MPH Student APE Stories
Sophia’s Experience with Reach Out and Read
The Reach Out and Read (ROR) program promotes early childhood literacy by integrating books and reading guidance into pediatric care, ensuring that families have the tools to support language development from birth. As part of my Applied Practice Experience with the CHOP PolicyLab, I worked to identify pediatric sites across the Greater Philadelphia region and state of Pennsylvania that met key criteria for program expansion. Using ArcGIS mapping and data analysis, I have helped search for pediatric sites where ROR could have the greatest impact, particularly in communities with limited access to early literacy resources. This experience reinforced my passion for public health interventions that address social determinants of health, and I am grateful for the opportunity to contribute to a project that strengthens the foundation for lifelong learning and well-being.
Sophia Jesteen
Arleen’s Experience with Puentes de Salud
Working at Puentes de Salud has been an incredible experience. My project focuses on implementing an intervention that helps immigrants navigate the complexities of the American healthcare system. Through my roles as a patient navigator, registrar, and researcher, I’ve noticed a common challenge: many immigrant communities lack knowledge of how healthcare administration works. This program is designed to bridge that gap by educating individuals about their rights as patients, health insurance, specialist appointments, billing, and more. We are developing this intervention using human-centered design principles that I’ve learned as a Clinical Research Coordinator at the Nudge Unit and in my Design for Health Behavior class. Our process involves interviewing all stakeholders, creating personas, mapping workflows, ideating solutions, rapid validation, and implementing. As an immigrant myself, I know firsthand how difficult it can be to navigate the healthcare system. In 2017, my mom and I had to figure it all out on our own, reading articles, deciphering policies, and relying on my limited English skills as she searched for a surgeon for my brother. That experience, which so many immigrant families face, inspired me to pursue this project with Puentes.
Arleen Lopez Cruz
Shermont’s Experience with Prevent Point Philadelphia
I had the amazing opportunity of working at Prevention Point. I was shocked by the conditions in Kensington that included large amounts of homelessness, drug use, death, poverty, crime, and unsanitary conditions. However, I understood what I was pursuing and came with an eagerness to help. It was exciting though, as I was amidst what was going on and amongst the people I was serving. Participants were a joy to work with and their stories were interesting and informative. Their stories were conducive to understanding this population and intervene using public health approaches. These approaches included the creation of resource documents that discussed HIV & HCV testing/prevention and services, outreach to increase HIV/HCV testing and PrEP utilization, and data analysis on the outreach. I got to network with Philadelphia community leaders and explored organizations outside of Penn. I am thankful for my preceptor Liba Judd and the Career Services Office at Penn for affording me this opportunity and guiding me towards my first hands-on experience doing public health work in the community. This has been a delightful and informative experience that I will take with me as I continue to dive into public health career focusing on Black LGBT+ health and sexual wellbeing.
Shermont Bradwell
Shaiza’s Experience Addressing Maternal Mortality
I was offered the opportunity to coordinate the implementation of the Early Warning Signs Training Initiative. The program was created by the recommendation of the Philadelphia Maternal Mortality Review Committee (MMRC) to educate all persons who may interact with birthing people in the postpartum period on the specific indicators of SMM and to empower the attendees to promote health-seeking behavior in a birthing person who might be exhibiting a sign. I was tasked with coordinating the program from its pilot stage to oversee the growth of the program overall. In my time interning, we have reached nearly 400 members within the community, with outreach to all Managed Care Organizations, birthing hospitals, government agencies such as WIC, doula programs, father support groups, and many other community organizations. We successfully distributed 20,000 magnets to all birthing hospitals in Philadelphia such that birthing persons receive this critical information post-delivery. By coordinating a large-scale city project, I have gained immeasurable experience from evaluative skills to project management which I hope to implement throughout my career.
Shaiza Sinha
Catherine’s Experience with the Bicycle Coalition
For my Applied Practice Experience, I interned with the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting bicycle safety through advocacy and education. I planned and implemented summer programming at the Lil’ Philly Safety Village, a highly interactive and colorful traffic park for kids ages 0-8 in Hunting Park. The Safety Village includes streets, intersections, pedestrian crossings, and bike lanes, but on a child-sized scale. It’s a great place for to children to engage in safe, playful learning about bicycle and pedestrian safety. Over the course of the summer, I connected with local Hunting Park community members and coordinated free bike rentals, learn to ride classes, and summer camp activities. The aim of this internship was to increase access to safe biking for children in the Hunting Park area, including access to free helmets and bike lights. I loved my time with the Bicycle Coalition, and learned a lot from my coworkers about the power of collaborative advocacy and the importance of community engagement. The Bicycle Coalition is committed to making our city healthier, safer, and more sustainable, and I’m so lucky I was able to play a small part in that.
Catherine Chadwick
