In the midst of returning to school during omicron, LASA began 2022 focusing on public health and gathering via Zoom. We welcomed Kristen Choi, PhD, MS, RN from UCLA, a child/adolescent psychiatric nurse and health services researcher. Combining patient care with training of student nurses and public health related research, Kristen generously shared her thoughts about a range of public health topics all designed by LASA students. Eliza moderated the conversation, moving the group from general public health issues like sanitation and access to services to COVID specific questions about vaccine mandates and adolescent mental health in connection with both virtual education and the return to in-person.
LASA students reflected their gratitude for her important work and her focus on teen mental health. The final area of questions centered on human trafficking in Los Angeles and the intersections of medical care in recognizing indicators that someone may be being trafficked during routine appointments as well as providing services for wellness and healing.
Kristen touched on so many pressing issues. Olivia reflected on Kristen’s analyses of virtual offerings v. in-person offerings in the area of mental health services. Olivia (and others) was/were “surprised with how much information she was able to express with all of our varying questions on public health. One of many things I learned was in response to my question she brought up that a lot of people in AA and NA groups don’t feel particularly comfortable talking to their partners or relatives or even friends about it. The fact that all of these meetings are either cancelled or on zoom now it’s a lot harder for these people to communicate and find ways to stay clean.”
Kristen’s work ranges from seeing patients to researching the effects of policy changes. Lilly appreciated how Kristen “broke it down using this ‘upstream-downstream’ idea, where downstream work, like working as a nurse at a clinic, focuses more on individuals, and upstream work, like public health policies, focuses more on collective groups or communities. I liked how she introduced this idea of ‘upstream-downstream’ in the context of what she
wanted to pursue in life and what was important for her.”
Thankful for the time together and for Kristen’s sharing and work, we are hopeful to return to
meeting in-person in February.