Students in the Master of Public Health program in the College of Applied Health Sciences at the University of Illinois have had to adjust their internships—known as Applied Practice Experiences—because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Periodically, we will speak with them about how those changes have affected their summer plans and potentially career paths. Today with speak with Nicole Alberto, who is working this summer as a Graduate Research Assistant of the MOVE MS program.
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Q: How are your experiences different from what you expected?
A: As a full-time intern this summer, I was expecting that I would be at the office from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and doing field work at nearby counties. But since my supposed summer internship was cancelled due to COVID-19, I had to find an alternative placement, go back home and do my APE completely remotely.
Q: Are you doing something for your APE than what you trained for?
A: Yes! My work with Dr. Brynn Adamson as a Graduate Research Assistant of the MOVE MS program requires me to write and/or edit documents to be submitted to the Institutional Review Board (IRB). Because a lot of our courses focused on the development and promotion of health behavior programs, the logistics concerning IRB of these community/research programs were not discussed that much.
Q: Does your APE work lead you to think about a different career path?
A: Not really. In fact, my APE work solidified my passion to conduct my own research in the future. My four-year experience (undergraduate and graduate) with research gave me the knowledge, experience, confidence and drive to continue pursuing research in my future career as a Public Health Professional and a Physical Therapist.
Q: What happened to your original APE?
A: My original APE with the Carle Foundation was cancelled due to COVID-19. I had been working with my Carle preceptor since Fall 2019 and all APE paperwork had been completed. Unfortunately, Carle Foundation cancelled all summer internships last minute.
Q: Are you working remotely?
A: Yes, back at home in Chicago.
Q: Has anything been frustrating about your change in APE status?
A: I think the most frustrating part was when my original APE was cancelled last minute. I was one of the first to secure an APE site at the beginning of the year so it never occurred to me to find an alternative site. I had to cram to find one during the last weeks of school. Fortunately, my advisors were there to help me.
Q: What are you missing out on because of the pandemic, in terms of working face-to-face with people?
A: My internship with Carle required me to be at the office and do a lot of field work. I attended many events, met amazing people in the community and developed relationships with my supervisors. All of these were cut short by the stay-at-home order. I really miss the bonding and social interaction in the office and out in the field.
Q: What advice do you have for future students who might have disrupted internships or APEs?
A: Trust the process and your advisors! You are not alone in this dilemma. Your advisors will be there to assist you (or even rescue you) when you start to worry about delayed graduation due to your disrupted APE. Be flexible, work with them, and be open to new experiences. Your new site may be out of your comfort zone, but it may also be a new avenue for a better and bigger career path.
Q: What other ways has COVID-19 affected you? Have you traveled? Have you been able to go home, see family?
A: I think COVID-19 has affected me the same way as everybody else. My APE was cancelled, my two jobs ended, I had to go back home, I had to cancel all my summer travel plans and I had to adjust my lifestyle and schedule in many ways. I have a bit of hard feelings but surprisingly, staying at home this summer still got me very busy!
Students in the Master of Public Health program in the College of Applied Health Sciences at the University of Illinois have had to adjust their internships—known as Applied Practice Experiences—because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Periodically, we will speak with them about how those changes have affected their summer plans and potentially career paths. Today, we speak with Stacia Simmons, who is working on the contact tracing team at the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District and the Howard Brown Health Center in Chicago.
Q: Are your experiences different from what you expected?
A: Yes. with everything being shut down due to COVID-19, I wasn’t sure what to expect as far as my experience. I originally expected to be doing work with the Narcan and Prep program at CUPHD, however that shifted once Illinois was ordered to shut down. Shortly after, I was notified that everything would be done remotely and that my role at CUPHD would have to change. Fortunately, the Champaign Public Health Department offered me a position to work onsite as a contact tracing intern. In addition, Howard Brown Health Center in Chicago also offered me a remote contact tracing intern position, and I gladly accepted both positions. My experience so far has been amazing in that the work that I am doing directly aligns with my career interest which is infectious disease prevention/treatment. Therefore, being able to gain firsthand public health experience and to also be able to do my part in helping stop the spread of covid19 has been wonderful. It is also great in that working for two different health departments allows me to serve two different populations and it’s also very interesting to see the differences in approach in regard to the roles of contact tracers between both health departments. Both have exceeded beyond my expectations. Overall, it’s a blessing to be interning at both departments.
Q: You have worked in two facilities doing contract tracing. What differences have you noticed between them?
