BCHS Student Stories

BCHS student Chinwoke Isiguzo, won first place among doctoral students for the project, “Effects of discrimination and microaggressions on exclusive breastfeeding: the role of stress”.  

BCHS student Monica Henderson won second place among master’s students for the project, “Black Hair Politics: A Public Health Concern”.  

WTAE - Beth Hoffman (BCHS ’22) and friends at Kids Plus Pediatrics tell WTAE how doctors are taking to social media to encourage COVID-19 vaccination and counter misinformation. "The evidence does suggest that what people are seeing on social media is influencing their decision about whether to get themselves or their child vaccinated," said Beth Hoffman, a researcher at Pitt. The onslaught of questionable information has left many people wond... 

Amanda Cruce is a BCHS MPH student in a joint Social Work PhD program whose role models in community and public health are the individuals and families that are impacted by the work. She believes that both community and public health are best implemented when impacted groups are involved in the whole process. Their voice, lives, and health depend on an imperfect system and are the real heroes!  

“At my core, I am a health educator. However, I know that we can’t address health inequities by simply looking at the individual. We must interrogate the structural and historical causes that disproportionately impact the health of BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ folks,” said Kayla Ortiz (BCHS ’23).  

“My focus on public health and equity is rooted in my lived experiences as a Black woman but more importantly, the centering of others’ experiences with oppression to let their narratives drive equity work,” explains Monica Henderson (BCHS ’22). Her interests include child health and racial equity and for her thesis she plans to explore Black hair politics and the impact on the health of Black youth.  

Sarah Scott (BCHS ’23) is a first year MPH student and Pittsburgh native who returned home after completing her undergraduate degree in psychology at Pepperdine University. “I am most looking forward to learning more about health equity theories and frameworks to better develop my research projects,” said Scott of joining the Health Justice Scholars program.  

WPXI - BCHS's Jamie Sidani and Beth Hoffman (BCHS '19, '22) published new guidance for pediatricians outlining how to effectively talk to kids and parents about the COVID-19 vaccine that includes monitoring the messages being spread on social media. This guidance is broken down by ABC – be Active on social media, Build trustworthiness, and Capitalize on the strengths of adolescents to help spread accurate information.