In the fall of 2019, two University of Alabama at Birmingham graduate students served as Pathways to Practice Scholars with the Quality Improvement and Decision Support Division of the Jefferson County Department of Health (JCDH) in Birmingham, Alabama. Both Senthil Ananthan (pictured left), an MBA/MPH student with a concentration in Health Care Organization and Policy, and Astha Berawala, an MPH student with a concentration in Epidemiology, assisted with the wrap-up of JCDH’s 2014-2019 Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP) and the design of their 2020-2024 CHIP.
Senthil’s primary oncentration was gun violence and community safety, and his work involved identifying evidence-based strategies and policies to guide program planning and policy development on this community-identified strategic issue. Senthil explains that after this experience he is “more inclined to work in areas dedicated to improving the health and well-being of underserved populations.” He adds, “I have accepted an offer to continue with JCDH as an intern for the spring semester and remain actively involved in the development of the CHIP.”
Astha’s main focus within the CHIP was on transportation within the city, primarily on reaching residents in areas with low vehicle ownership and reducing disparities in transit options into the downtown area. One of her greatest takeaways from her work on this project is the “the intense amount of [cross sector] cooperation needed to raise the health status.”
Astha was also impacted by the level of enthusiasm among her colleagues at JCDH. She explains, “The people around me had a passion for helping the community and public health. It was incredible to work with motivated individuals who continued to work toward their goals no matter what. It showed me that I needed to continue to work on my goals and always strive to be in an environment where I was surrounded by those people. It gave me such an inspiration to look up to for the rest of my life.