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ASB 2012-2013 - Bridging the Gap: Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Disparities in Children’s Health in the Bay Area

Basic Information
Application Process: 
ASB 2012-2013
Trip Name: 
Bridging the Gap: Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Disparities in Children’s Health in the Bay Area
Trip Location: 
Bay Area, CA
Air Travel Trip: 
No
Number of Participants: 
12
Trip Description: 

The path to a healthy life begins in childhood; the socio, economic, and political environments children grow in can have lasting effects on the remainder of their lives. How is it that there is such a wide spectrum of health in today’s population of youth?  How can better health be promoted?  What solutions have been proposed and how effective can they really be? On this ASB trip, we plan to explore the various factors that contribute to pediatric health through a multidisciplinary analysis, investigating not only specific disparities but the initiatives and programs—such as health literacy for parents, healthy eating programs in schools, and SCHIP coverage under the Affordable Care Act—that address these issues.  By focusing on the wide spectrum of health issues that afflict American children today, we hope to begin to explore and answer these questions, developing not only a better understanding of the issues at hand but a plan of action that can be taken to alleviate the disparities in children’s health we see today.

In the winter quarter, we will begin delving into problems such as childhood obesity, access to health care, and the implications of environmental conditions on the health of a child from the lens of policy, advocacy, and community engagement. We will also learn from professors in the field as well as engage with each other and informative readings on the subject matter.

During our Spring Break trip, we will then speak with individuals and organizations in the Bay Area involved in bridging the gap of pediatric health disparities.  We will meet with policymakers and officials from government agencies, researchers and advocacy groups with special interests in child health, and local community groups and NGOs.  A critical facet of the week-long program will be a service project involving volunteering with local clinics and non-profits.  

We hope that you will not only come away from this trip with a better understanding of pediatric health disparities but also inspired to make a change and contribute to the movement towards healthy living for today's youth.

Trip Leaders
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Jean Guo

(As penned by Nitya Rajeshuni)  Jean is currently a senior double majoring in Economics and Human Biology.  The spring of her sophomore year, Jean had the wonderful opportunity of participating in the ASB trip For the Sake of Women: Disparities in Women’s Health, the very trip that inspired her to lead an ASB trip herself!  Jean is super knowledgeable about the health field (ask her a question! She just might have an answer!) and has had a variety of experience in the health field, including researching in a polio lab and participating in a Stanford in Washington (SIW) internship (where Jean and I first bonded over the UHMAZING 24-flavor espresso machine in the SIW kitchen).  In the future, Jean is interested in further studying the intersection of health, economics, and policy, but on a free day, you could find her figure skating, traveling on a new adventure, or curled up on the couch with a cup of NATURAL soy milk and a good new French read in hand!

Nitya Rajeshuni

(As penned by Jean Guo) Nitya is a senior majoring in Biology who hails from Pasadena, CA. An aspiring pediatrician, she loves working with kids and is the co-director of SPLASH!, where she also taught classes on Bollywood dance and Rangoli, and has worked with Ravenswood Reads and the local Girls and Boys Club through Everybody Dance Now!. She has done clinical research in the Urology Surgery department at the City of Hope National Medical Center for the past few summers. However, Nitya first had the chance to study public health and policy issues more in depth through her experience in the Stanford-in-Washington program, where she interned at the NIH’s National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases. An avid fan of musical theater, Nitya is super talented as well and is also involved in classical Indian dance and a South Asian female a Capella group on campus. You might also catch her cheering on the Lakers too and perhaps throwing popcorn at the TV at the site of the Celtics!