A: There is a big difference between the population that we serve through CUPHD than at HBHC. Chicago is a much bigger city with a lot more cases, therefore the roles of a contact tracer are slightly different also how things are structured. At CUPHD, the contact tracing unit is split into teams. They have a group of staff who conduct interviews, a group of staff that complete contact tracing and another group of staff that handle data entry and logistics. Contact tracers at CUPHD are in charge of completing daily wellness check calls to isolation and quarantine cases, while interviewers conduct interviews with confirmed cases to identify close contacts. At HBHC, there is one big team of contact tracers whose role is to conduct interviews and identify close contacts however, they do not follow up with cases as CUPHD does. With so many confirmed cases and a need for more contact tracers within the Chicago area, much of our time spent as contact tracers are obtaining information about close contacts.
Q: Does your APE work lead you to think about a different career path?
A: No, in fact it reassures me that I am in the right career path for me.
Q: What happened to your original APE?
A: Originally, it was planned for me to take part in a different role at CUPHD, however things shifted to working remotely. Fortunately, they have still allowed me to work onsite as a contact tracer instead.
Q: Are you working remotely?
A: For HBHC, yes, I am but, for CUPHD, I work onsite.
Q: Has anything been frustrating about your change in APE status?
A: In the beginning I was a bit nervous because I wasn’t sure what to expect, however things have turned out very well for me. I am fortunate to have not experience anything frustrating about the change.
Q: What are you missing out on because of the pandemic, in terms of working face-to-face with people?
A: In working remotely with HBHC it doesn’t allow for me to have the onsite experience as I have with CUPHD, however I am still able to interact and network with other contact tracers as we all have a weekly meeting where we all get to touch base. Overall, it works out that I am able to work remotely from home for HBHC, seeing that I reside in the Champaign area.
Q: What advice do you have for future students who might have disrupted internships or APEs?
A: Make the best out of every experience. Yes, it can be very frustrating to have your internship disrupted, however there are other opportunities out there for you to take advantage of. Public health is a broad field filled with plenty of opportunities and it is vital that you put yourself out there and connect and network with others in which will open more opportunities for you later. Be open and flexible to change because it could be a blessing in disguise.
Q: What other ways has COVID-19 affected you? Have you traveled? Have you been able to go home, see family?
A: COVID-19 has definitely made it interesting in my household as I balance internship duties, and being creative in keeping life interesting and fun for my wonderful seven-year-old son. I haven’t traveled much as I am very busy with both internships and also working part-time as a preschool teacher. I am what you call a “towny”—Champaign is where I was born and raised, and luckily all of my family still resides here in town as well so I am able to see them.
Pre-term birth of a baby puts them at risk for various health problems
Sarah Geiger, an incoming assistant professor in the Department of Kinesiology and Community Health in the College of Applied Health Sciences, has received a $200,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health’s ECHO Opportunities and Infrastructure Fund to study how social vulnerability contributes to pre-term births.
Geiger’s study is entitled, “Oxidative stress and inflammation biomarkers in relation to birth outcomes in four ECHO cohorts. As Geiger explained, babies are born too early for all sorts of reasons, but pre-term birth of a baby puts them at risk for various health problems. Pre-term birth is also really expensive for society, she said. In 2017, for example approximately four million babies were born preterm in the U.S. and preterm birth contributes an estimated $6 billion in health care costs within the first year of life.
“We want to learn more about how social vulnerability—things like being poor, stressed out, living as a racial or ethnic minority, and even being exposed to common environmental chemicals—contribute to pre-term birth,” Geiger said. “To do this, we want to explore what’s going on in women’s bodies when this happens, specifically biological pathways of oxidative stress and inflammation.”
Geiger’s study proposes to characterize biological pathways for preterm birth in four ECHO birth cohorts—including one at Illinois Kids Development Study in Champaign-Urbana—by applying a novel method to quantify the proportion of 8-iso-PGF2α derived from oxidative stress and inflammation mechanisms using the ratio of 8-iso-PGF2α to PGF2α. Previous studies have linked elevated levels of oxidative stress biomarkers to preterm birth, but it is difficult to distinguish between oxidative stress and inflammation, and, Geiger suggests, her study’s approach might address this data gap.
Urine samples will be collected from more than 2,000 women, with about 350 in Champaign-Urbana. The other cohort sites are Chemicals in Our Bodies at the University of California, San Francisco; Puerto Rico Testsite for Exploring Contamination Threats at Northeastern University; and The Infant Development and the Environment Study, at Mount Sinai, University of California, San Francisco, University of Rochester Medical Center, and University of Minnesota.
The study will begin in the fall, and next steps at our site will be preparing urine samples to send to a lab for biomarker measures, Geiger said.
Students in the Master of Health Administration program in the College of Applied Health Sciences at the University of Illinois have had to adjust their internships—known as Applied Practice Experiences—because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Periodically, we will speak with them about how those changes have affected their summer plans and potentially career paths. Ariel Freehill was supposed to be working at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, but instead is helping a rural hospital complete a Community Health Needs Assessment.
Q: How are your experiences different from what you expected?
