This final episode in our DEI series features a discussion about the Health Equity Advancement Lab (HEAL) at the University of Iowa with PhD candidate, Jessica Andino. She chats with our crew about the opportunities for students and the importance of exploring these issues in an open and honest learning environment.

Lexi Fahrion:

Hi everyone, welcome back to From the Front Row, brought to you by the University of Iowa College of Public Health. My name is Lexi Fahrion and I’m here with my cohost Alex Murra. And if this is your first time with us, welcome. We’re a student-run podcast that talks about major issues in public health and how they’re relevant to anyone both in and out of the field of public health.

Lexi Fahrion:

Today we’re talking to Jessica Andino, the coordinator of the Health Equity Advancement Lab, also known as HEAL, at the College of Public Health. Welcome, Jessica. We’re glad to have you with us.

Alex Murra:

So to just start us off, could you tell us a little bit about HEAL and the background, as well as your role in the organization.

Jessica Andino:

Sure. The Health Equity Advancement Lab, or HEAL, began back in 2012, and we are a group of students, staff and faculty who care about health equity and want to put those values into action. HEAL was created out of a foundation of basic principles that we have, which are capacity building, sustainability, cultural humility, systems thinking, social justice, reciprocity and accountability, and community engaged research. Our founding members of HEAL have moved onto other institutions, but we still have a very similar mission as of what they’d created in the past, which is to advance health equity and social justice through collaborative research, practice training and advocacy.

Jessica Andino:

Currently I serve as the Coordinator of HEAL alongside 10 other outstanding individuals that serve on our steering committee. They’re from various departments within the College of Public Health, and across other departments at the University of Iowa. Dr. Shannon Lea Watkins is in the Department of Community and Behavioral Health, and she currently serves as our director this year for HEAL.

Lexi Fahrion:

Awesome. Yeah, that was a great overview of the club. It sounds like you guys have a wide array of things that you cover, but also a very important mission. Going off of that, if a student wanted to get involved in HEAL, what would that look like for them? What kinds of things would they be doing?

Jessica Andino:

That’s a great question. Right now we actually have a lot of different opportunities for student, staff and faculty to be involved. One of the things that we carried on from previous years are journal clubs, so we will be reading at least monthly in order to have deep discussions and big thinking thoughts over either journal topics, or current events that are related to health. We also have a very large list-serv that we push out certain events and notifications that can be either on campus, around town, or within even the whole United States that are related to health equity and social justice, so that’s one way to be involved.

Jessica Andino:

This year we’re starting something new. Dr. Will Story is going to be heading our student interest group, and he’s just going to be the faculty advisor to allow more health equity leadership and action roles for students. That again is new this year, so we’re just going to be starting that off probably later this month. We have a couple of different opportunities for health equity research here at the University of Iowa and surrounding area. Every year we have the Science of Health Equity Summit that takes place in the spring. Last year we brought in a keynote speaker. Other years we have had poster presentations and different talks by students as well. Overall, we just invite anybody to come to our different events that we have in order to connect and grow with like-minded people that share the same values of health equity and social justice.

Alex Murra:

That all sounds like a lot of fun. Really briefly you had mentioned that HEAL is involved in some research. Could you expand a little bit more about types of research that HEAL is involved in on campus, or within the community?

Jessica Andino:

Yeah. Many of our steering committee members are dedicated researchers as well and have connections with those research opportunities. One project that I’m really excited about sharing is Drs. Carvour, Johnson, and Dukes, they have a project titled “Equity in Health Science and Practice”. It’s a P3, or a public private partnership, that’s funded through the university. They have two different solidified projects with this funding in which HEAL members can be involved in, or other students as well. And they specifically collaborate with community partners both inside and outside the university. And so right now we’re taking interested names for HEAL students that could hopefully be involved in this paid opportunity.

Lexi Fahrion:

That’s great. It sounds like there’s a ton to be involved in. You’ve given us an overview of what HEAL is, and [inaudible 00:04:35] some things that you’re all going to have this semester. Can you talk about a little bit about your goals for the organization this semester?

Jessica Andino:

Yes. Always forward thinking goals, and I love it. We are really interested in creating more connections amongst not only students, but the staff and faculty and having this be a growing year, not only inside of the College of Public Health, but the entire university to be able to just bring together people that are interested in, and value health equity within our community. So again, this is considered our growing year. It’s been a lot of disconnect due to the pandemic as I’m sure you all know, but we hope to be able to just provide a welcoming and supporting environment for all individuals to be a part of.

Jessica Andino:

So as I said before, we are expanding to do new things such as the student interest group. This P3 opportunity for research, our hands on research is new as well. We’re looking to grow and get better and we’re hoping that anybody that wants to and has the same values as us can join us.

Alex Murra:

So going right into how to join, but if there’s students who are interested in HEAL, how can they get involved? And then also maybe just why did you get involved with HEAL?

