Fostering Sustainable, Equitable Partnerships Between Health Professions Institutions & Communities: A Call for Implementation Science

Marvin So, M.P.H., C.H.E.S.; Mariel K. Gutierrez, M.D.; Davis O. Loren, D.P.T.

Marvin So, M.P.H., C.H.E.S. Emory University School of Medicine
Mariel K. Gutierrez, M.D. Emory University Rollins School of Public Health
Davis O. Loren, D.P.T. Emory University Rollins School of Public Health

Abstract

Correspondence: Response to "A New Approach to Community Outreach in Student-Run Clinics" by O'Leary B, Gregoire J, FCRC, 2015:1:12-14

In Oâ€™Leary and Gregoireâ€™s article (FCRC 2015:1:12-14) on Fleur de Vie Ruth Fertel (FdV), a Tulane University School of Medicine student-run free clinic, the authors provide a thorough, practice-relevant description of their solution to increase patient volume through an inter-professional approach. We commend and expand upon the concepts put forth by the authors, noting that it represents an important area for research on student-run clinics: implementation science. We are currently conducting a systematic review that should help to identify high-priority areas in which implementation research is most needed. Both the students who lead and the communities who are served by these clinics can benefit from an implementation science framework, as the approach inherently seeks to understand the process of optimal service delivery.

Author Biographies

Marvin So, M.P.H., C.H.E.S., Emory University School of Medicine

Marvin So is a Post-Graduate Community Fellow of Emory University School of Medicine, where he directs community-based participatory research studies to address the social determinants that drive health disparities in Metro Atlanta. He graduated with honors in public health and human rights from University of California, Berkeley, and he received his MPH from Harvard University. During his time as an undergraduate and graduate student, he was involved in several student-driven clinics including University of California, Berkeley's Suitcase Clinic and the Family Van of Harvard Medical School.

Mariel K. Gutierrez, M.D., Emory University Rollins School of Public Health

Mariel K. Gutierrez is a physician and current public health graduate student in the Department of Behavioral Sciences and Health Education at Emory Rollins School of Public Health. A Los Angeles native, Mariel graduated Phi Beta Kappa from University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where she helped run the Student Run Homeless Clinic. She then served as a third grade Teach for America Corps member in the Mississippi Delta before returning to UCLA for medical school. She brings these experiences into her current work developing quality measures for Emory's student-run clinics. She is passionate about challenging the systemic drivers of inequality in modern society, and she firmly believes in healthcare as a human right.

Davis O. Loren, D.P.T., Emory University Rollins School of Public Health

Davis O. Loren is a current Ph.D. candidate at Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University. A physical therapist-turned-health services researcher, Mr. Loren is interested in expanding the role of the allied health professions in addressing healthcare workforce shortages through experiential learning. Student-run clinics represent one potential solution that Mr. Loren aims to examine in his doctoral research. He received his B.S. in Healthcare Administration and D.P.T. from Loma Linda University.

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