Written by Oluwadamilola Adesina, BS candidate, Saint Louis University, and participant in the 2024 Institute for Public Health Summer Research Program
This summer, I have the privilege of participating in the Institute of Public Health Summer Research Program – Aging and Neurological Diseases Track. I am working in the Social Health and Participation Laboratory, directed by Professor Jessica Kersey, PhD, OTR/L. The title of the project I am working on is Enhancing Equity in Community-based Brain Injury Support Services.
Many community-based brain injury organizations provide resources, social support, and information to people with traumatic brain injuries (TBI) in an attempt to improve their lives. However, health disparities are prevalent among these services, preventing many Black TBI survivors from receiving adequate support. The focus of the Enhancing Equity in Community-based Brain Injury Support Services project is to identify the support systems present in the lives of Black TBI survivors and the effectiveness of that support.
As an assistant researcher, my role in this project is to lead individual interviews with a cohort of Black TBI survivors and/or their family members. In each interview, I ask participants about their experiences with community and healthcare services, as well as the types of support they may or may not be receiving from the entities around them. I am also involved in data analysis, coding each interview’s transcript and helping my colleagues establish key themes from all the interviews. In doing this, the Social Health and Participation Lab aims to guide efforts to increase accessibility to existing brain injury programs and/or create new programs that better correspond with the values of Black TBI survivors.
Prior to this program, I was unaware of how to identify and combat the specific obstacles underrepresented groups face in health care. However, my time in the Social Health and Participation Laboratory has provided me with strategies to discern these barriers and enlightened my perspective of research as a whole. I would like to thank the Summer Research Program – Aging and Neurological Diseases Track and all of the members of the Social Health and Participation Lab for this amazing opportunity.