Department of Social Work
MSW Graduates Participate in Student Research Forum at National Conference on Health Disparities, June 19-22, 2019
Oakland, CA – Recent MSW graduates - Kelsey Gibbs, Jacqueline Serrine-Jauregui, Lauren Stroud, and Karina Smyth - attended the 12th National Conference on Health Disparities held in Oakland, California. The students competed alongside participants from across the country to deliver oral presentations based on research conducted during their graduate coursework. Each student presented a research poster centered around this year’s conference theme of “Reducing Health Disparities Through Sustaining and Strengthening Healthy Communities.”
Oral presentations were only one portion of a day-long student research forum, entitled “Training the Next Generation of Leaders.” The forum included a keynote address and roundtable discussions with leaders in the field.
Following the student research forum, the event hosted a series of panel discussions to fulfill the conference mission: “to focus on policies, research interventions, and programs that address prevention, social determinants and personal responsibility in reducing health disparities and promoting health equity.” Particularly as the program has expressed a desire to progress the discussion of mental and behavioral health issues, the social work students lent a valuable perspective to the conference narrative and activities through their presentations and participation.