Thanks to this year’s Mick Huppert Community Scholar Awards, UMass Chan Medical School’s T.H. Chan medical students will support Worcester residents by increasing affordable dental care, improving preventive care for women with substance use disorders, and educating adolescents about substance use disorders. Named after the late UMass Chan Professor Mick Huppert, MPH, the awards are presented to students who address a community need and plan to publish or present their final results. The following projects were selected and are being led by students completing their first year of medical school:
Evaluating access to oral health care for patients in the Worcester Free Care Collaborative Medical Program
Recipient: Victoria Pajak, MassAHEC Rural Health Researcher
Mentor: Hugh Silk, MD, Professor of Family Medicine and Community Health
Pajak became interested in community health while working as a medical translator for Polish-speaking patients at a Community Health Free Clinic in Chicago, where he saw patients with chronic toothache and mouth ulcers who couldn’t go to the dentist due to financial constraints or lack of insurance.
“Growing up in the care of my Polish immigrant grandparents, I saw firsthand the impact poor access to health care has on entire families. I wanted to become a physician to improve the health care experience for immigrants and other underserved populations,” Pajak said.
Pajak, a Dartmouth graduate who studied behavioral neuroscience and health humanities at Northeastern University, began attending monthly oral health nights at the Epworth Free Medical Program in Worcester after enrolling in medical school. She works with volunteer dental hygienists at the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences to provide free dental screenings, fluoride and dental referrals to people with limited or no dental insurance.
Pajak hopes to use surveys to assess Epworth Free Medical Program participants’ access to oral health care and customize the program to address barriers. She plans to use her award money to present her research at the Family Medicine Education Consortium in Philadelphia in September.
Improving preventive care for women with substance use disorders Edward M. Kennedy Community Health Center
Winner: Xiao Tong, MassAHEC Urban Health Scientist
Mentor: Zachary Bay, MD, Assistant Professor of Family Medicine and Community Health
Tong became interested in serving underserved populations as a teenager in San Mateo, California, when he saw how language barriers and a lack of affordable medical services prevented people from seeking help.
“In San Francisco, we saw how gentrification and homelessness reduced people’s access to community and health care resources,” says Tong, who studied neuroscience at Johns Hopkins University. “We want to explore the gaps in health care within the Worcester community and provide customized care to help patients overcome these barriers.”
Tong is partnered with the Edward M. Kennedy Community Health Center’s office-based addiction treatment program, which provides outpatient medical support and behavioral health services to adults with opioid and alcohol use disorders. She aims to enhance preventive care for women with substance use disorders by reminding caregivers through electronic health record notes to discuss birth control, renew cervical cancer screenings, and inform patients about pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV prevention.
Tong hopes to use the Mick Huppert Fund to share his research with local health enthusiasts at local meetings and to produce informational pamphlets for patient education.
Substance Use Disorder Curriculum Development for Youth at the Worcester Youth Recovery Promotion Program
Winner: Vivien Tran, Urban Health Researcher, MassAHEC
Mentor: Jennifer Bradford, MD, MPH, Assistant Professor of Family Medicine and Community Health
Tran’s interest in population and community health began while working as a hypertension care coordinator at Dot House Health, a community medical center in Dorchester, where she grew up.
“I really cared about having a place where immigrant and low-income patients could get healthcare that was right for them,” says Tran, who studied population health at Harvard University. “I liked the idea of a center that worked in the neighborhoods where the majority of our patient population lived, and I became interested in how to best provide quality healthcare to underserved populations.”
Tran’s project will explore and implement evidence-based methodologies to educate adolescents about substance use disorders, specifically in the Motivating Youth Recovery Program. Tran will research and develop a curriculum with feedback from clients regarding their thoughts and concerns.
“This award will help me put my ideas together into a cohesive presentation to share and disseminate with others who may be interested in this research,” Tran said. “This project is significant; it can and should be replicated, and I hope to invite others to do the same.”