Jessica Andino:

Yeah, I would love to have more people join, as we said. So we have a website, or webpage that people can go to. It’s through the College of Public Health’s website as we are considered a collegiate organization at this time. You could probably just type into the search bar HEAL, or Health Equity Advancement Lab and it should be able to pop up if you’d like more information. I’m always a resource. You can find my university email out there and on that website. You can also email any of the steering committee members that are involved. Again, they’re on the website as well. They’re from various departments so you should feel extremely comfortable being able to approach anybody that’s within HEAL. But yeah, anybody else can join.

Jessica Andino:

I joined back in I believe 2016. I had done a few things prior to me being a PhD student as I am now, I was actually a master’s student with some of the founding members of HEAL, and so I just started by doing some volunteer research training with them. And I really, really valued their values. The principles that guide HEAL and push us forward are really near and dear to my heart. And so I think that rings true with a lot of our HEAL members.

Alex Murra:

So do you have to be a public health, or a student in the College of Public Health? Or can you be an undergraduate and the college of blah, blah, blah?

Jessica Andino:

Absolutely anybody can join HEAL. We are a really open group. We have a lot of individuals that are from across the river that are in undergrad programs. We have post-docs that are internal medicine that join us as well. We have individuals from the VA. So if you’re anybody that’s interested, send me an email. We can make sure to get you added and included and you can feel welcome in whatever way, shape or form you join.

Lexi Fahrion:

That’s awesome. It seems like a great resource for all students. Kind of going off of that, say a student is joining from outside of the public health field or something like that, what would you want them to primarily get out of HEAL? What kind of skills or values, things like that?

Jessica Andino:

I think here at the College of Public Health, we really, really value DEI, the diversity, equity and inclusion that may or may not be included in other programs across campus. So really just allowing us to think openly, share our thoughts, respect others is my ultimate goal for everybody here. As you can tell by our guiding principles, we have a lot of different areas that I’m hoping that we can dive into, but if we don’t get into cultural humility or systems thinking, that’s okay. We just really want to have a supportive environment for all individuals that are interested in health equity and primarily social justice to be involved.

Alex Murra:

It really sounds like a really super cool organization, and you can learn so many things about it, about health equity. So I was wondering if maybe you could tell us a little bit about your favorite experience in HEAL. Whether that was the research that you initially did, or even just a specific event?

Jessica Andino:

I really enjoyed last year’s speaker who really hit the nail on the head about some social issues that we’re having within this country today. And so I’ve always enjoyed helping plan, and then also attending our science of health equity summit. As I said in the past we’d have some poster sessions, some different speaking opportunities for students as well. Due to COVID and other related issues, we’ve had to scale it down to just one session key note speaker via Zoom, but I’m really hoping that can flourish in the future and we’ll have even more opportunities for students.

Jessica Andino:

I know I really enjoyed it as a student back in my masters program and again, it would provide opportunities for undergrad, graduate, doctoral, whatever student you come in, or even staff and faculty. We really want to be able to have full involvement from everyone, but again, that science of health equity summit really hits the nail on the head on not only the science, but also the advocacy part of health equity that I think we need in this time.

Lexi Fahrion:

Absolutely. It’s so important to have a safe space to be able to learn and grow with other open minded people. I think that’s something that’s often hard to find in the world in general these days, and folks should take advantage of it when they have the opportunity. Speaking of, I was apart of HEAL a little bit here in my undergrad at University of Iowa and I actually just walked past an old poster that I made as part of the program with its founders and presented at the research fair. It’s hanging up in the hallway here in the Department of Community and Behavioral Health. So I was wondering if you could maybe expand on maybe the research opportunities, or presentation opportunities that student and faculty and staff get to have within HEAL.

Jessica Andino:

I will say we are a little bit limited on some of the current research opportunities that we have, except for that P3 that we talked about with Drs. Carvour, Johnson, and Dukes, which is a wonderful, paid opportunity. But I think the best part about HEAL is connecting with the steering committee members and seeing what they’re already involved in. As you mentioned Lexi, we’re kind of disconnected now. So it’s really nice to be able to approach them, see what they’re doing, not just see it on a CV or on a screen, but actually talk to individuals about their research, see how it fits with your ideas and where you want to go either at the student, staff or faculty because we’re always all moving forward in health equity research. And just really going in with the open mind of seeing where we can go.

Jessica Andino:

I will say also, there’s connections at the VA. There’s connections at Internal Medicine. There’s connections in different departments here at the College of Public Health, and at the departments across the river. I know that we have been able to connect with people in anthropology, global health studies. There are so many different wonderful things even if it’s not directly through HEAL. We can help facilitate those connections.

Lexi Fahrion:

Absolutely. That’s so important. Especially we’ve talked a lot about both from other disciplines maybe coming into HEAL, but you guys are public health folks as well. I think it’s important to understand that any opportunity that you get to learn from these experts, or just learn from your peers is so valuable and you can make some really good connections. And also I think an important thing to note with health equity is that it’s a lifelong process. You can’t just take one class, or a seminar in health equity or read a book and consider yourself okay, I’m good. I’m good with health equity now. It’s a lifelong commitment as scientists and researchers and it’s just human that we make to one another. So I think HEAL is definitely a great opportunity for everyone to keep fulfilling that commitment to themselves and their communities.

