Michele Lee was selected by the Office of Minority Health (OMH) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to serve as a 2019 Health Equity Fellow for OMH’s health equity fellowship program, the Youth Health Equity Model of Practice (YHEMOP). By participating in this Model of Practice, Michele Lee will be supporting The University of Chicago/The Center for Asian Health Equity to complete several short-term projects. Michele will work on 1) the Cook County CARES project funded by the Center for Disease in providing planning and implementation support for colorectal cancer prevention programs 2) assisting in research design for an experimental study examining stigma towards individuals with mental health issues 3) developing and implementing a culturally tailored health curriculum and instructional tools for the Rohingya refugee population 4) developing and conducting a health needs assessment for the Chicago Rohingya refugee population and 5) assisting in data analysis and manuscript preparation. Michele Lee will also have a chance to participate in a Health Equity Curriculum which aims to help emerging health professionals apply a health equity lens to health and social problems in future professional and/or academic endeavors and learn about effective strategies to advance health equity work through leadership, capacity building, and funding opportunities.
The University of Chicago/The Center for Asian Health Equity is one of nearly 30 partner agencies and organizations to host a YHEMOP Health Equity Fellow in summer 2019. These partnerships provide a cooperative framework for OMH to develop programs and community health equity projects to engage emerging health professionals in a hands-on, field learning opportunity through a short-term, full-time, placement in an organization or institution that promotes health equity and/or addresses health disparities.
OMH launched the YHEMOP in 2015 to support the design, implementation, and evaluation of federal and public health workforce opportunities related to engaging and educating undergraduate, graduate, or doctoral students interested in pursuing a career related to health care, public health or health equity. HHS OMH is dedicated to working across racial and ethnic minority communities to facilitate the availability of culturally and linguistically appropriate services and the development of a more robust health and human services workforce and infrastructure. The diverse set of organizations that will serve as placement sites for the Health Equity Fellows include federal agencies, community-based organizations, professional associations, and academic institutions.