Two BUSSW Alumni, Yaminette Diaz-Linhart and Aaron Coleman, Selected for National Leadership Program to Build Health Equity
Boston, MA – With the intention of diversifying the next generations of leaders and ensure equity in policies, Health Policy Research Scholars has selected a group of PhD students from across the country to be part of its second cohort.
As two of 40 selected applicants, Boston University School of Social Work alumni Yaminette Diaz-Linhart and Aaron Coleman will join a diverse group of scholars from across the country to collaboratively tackle persistent health challenges by creating innovative solutions through their research. The Health Policy Research Scholars program is led by the George Washington University with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Ms. Diaz-Linhart graduated from the MSW/MPH program in 2010/2011 and Mr. Coleman graduated from the MSW program in 2012 and are both current doctoral students at The Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University.
As part of the program Diaz-Linhart, a doctoral student in the Health concentration, will explore how the management of community health workers in health care systems impact patient outcomes. She believes that addressing the current gap in how community health workers are managed is crucial for the integration of health care systems through increased coordination and quality care for patients.
As part of the program Coleman, a doctoral student in the concentration area “Assets & Inequalities” will conduct research that analyzes the associations of racial inequality, health inequities, religiosity, hyper-masculinity, self-schema, peer supports and cultural themes as they relate to HIV infections. Coleman’s assumption asserts that within the framework of health and health knowledge, these variables complicate proposed reduction methods, and further exacerbate barriers to Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) for underrepresented communities, specifically, Black men who have sex with men. At its core, Coleman’s research will explore elements of social capital and investigate additional ways in which care, health access and individual well-being can be positively established by utilizing our social networks and cultural organizations as support systems.
“This new cohort of scholars is committed to research that challenges long-held notions about the health of our communities,” says Harolyn M.E. Belcher, MD, MHS, program director, Health Policy Research Scholars, Director of the Center for Diversity in Public Health Leadership Training and professor, Johns Hopkins University. “I am thrilled to work alongside them as they continue to develop into the kind of leaders that can enact real change and ultimately build a Culture of Health.”
Along the way they will develop high-level leadership skills through professional coaching, mentoring, networking, and an advanced leadership curriculum. While participating in the program they will continue studying full-time and applying new knowledge and leadership within their home institution, to advance a Culture of Health—one that places well-being at the center of every aspect of life.
Additional partners providing training and coaching to scholars include: AcademyHealth, Mayo Clinic, University of California—Los Angeles, and University of Michigan.
Health Policy Research Scholars is one of a number of leadership development programs supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF). These programs continue RWJF’s legacy of supporting the development and diversity of leaders. Initially focused on health and health care, the programs have been expanded, because the Foundation knows that building a Culture of Health requires all of us in every sector, profession, and discipline to work together. The next application period for many of these programs will open in early 2018. Additional information is available at http://healthpolicyresearch-scholars.org/.
Curious about pursuing a career dedicated to tackling the world’s most pressing challenges? What kind of impact will you make on the world around you? To learn more about the Boston University School of Social Work and our dynamic graduate community of changemakers, please contact us at busswad@bu.edu or 617-353-3750.
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