Lexi Fahrion:

So Jessica, I know that HEAL had it’s kickoff of that a few weeks ago. I’m a TA for an undergrad class this semester, and we actually announced the event for them. And then I had a lot of students follow up with me and say, “Hey, I couldn’t make it but I’m really, really interested in the club. Can you tell me more about it? Or can you tell me what HEAL’s all about?” So if you maybe want to talk a little bit about your kickoff event a few weeks ago for those who weren’t able to make it?

Jessica Andino:

Yeah. So earlier in the semester, we were able to host an event here. And it was in the College of Public Health on a Friday afternoon, so it’s a little bit hard for some schedules. Primarily what we were able to do is introduce students, staff and faculty that were able to attend to some steering committee members that were there and go over what HEAL is and what HEAL is not as well. And we even had a little bit of food. We like food in our club. But mainly, I would say we introduced the P3, the research opportunity, the interest for individuals for students if they want to be in the student interest group, or the SIG. And other things that I mentioned earlier in this session as well.

Jessica Andino:

I will say that I have a follow up slideshow that I can provide to anybody that is interested. And it includes a Qualtrics survey that states who you are, your preferred name, your preferred pronouns, what program, department, or community member you identify as being within the university area. And then we will also be sending out another quick survey about availability. We really want to be accommodating of different schedules. While they don’t always all align, we’d like to make it easy as possible for everybody to be able to attend. So that will be coming up as well.

Jessica Andino:

We also announced that we’ll be having a few different social events this fall. Outdoor spaces are preferred and so that’s what we’re going to try to go with. But yeah, it’s okay if you can’t make everything. You don’t have to just join us at the first kick-off event for the entire year. You didn’t miss out. You can join us at any time. We’re very, as I said, welcome and open to participation.

Lexi Fahrion:

Awesome. Thank you, thank you. I know there are a lot of students interested in getting involved. I wanted to follow up, you had mentioned a couple times the student interest group, which I know you said is new this year and is headed by Dr. Will Story. Can you talk a little bit about how that is going to be distinct from HEAL, or what his goals are separate from HEAL just to give students an overview of that?

Jessica Andino:

The student interest group that we are envisioning for HEAL will also be envisioned by the students. We’re going to be following a similar format to the maternal and childhood health student interest group that Dr. Story has been creating. And we will make sure that it is very student driven. If you want a certain topic to be able to investigate, discuss, check out, we’re okay with that. If you’d like a little bit more structure and feedback, faculty is there to assist with that as well. It’s really just providing an open space for ideas to float, ideas to move forward and potentially action to be taken place.

Jessica Andino:

We were fortunate enough to have a former student interest group individual and leader join us who has now graduated from our program. They were able to present about the befits of having an open space to discuss their ideas and to also be able to have that little bit of structure and guidance from a faculty member to push them forward throughout the semester. So if you didn’t attend the kick-off event, you did miss that little portion, but I think it’s really, really student driven and that’s not always the case in different areas of the College of Public Health or in the university setting. We try to break the hierarchy a little bit there and giving a little bit more power to the students.

Lexi Fahrion:

That’s awesome. That sounds like a really exciting leadership opportunity for anyone who wants to get involved. Well thank you, Jessica, for coming today and sharing so much about HEAL. We’re going to wrap up with our final question that we ask all of our guests. We think it’s a great insight into what people have learned as far as time here at the university, or what people have learned throughout their lives. The question we’re going to ask you is what is something that you thought you knew but later realized that you were wrong?

Jessica Andino:

I would say I was a very confident undergrad coming into masters, and I thought I knew everything. And then it turns out I don’t and that’s okay. Lexi, as you mentioned earlier with health equity especially, it is a lifelong process and there really is a beginning, but really no end. And so I guess that would be the number one thing that I have been wrong about is that I can continue to learn alongside faculty, staff and students and push myself to being not only a better student, but a better person in our community.

Lexi Fahrion:

Absolutely. Learning is never done, and that’s something that I’ve realized too throughout my time in this program. Alex, do you have any final thoughts?

Alex Murra:

No, I just again, thank you so much for coming on and all the hard work that you do for HEAL, and yeah.

Lexi Fahrion:

We’re excited to see where HEAL goes this year. Thanks for joining us.

Jessica Andino:

Thank you so much for having me. This has really an honor and I hope to see more friendly faces that are masked at our next event. Thank you.

Alex Murra:

That’s it for our episode this week. Big thanks to Jessica Andino for coming on with us today. This episode was hosted and written by Lexi Fahrion and Alex Murra and edited and produced by Alexis Clark. You can learn more about The University of Iowa, College of Public Health on Facebook. Our podcast is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and SoundCloud. If you enjoyed this episode and you would like to help support the podcast, please share it with your colleagues. Our teams can be reached at cph-gradambassador@uiowa.edu. This episode was brought to you by the University of Iowa College of Public Health. Stay happy, stay healthy and keep learning.