A number of our MCH students attended the 2021 CityMatCH conference, online in December. What follows is a post from one of the attendees.
By Danielle Gyasi, BS
City Match was my first virtual public health conference and I am so glad that I was able to have that experience of an informative workshop from the comfort of my home. I was not exactly sure what to expect but I was l eager to learn some new things dealing with public health, meet new people, and create new connections with people in similar fields.
The session that stuck out the most to me was Prioritizing Racial Equity to Address Health Outcomes at the Local Level by speakers Katrice Cain, Jessica Ehule, ZO Mpofu, and Andy Wessel. As we all know, the topic of racism in public health has become a hot topic in the United States. Racial disparities have disproportionately affected infant and maternal outcomes for people of minoritized racial groups. One speaker discussed the history of racism towards these groups and how their practices were institutionally dismantled. She explained the impact it has had on health outcomes and what we can do to get back on track. She also shared a few personal experiences and how they have impacted her drive to do more for these communities. Listening to her passion motivated me to take what I am doing more seriously and to hopefully one day make an impact on the reversal of these negative health and birth outcomes.
Since attending the conference, I have been able to discuss with my colleagues how much information and insight we received on the topic of racial equity and what we can do in the future to see positive change. As a future health professional, there is so much that I would love to do, but my passion is maternal health. I would love to see an improvement in maternal health outcomes, specifically for Black women so I truly did enjoy and appreciate this session.
Danielle Gyasi, BS is a second-year MPH student concentrating in Maternal and Child Health. She plans to graduate in May 2022. Her interests include health promotion, infant and maternal mortality in underrepresented communities. She enjoys working out, cooking, and spending quality time with her family and friends.
