Summer Undergraduate Research Program - Fred Hutchinson ...

Extra Personal Statement #8
As a graduate student at the University of Michigan’s Program in Health and
Behavioral Sciences, I am actively developing a career focused on the prevention and
control of chronic and acute diseases among under-served populations. My current
research and career goals, coupled with my academic and field work experiences, afford
me an excellent position to apply to the Ph.D. program at the Johns Hopkins School of
Public Health. It is my aspiration to concentrate my doctoral research and application
studies addressing contemporary health problems in rural communities, building upon my
current foundation in health education.
Over the last two years, my focus has been in public health, specifically studying
community health education and understanding and improving cancer health disparities. I
have developed an instinctive desire to approach health disparities and behaviors at a
level that is inclusive of both the micro-systems of family and community, and individual
behavior and decision making. After reading the objectives of the Johns Hopkins School
of Public Health program, I found not only the course of study I was looking for, but a
program in an area of the country that is home for me, allowing me to reach an academic
pinnacle and while living and working in the region I love.
During the course of earning my MPH degree, I participated in a summer
internship at the Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia, assisting a research
and action program undertaken to indentify colorectal cancer screening compliance of
Hispanic populations in eastern Georgia. In this capacity, I worked with Principal
Investigator Dr. Mary Cortez analyzing data collected from the study, contacting
participants for follow-up information, and supporting the assessment procedures for
future health programs geared towards increasing compliance. The intervention utilized
the Health Belief and the Transtheoretical models respectively.
Concordant with this work, I completed a draft manuscript with the assistance of
Dr. Cortez and an abstract of the study has been submitted to the American Association
for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2009, for presentation and possible publication.
Overall, this position provided valuable experience in conducting interviews, and
understanding and communicating with individuals and communities, and the process of
development of culturally-appropriate health interventions.
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