Serving the San Antonio Community
Lisa Koh
2nd Year, MPH, Epidemiology Student
Since graduating from college, I’ve mostly been involved and worked in academic environments. However, the importance of connecting our work to the needs of the community has been impressed upon me since the moment I started my MPH, alongside the importance of gathering various modalities of data that will center community voices. To get guided experience working on the ground, and to learn more about a different part of the US, I signed up for PH615.
Though it’s been a month, it’s been a valuable experience so far. I have had the opportunity to learn more about community needs health assessments, something that I’ve only heard of in class. I have also been able to gain knowledge on best practices for qualitative data collection (e.g. focus groups) and have the opportunity to learn about a community I have never been to before. I will be part of the team creating windshield surveys – yet another data collection method I’ve never really heard of before. It is gratifying for me to integrate the knowledge learned from previous graduate courses into creating this. For example, having learned about food systems, I am able to propose not just a count of dollar stores or grocery stores, but also to look into the contents of such stores, and observe the availability of fresh food they stock.
I look ahead to the trip in March with both apprehension and excitement. I am nervous about how the changing administrations will impact our ability to approach and build trust with the community, and how that will affect the accuracy of our assessment of the community’s needs, which is now more crucial than ever. And I am excited and grateful for the opportunity to put my public health training in action, and be part of a team serving the St Antonio and Bexar County community.