My internship is about helping sickle cell patients and their families. We help provide support in every way possible for these individuals. We help in financial, emotional, physical, and spiritual well-beings. Please review my presentation on my internship work to learn more about what we do for Sickle Cell patients.
Intership Showcase Link:
Project Summary:
Our internship is dedicated to advancing quality of care for individuals within sickle cell disease, with a particular focus on minoritized communities. As we know, Sickle Cell disease is diagnosed in Black and Brown communities at higher rates compared to their White counterparts. Conflicts can arise in healthcare facilities with patients such as medical racism, stereotypes, discrimination, and general negative thoughts on Black and Brown communities. Alongside with economic problems that can deter from equitable treatments and healthcare for patients. To analyze socio economic problems that occur for Sickle Cell patients, we utilize transformative tools such as RedCap and Cerner. Both applications allow us to gather and analyze data which enables us to gain insights to the unique challenges minority patients with Sickle Cell Disease face. Story Club is a project conducted to analyze the literacy of SCD children patients and to promote self-esteem and confidence for patients. This project allows our team to analyze the effectiveness of providing literacy to children and the previous levels of literacy in Black and brown communities diagnosed with SCD. We find that most families with children having SCD find the Story Club being effective for their child's educational progression. Additionally, we examine patients psychological behaviors through an assessment tool known as Psychological Assessment Tool (PAT). PATs allow medical professionals to measure patient's behaviors and examine ways to improve care in health facilities. PAT questions consist of asking caregiver their support systems, information given to them and their child, and beliefs/thoughts they have pertaining to their child's diagnosis. Lastly, our team examines financial problems of the caregiver and patient by understanding housing statuses. This is known as Housing Insecurity Data. We ask patients and their families the amount of times they moved, any financial problems where they could not afford rent, and paying for house bills (i.e., water, electricity). This data addresses health disparities among patients and their likelihood of experiencing homelessness which can cause more distress to their health. Through these various initatives, our team uses data to analyze ways to improve access and care for Sickle Cell Disease patients