{"id":6246,"date":"2020-01-20T12:18:35","date_gmt":"2020-01-20T17:18:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/emergencymedicine\/?page_id=6246"},"modified":"2024-12-13T10:41:10","modified_gmt":"2024-12-13T15:41:10","slug":"health-equity-global-public-health","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/emergencymedicine\/program-welcome\/health-equity-global-public-health\/","title":{"rendered":"Global and Local Health Equity"},"content":{"rendered":"

Our Emergency Department offers mentorship and experience in global and local health equity. Faculty and residents engage in programmatic, education and research efforts to address inequities and mitigate health disparities in our local community and around the world. We seek to provide an environment where interested residents and fellows can develop into the next generation of national and global leaders in health equity in emergency medicine.<\/p>\n

Local health equity work has included strengthening ED linkages to substance use treatment, improving care for victims of sexual assault in the ED, supporting pipeline programs to introduce local high school students to medical careers, distribution of harm reduction supplies in the ED and universal screening for Hepatitis C. Many residents have also engaged in locally-focused public health work through the Violence Intervention Advocacy Program (VIAP) and Project ASSERT, our program to make substance abuse treatment accessible to all our patients (see below for more information on these programs).<\/p>\n

Residents with an interest in global work have participated in train-the-trainer programs, conducted research, and helped develop educational programs worldwide, most recently in Zambia, Kenya, Uganda, South Africa, Thailand, Vietnam, China, Mexico, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Guatemala. Residents who wish to work outside of the US are mentored in helping to design an elective rotation that will be safe and beneficial to both the residents and the local population. We do not encourage exclusively clinical rotations because they are of limited benefit to local populations. Residents have also worked on local projects with refugee patients and patients with limited English proficiency.<\/p>\n

Global Health Educational Resources<\/h3>\n

The Practitioner’s Guide to Global Health information
\n<\/a>The Practitioner’s Guide to Global Health course<\/a><\/p>\n

Public Health Initiatives at Boston Medical Center<\/h1>\n

Violence Intervention Advocacy Program<\/h3>\n

\"VIAP\"<\/p>\n

Boston Medical Center\u2019s Violence Intervention Advocacy Program (VIAP) helps guide victims of community violence\u00a0through recovery\u00a0from physical and emotional trauma. Using a trauma informed model of care, VIAP empowers clients and families, facilitates recovery by providing services and opportunities. VIAP presents options for families that bring hope and healing to their lives.\u00a0In turn, this guidance helps strengthen others who are affected by violence and contributes to building safer and healthier communities.<\/p>\n

VIAP<\/a> is a founding member of the National Network of Hospital-based Violence Intervention Programs and has helped spawn similar programs at other hospitals around the country. Learn more about VIAP and how many patients they’ve helped.<\/p>\n

Project ASSERT<\/h3>\n

\"BMC<\/a>Project ASSERT (Alcohol &\u00a0Substance Abuse Services,\u00a0Education, and\u00a0Referral to\u00a0Treatment) is a team of peer educators at the Boston Medical Center Emergency Department. Since 1994, Project ASSERT has provided over 100,000 patients with health information and support, and facilitated patient access to primary care, substance treatment, and other services. Project ASSERT’s motto is “unconditional service.” Recently, Project ASSERT has taken the lead to make substance treatment more accessible to LGBTQ patients and to provide overdose education and naloxone rescue kits, in partnership with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MA DPH) and the Boston Public Health Commission (BPHC), to patients with opioid-related ED visits.<\/p>\n