Medical students partnered with the Heart Transplant Equity Project in February to raise funds and awareness about health disparities. Credit: Lovette Azap
Ohio State University medical students are pushing in the right direction.
A fundraiser organized by students at The Ohio State Medical University, which works with low-socioeconomic status patients to provide financial support for heart transplants, raised a total of $800 in February.
The fundraiser, in partnership with the Equity in Heart Transplant Project, was led by Lovett Azap, a third-year medical student and chair of diversity and inclusion for the Medical Student Council. Each spring semester, the Council hosts the following events: “Impact Moon” Azap said it's about spreading awareness about a topic that has a big impact on the Columbus community.
“As someone who is really passionate about health disparities, I really wanted to explore health equity as a topic. “It's not just about raising awareness of the fact that we're experiencing the determinants of poverty, but also that there's a difference in our community,” Azap said.
Social determinants of health are non-medical factors that influence health outcomes, such as the conditions in which people are born, grow, work, live, and age. who. The lower the socio-economic status, the worse the health status.
“My parents are Cameroonian immigrants,” Azap said. “As I grew older, I became more aware of how my family still living in Africa struggles to access health care.”
Azap said that while working at the hospital, she noticed that many patients did not have access to medical care or faced various barriers.
Brielle Davidson, a third-year medical student and Outreach and Events Chair for the Medical Student Council, also helped organize the fundraiser.
“As medical students, we learn about health equity,” Davidson said. “We are in a large facility and can see all the resources and ways we can help our patients.”
Davidson said she feels she can make a difference by helping others understand the inequities that exist in heart transplants.
Azap said financial barriers could cost people who need heart transplants their lives.
Azap is also a Student Ambassador for Equity at the Heart Transplant Project, where she has worked on many fundraisers.
The organization reports that it is a nonprofit organization that provides financial assistance to people who are medically eligible for a heart transplant but cannot afford it. Website.
“We were able to raise $10,000. [in that organization]” said Azap. “I was truly moved to see how all of our healthcare professionals were able to come together for a common passion of truly improving the lives of our patients. ”
Azap said her experience with the group inspired her to start the fundraiser.
Davidson said the promotion for the fundraiser will be mostly in-person, with a little bit of online promotion as well.
“We have a variety of raffle ideas, including cooking classes and Ohio State merchandise,” Azap said. “We had some students perform a serenade, and we were able to auction it off to various medical students and faculty to get the community interested.”
Davidson said people get excited when fundraisers are visible and it helps to do in-person fundraising.
“We hope this will encourage more donations to support patients undergoing heart transplants,” Azap said.
