MPH Scholar’s Day showcases student projects
Graduating students share their capstone research
On Monday, May 9, graduating students from the Master of Public Health (MPH) program at Binghamton University presented their work to program faculty, fellow students and invited guests.
The presentations took place during a virtual roundtable event broken into morning and afternoon sessions. Students were pre-assigned to one of the sessions and then divided into breakout rooms, where they took turns presenting their work and taking questions from attendees. Each breakout room was facilitated by a faculty member within Binghamton’s Division of Public Health, who then asked the group members questions about their work, their processes, what the students learned and the implications for public health as a whole.
The students presented on their capstone projects, which are the culminating assignments for the 48-credit graduate program, a joint initiative of Binghamton’s Decker College of Nursing and Health Sciences and the College of Community and Public Affairs.
The students are listed alphabetically, along with the name of their project:
- William Bauer ’20: Assessment of COVID Containment Practices, Individual Attitudes and Health Outcomes between Athletics Community in Binghamton University and SUNY Broome: Self-Reported Data
- Samantha Black ’18: Rabies Reporting and Control in the Southern Tier, NYS: A Targeted Needs Assessment
- Emilee Bobik ’20: Health Equity Compliance in Care Compass Network Partners
- Catherine Chinock-Ayiku ’20: Analysis of Evidence-Based Interventions Targeting the Social Determinants of Health; To Reduce Health Disparities Among Persons with Substance Use Disorder
- Annie DePugh: Attitudes and Behaviors Toward Mandated Occupational CVID-19 Vaccination
- Amy Fassold: COVID-19 Testing: Rural Barriers in Broome County
- Sophia Gelard ’20: Quantitative Analysis of Sexual Assault and Interpersonal Violence Programming During New Student Orientation at Binghamton University
- La’Myia Glasgow ’20: Examining the Impact of Doula Reimbursement Policies and Programs on their Target Populations
- Jennifer Herd ’20: Qualitative Analysis of Substance Use Experiences Among Sexual and Gender Minority College Students
- Sara Herskowitz ’20: Mental Health Stigma, Barriers and Education of Resources on Binghamton University Campus
- Susan Hoskins: COVID-19 Testing at Binghamton University: Are Presumptions that the Satellite Testing (PCR) will have a Higher Positivity Rate than the Surveillance Testing (Antigen) Correct?
- Aysha Mahmood ’21: Healing the Students of Johnson City Schools by Implementing a School-Based Health Center
- Emily Missavage: Unintended Consequences of COVID-19: The Impact of New York on Pause and STD Data Collection in the Southern Tier
- Candice O’Connor ’20: Condom Self-Efficacy: Motivations and Barriers of Condom Use among College Students
- Chelsea Ogindo ’20: An Epidemiological Assessment on the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Hospital-Acquired Infections in New York State Hospitals
- Chiedozie Onyeukwu ’20: New York State Public Health Association Health Equity Statement Evaluation
- Samuel Pomichter ’20: Observing the Connection between the Availability of SNAP/EBT at Farmers Markets and the Consumption of Fresh Produce in Broome County, NY
- Samantha Spallina, MS ’20: Evaluation of Antibody Response in the IDD Population During the COVID-19 Pandemic
- Jasmine Thorson ’20: Examining COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy among Community-Dwelling Adults: A Qualitative Study
Students were required to provide peer feedback, and faculty members gave their overall impression of the presentations at the close of each session.
“One of the most rewarding things in life is to see your students grow from not knowing anything about a topic to seeing them come into their own and be able to tackle a project and deliver health education or analysis,” said Yvonne Johnston, associate professor and founding director of the Division of Public Health, at the end of the morning session. “It’s wonderful to see you [students] demonstrating these skills.”
“I think it’s a fantastic time to be embarking on public health careers, and I applaud you all for moving into this incredibly vital field to help keep us all safe and healthy,” added Jodi Dowthwaite, research assistant professor in the Division of Public Health.
MPH student Candice O’Connor, a self-admitted “statistics geek,” said she enjoyed all the presentations and learning how they were analyzed.
“It was really cool to see the different components we learned from our first days in the MPH program and to combine all of that with our internship experiences and our interests,” she said. “It’s exciting to see how far we’ve come in the midst of a pandemic.”
The students presenting at the roundtable event have all completed the MPH program and will graduate later this month.