An interdisciplinary team of students from GW’s Milken Institute School of Public Health (SPH), School of Medicine and Health Sciences (SMHS), and School of Nursing (SoN) recently won the Practicality Prize at the National Academy of Medicine's 2019 DC Case Challenge.
The competition, held annually to promote interdisciplinary learning, invites students from seven Washington, D.C., universities to tackle a public health issue that faces the local community. Teams have a limited time to develop a comprehensive intervention plan, which they present to a judging panel. Four awards are given: Grand Prize, Practicality Prize, Harrison C. Spencer Interprofessional Prize, and the Wildcard Prize.
For the 2019 competition, teams were asked to devise a plan on how health officials could reduce health disparities in maternal mortality by addressing unmet social needs. Washington, D.C. has a high maternal mortality rate, disproportionately affecting minority women. The GW team’s plan addressed how community partnerships can help reduce maternal mortality among African-American women. They were awarded the Practicality Award due to the ease and feasibility of implementing the proposed interventions in the community
The team members are Mateen Ghassemi, Joya Chowdhury and Srijana Singh, students at Milken Institute SPH; and Tiff Cunin and Naeha Haridasa, students at SMHS; and Michelle Clausen, a student at SoN. Gene Migliaccio, DrPH, associate dean of applied public health and professor of global health at Milken Institute SPH; and Ans Irfan, MD, MPH, professional lecturer of environmental and occupational health at Milken Institute SPH, served as advisers to the team during the competition.
“Our interdisciplinary team representing public health, medicine, and nursing formed quickly and in less than 2 weeks developed a practical approach to combat the complex health problem of maternal mortality,” Migliaccio said. “I am proud of the team’s dedication to excellence - each member brought their health expertise, professionalism, and leadership to make a difference.”