"Bridging the Gaps" Project Looks to Address Health Disparities in New Brunswick

Through "Bridging the Gaps: Amending Health Disparities in Camden, New Brunswick and Newark", medical students got firsthand looks at the everyday health problems of under served communities.

According to the University of Medicine and Dentistry NJ (UMDNJ), the internship program spans seven weeks and aims to pair medical and social services students with community-assistance organizations to provide additional services as well as educational opportunities in the field.

Working in teams, the groups spent time in senior care facilities, soup kitchens, and community improvement and education agencies addressing bullying, homelessness and the education of at-risk teenagers.

The project sites were all located in Newark, Camden or New Brunswick.

On June 27, the groups presented their project findings to a packed room at UMDNJ-Piscataway.

According to a group of students who were based in New Brunswick, 16.9 percent of New Brunswick senior citizens live below the poverty line, 20 percent of New Brunswick adults live in poverty and engage in "risky behaviors" such as drug use, and 37 percent of New Brunswick residents are not insured, they said.

The data was provided through the Rutgers Center for Student Heath Policy, they said.

Half of the New Brunswick group worked at Elijah's Promise, where the group worked with the organization's "Let's Cook!" program to evaluate how successful it was in educating area low-income families on how to prepare healthy food on a budget. They also redesigned school lunch menus and prepared videos to supplement the program lessons, according to the students.

At the Francis E. Parker Memorial Home, the other half of the New Brunswick team surveyed staff members and catalogued the program offerings to see what was effective and best suited for the elderly participants at the home, based on their health, ethnicity and individual capabilities.

In written personal statements, students said the project had several benefits.

"The Bridging the Gaps internship has demonstrated to me how health professionals of different backgrounds can effectively communicate as a team to achieve the best level of care for their clients," said Jamie Moy.

"In addition to giving me an opportunity to expand my knowledge and to learn new skills, as most internships might, I have come away from this experience with a greater appreciation for a very basic human need - food," said Alexsandra Apostolico.

The group recommendations agreed that additional information on how to navigate the healthcare system, and additional basic health care services should be made available to the community.

They also suggested additional community education services pertaining to drug use, sexual activity, and in-school health screenings.