Shapiro, a Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist, and other experts from San Diego County.
- Diaz, Angela et al. “Impact of COVID-19 Mitigation Measures on Inner-City Female Youth in New York City.” The Journal of adolescent health : official publication of the Society for Adolescent Medicine vol. 70,2 (2022): 220-227.
Policing in Healthcare (November 2021)
Students: Ashley Du, Benjamin Goldstein, Domonique Patterson, Jason Leddy, Umu Rogers, Visesha Kakarla
Faculty Advisors: Dr. Audra Meadows, Dr. Michelle Mcdaniel, Patrick Anderson
Police brutality is a matter of public health. We explored links between poor health outcomes and racist police brutality in the Black community.
- Alang, Sirry et al. "Police Brutality and Black Health: Setting the Agenda for Public Health Scholars." Am J Public Health. 2017 May; 107(5): 662–665.
Structural Determinants of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) (April 2021)
Students: Jessica Amalraj, Katja Lazar, Shamilka Seneviratne, Shreya Banerjee, Simran Gidwani
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Alexis Johnson, Dr. John Correa, Dr. Julia Sobel, and Dr. Maria Pelucio
Intimate partner violence (IPV) plays a large role in determining health outcomes. We explored neighborhood-level factors in IPV and discussed their role in designing interventions.
- Voith LA. "Understanding the Relation Between Neighborhoods and Intimate Partner Violence: An Integrative Review." Trauma, Violence, & Abuse. 2019;20(3):385-397.
Gender-affirming Care for Adolescents and Young Adults in the Primary Care Setting (March 2021)
Students: Althea Hansel, Genevieve Curtin, Kendahl Wallis-lang, Lauren Ostrowski, Liam Fitzgerald
Faculty Advisors: Dr. David Inwards-Breland and Dr. Maja Marinkovic
Gender-affirming care can be a life-saving intervention for transgender and non-binary patients. We discussed barriers to gender-affirming care in a Primary Care setting (e.g., insufficient provider education, inconsistent use of protocols, and gatekeeping practices), focusing on a pediatric and adolescent patient population.
- Rafferty, Jason, and Committee on Psychosocial Aspects of Child and Family Health. "Ensuring comprehensive care and support for transgender and gender-diverse children and adolescents." Pediatrics 142.4 (2018).
Methamphetamine Use and the Emergency Department (January - February 2021)
Students: Patrick Loehr, Shady Soliman and Tyler Kirchberg
Faculty Advisors: Luke Barrett MSW and Dr. Benjamin Liotta
We discussed meth and opioid use and emergency medicine, focusing on intersections with housing insecurity, income instability, sexually transmitted infection, and social services. Featured paper:
- Howell, Benjamin A., et al. "Service Involvement Across Multiple Sectors Among People Who Use Opioids, Methamphetamine, or Both, United States—2015–2018." Medical Care (2021).
Disparities in Health Informatics (December 2020)
Students: Jonathan Hong, Laurie Simon and Sid Machiraju
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Mario Bialostozky
Data issues are health issues: touching virtually every component of health care delivery from public health policies all the way down to a particular lab value. As the field of health informatics continues to grow, we must be wary that in many situations, not all health data is created equitably. Data gaps can lead to profound downstream impacts on how we understand our patients, particularly our most vulnerable ones. We discussed research on disparities in health informatics and what steps can be taken to close these gaps with the below paper:
- Sarkar U, Karter AJ, Liu JY, et al. Social disparities in internet patient portal use in diabetes: evidence that the digital divide extends beyond access. J Am Med Inform Assoc. 2011;18(3):318-321. doi:10.1136/jamia.2010.00601
eGFR Race Based Equation (October 2020)
Students: Alec Terrana, Claire Conklin, Kiley Rucker, Nyah Rodman and Tanya Ngo
Faculty Advisors: Dr. Pranav Garimella and Dr. Dena Rifkin
We discussed the use of race in the creatinine eGFR equation and alternative equations and lab measurements through the below articles:
- Peralta, Carmen A., et al. "Cystatin C identifies chronic kidney disease patients at higher risk for complications." Journal of the American Society of Nephrology 22.1 (2011): 147-155.
- Eneanya, Nwamaka Denise, Wei Yang, and Peter Philip Reese. "Reconsidering the consequences of using race to estimate kidney function." Jama 322.2 (2019): 113-114.
History
Over the summer of 2020, 27 students curated a repository of primary literature journal articles that emphasize health disparities, structural inequities or new understandings in promoting equitable health care. Articles were assessed for inclusion of topics of naturalization of structural inequity, structural racism and explicit suggestion for change. Topics were chosen based off of the UCSD preclinical organ blocks.
Blocks are divided into the following:
- FOM/Oncology - MBB
- Cardiology - ERM
- Pulmonary - Immunology
- GI - Hematology
- Renal - Microbiology
- MSK - Dermatology, Rheumatology and Arthritis
The repository has been added into the syllabus for the Health Equity Thread and students are able to get credit for reading the writing responses to articles. You can find the repository here!