Social justice in medical education: a student-led approach to addressing COVID-19 vaccine equity in the Hispanic/Latinx community

ABSTRACT

The current healthcare system disproportionately affects vulnerable populations, leading to disparities in health outcomes. As a result, medical schools need to equip future physicians with the tools to identify and address healthcare disparities. The University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine implemented a Scholarly Concentration in Medical Social Justice (SCiMSJ) program to address this issue. Three medical students joined the program and pioneered a project to address the equitable vaccine distribution within the local Hispanic/Latinx community. After identifying the disparity in vaccine uptake and high levels of vaccine hesitancy, they collaborated with local organizations to address vaccine misinformation and accessibility. They organized outreach events, provided vaccine education, and hosted a vaccine clinic at a Catholic church with a high Hispanic/Latinx congregation. Through their efforts, they administered 1,456 vaccines. The estimated economic and societal impacts of their work was 879 COVID-19 cases avoided, 5 deaths avoided, 45 life years saved, and $29,286 in economic value. The project’s success highlights the effectiveness of a student-led approach to promote skill development in social justice training. Leadership skills and coalition building were crucial in overcoming resource limitations and connecting organizations with the necessary volunteer force. Building trust with the Hispanic/Latinx community through outreach efforts and addressing vaccine hesitancy contributed to the well-attended vaccine clinic. The project’s framework and approach can be adopted by other medical students and organizations to address health disparities and improve health outcomes in their communities.

KEYWORDS:

• social justice
• health equity
• health disparities
• diversity equity and inclusion
• COVID-19

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank the John and Rochelle Gray Family Fund for their support and #COVIDCrew for their partnership. We wish to acknowledge Immunize Nevada, the City of Reno, REMSA, volunteer pharmacist, pharmacy technician, and medical and PA student volunteers for help at the vaccine clinic. While the John and Rochelle Gray Family Fund offered financial support for this project, no money was used from this fund because #COVIDCrew had funding through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). Additionally, the City of Reno assisted with clinic promotion. The University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine donated small hand sanitizers for the outreach events. We thank the Nevada Vaccine Equity Collaborative for sharing their reports of percent vaccinated per county.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Ethical Statement

The University of Reno, Nevada Ethics Board determined that our project was IRB exempt because it was determined to be Not Human Subject Research.

Previous presentations

1. Adler AV, Nadone HR, Dafinone ME, Facemyer KC. Co-authors Sande DV, Dupin ZD. Overcoming Barriers To COVID-19 Vaccine in Hispanic/Latinx Community. Nevada Academy of Family Physicians Winter CME Meeting Poster Competition. Stateline, NV, 2022.

2. Adler AV, Nadone HR, DafinoneME, Facemyer KC. Co-authors Sande DV, Dupin ZD. Medical Social Justice:Overcoming Barriers to the COVID-19 Vaccine in The Hispanic/ Latinx Community. Poster presented at the 2022 Innovations in Medical Education Online Conference.Hosted by Keck School of Medicine of USC. Virtual, 2022.

3. Adler AV, Nadone HR, DafinoneME, Facemyer KC. Co-authors Sande DV, Dupin ZD. Social Justice in MedicalEducation: A Student-Led Approach to Addressing COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy inThe Hispanic/ Latinx Community. Poster presented at the 2022 Western Groupon Education Affairs (WGEA) Regional Meeting. Portland, OR, 2022.

4. Adler AV, Nadone HR, Dafinone ME, Facemyer KC. Co-authors Sande DV, Dupin ZD. Social Justice in Medical Education: A Student-Led Approach to Addressing COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy in The Hispanic/ Latinx Community. Poster presented at the 2022 Nevada State Medical Association Annual Meeting. Las Vegas, NV, 2022.

5. Adler AV, Nadone HR, Dafinone ME, Facemyer KC. Co-authors Sande DV, Dupin ZD. Social Justice in Medical Education: A Student-Led Approach to Addressing COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy in the Hispanic/ Latinx Community. Poster presented at the Learn Serve Lead 2022: The AAMC Annual Meeting Conference. Nashville, TN, 2022.

Additional information

Funding

Funding for open access was provided by the University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine Open Access Fund.