Certificates and Graduation Year: MPH, Healthcare Management and Epidemiology-Biostatistics – May 2023

Role: Practice Data Research Assistant

What do you usually eat for breakfast?

I am not really a breakfast person, but I love freshly dipped french toast with greek yogurt and berries on top (and, of course, the maple syrup). On regular days, I usually opt for a large cappuccino!

Where are you from? 

I am from Gujarat, India. I moved to the US for my undergraduate studies and decided to stay for my Master’s degree. 

What do you do for fun? 

I sit on the board of two student organizations on the BUSPH campus. I am the President of Food is Medicine Collective, which aims to raise awareness and act on issues of food access, injustice, and insecurity. And Finance Chair for Healthcare Management Student Association which provides resources beyond the academic setting to increase professional and career development opportunities for healthcare management students. 

For fun, I love to watch sunsets at Charles River Esplanade, get bubble tea with my friends, and catch up with friends and family in India. 

What brought you to BUSPH and how would you describe your experience so far?

Coming from an international background, it was quite difficult for me to choose a school that would not just be my academic life but also my home for the next two years of my life. After getting admitted to BU, I took some time to learn about their program by speaking with alumni.I was impressed by the alumni’s positive remarks about their faculty, resources, and learnings from the program. 

The welcoming and diverse culture at BU SPH attracted me further along with their impactful mission of “Think. Teach. Do.” It stood out from the other schools because it would allow me to tap into my passion for data analysis and strategic management in the context of public health. 

I have been at BUSPH for a year now, and I can tell you that it is an excellent school for someone who wants to learn from the best faculty to pursue a career in public health and healthcare management. The group projects and conversations with my professors have opened my neurons to different perspectives on the public health sector. Every day, I am blessed to learn something new and eye-opening about our healthcare system each day. 

Why did you apply to be the Activist Lab Practice Data Research Assistant? What are you looking forward to most from this experience? 

Being a Research Assistant at Activist Lab would allow me to bridge the gap between knowledge and action in public health for BUSPH students. Just having the knowledge and a plan is a big piece of making an impact, but it is not useful if we do not turn it into action and implement it. Through my work, I would be able to impact the BUSPH community to attain their passion and also allow them to expand their network and public health practice. 

I am looking forward to learning more about the scope of practices that exist in public health. In addition, I am also excited to expand my data analytics skills by using different statistical and visualization tools. 

If you could choose any area of advocacy for BUSPH to engage in, what would it be and what would that engagement look like? 

That’s a great question, and I have thought about it a lot! My drive to improve access drew me to work in healthcare and public health. I strongly believe that many problems exist today that can be managed through bold public health action. There are numerous barriers that one faces while seeking healthcare that goes beyond the social determinants of health. If I could lead the engagement to access care, I would follow these four steps:

• Awareness: Many government and welfare programs exist to help the underserved and rural populations, but they are simply unaware of it and thus, are unable to take advantage of the services available. I would aggressively push out the advertisement with complete information on these programs’ benefits and enrollment process to those communities in Spanish and English.
• Policy Change: Actively advocate to reduce the barriers that these welfare programs have in terms of enrollment. The point of wellness programs is to help those that need the help. By putting in stringent barriers (lengthy paperwork in English, fixed dates of enrollment, complex eligibility and renewal requirements), we are not saving healthcare costs but rather increasing them through ER utilization by these individuals.  
• Subsidize Commercial Insurance: Subsidizing commercial insurance would allow low and middle socio-economic individuals, the biggest population in the US, to secure affordable and adequate coverage, which will improve their overall healthcare outcomes. In addition, it would also cover our growing entrepreneurial population and non-full-time employees. 
• Address Physician Shortages: Reducing physician shortages by increasing medical school and residency slots and providing financial support would help improve the provider-to-patient ratio. Moreover, developing incentives for these physicians to work in rural communities long term would also increase access to healthcare. 

I hope the BUSPH community can devise actionable steps around these areas to reduce barriers to accessing healthcare for underserved populations. Let’s accomplish the mission of: Right Care at the Right Time to the Right Individuals!

What do you want students to know about the Activist Lab and your role? Why should they work with you? 

Activist Lab is here to help you take your next step towards your passion for activism and making a difference in public health. We actively seek our mission to Educate, Innovate and Advocate to reduce inequity and injustice by integrating knowledge and action. And I am here to help you discover your passion for activism and provide you with the appropriate resources to reach your goal. In addition, I could also help them expand their public health network to BU alumni, staff, faculty, and the larger Boston Community as a whole to expand their knowledge about public health. Feel free to contact me at: sdewani@bu.edu if you want help with any of the above or just want to know more about my role!