A: Going into grad school, I knew an APE was required to graduate. I was fully expecting the experience to be relatively the same as the internship I had to complete for my undergraduate degree. Unfortunately, due to COVID-19, that is not how this experience has panned out. Instead of working full-time hours with a preceptor, I am spending my days completing online workshops and skill development courses. It is definitely different from what I was anticipating, but I am still enhancing my skills and knowledge just on a self-paced basis instead of being in an organization.
Q: Are you doing something different for your APE than what you trained for?
A: Actually, no. Aside from the online tasks, I’m helping a rural hospital complete a Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA). This is a report that is done every three years, and I’ve had extensive exposure to this report in my class work leading up to this APE. COVID-19 has obviously impacted how that’s being done and it does affect the data collection but completing the report itself is fairly similar.
Q: Does your APE work lead you to think about a different career path?
A: Not at all. I love kids, and I have always dreamed of working for a children’s hospital. This alternate APE experience does not include any tasks that would heavily influence me to change my career path.
Q: What happened to your original APE?
A: My original APE was supposed to be done with the Volunteer Services Department at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. That entire facility is full of immunocompromised, cancer-fighting kids, so my APE was canceled around mid-March due to COVID-19.
Q: Are you working remotely?
A: I am working from home, but all of my required activities are self-paced for the most part. Which is a blessing, but also a curse. It’s nice to not be restricted to a timeline for this alternate APE, but it also makes it hard to find the motivation to get started some days.
Q: Has anything been frustrating about your change in APE status?
A: The most frustrating thing was the cancelation of my APE with St. Jude. I have dreamed of working for St. Jude since I was in elementary school. When I was informed of our required APE experience, I knew I was going to try and pursue St. Jude. My application for the position passed through five stages before being offered an in-person interview, and that interview was a four-hour interview in Memphis. Even through all of that, I had been offered the position. So, getting that call in March to say it was canceled was the most heartbreaking and frustrating thing that has happened during this pandemic.
Q: What are you missing out on because of the pandemic, in terms of working face-to-face with people?
A: There are so many good things that come out of a face-to-face internship. I can confidently say I learned so much from my undergrad internship, and that is definitely what I am missing out on the most. I can complete all of these tasks that have been assigned to me, but it does not compare to the growth I could have had from being in-person on site. Even though I am helping with the rural hospital’s CHNA, I am still missing out on collaboration with others, especially because the process is so straightforward. I think I am most sad about missing that opportunity to be at a facility that I have dreamed about my entire life.
Q: What advice do you have for future students who might have disrupted internships or APEs?
A: Expect the unexpected, be flexible, and give thanks to those who deserve it! Even before I got the call about my APE being canceled, the University had already told us we were not coming back after Spring Break, so I had a gut feeling that my cancelation was coming, but that did not make it any less frustrating. And because of all of these cancelations, myself and the others in my cohort, are now completing tasks that we never would have thought about doing because we have to have some sort of APE experience. Most importantly, I have to say a huge thank you to my program directors who spent so much time finding these alternative tasks for us that would still qualify for our APE experience. I know they spent countless hours researching items to complete and are still in constant contact, so I am very grateful for everything they have done!
Q: What other ways has COVID-19 affected you? Have you traveled? Have you been able to go home, see family?
A: I am not one who likes to stay home all of the time, I like to go places and see new things and I have not done that. So being cooped up in the house since mid-March has been driving me a little crazy. I do try to get out every once in awhile to see my family. My hometown is only about an hour away, so getting home to see and spend time with them is super easy, and I’m grateful for that.
Students in the Master of Public Health program in the College of Applied Health Sciences at the University of Illinois have had to adjust their internships—known as Applied Practice Experiences—because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Periodically, we will speak with them about how those changes have affected their summer plans and potentially career paths. First up is Edson Flores, who is working as a research assistant for the Recreation, Sport & Tourism department of AHS.
Q: What are you doing this summer?
A: Partnering with a current PhD student, we are conducting bilingual cognitive interviews to increase the strength and reliability of a questionnaire targeting Mexican immigrants in the Midwest. Previous coursework from the MPH program has taught me the influence intersectionality has on patterns and choices people make especially when it comes to the foods they consume. I am fortunate to have received a well-rounded education from our MPH faculty. I am actively applying my Public Health knowledge throughout this summer internship!
Q: How are your experiences different from what you expected?
A: Originally, I expected to go to my summer APE for 7-8 hours every weekday working in a facility. However, my APE is remote which means there is a lot more independence when completing the work. Most of the work is done virtually, even the check-ins, which is something I was not anticipating.
Q: Are you doing something different for your APE than what you trained for?
A: No. My APE is research-based and that is something I am very interested in. I am part of a research lab on campus working with one of our MPH faculty so I am fortunate to have found a summer internship where I can use the skills I learned.
Q: Does your APE work lead you to think about a different career path?
A: Like mentioned earlier, my APE placement involves data collection and data analysis. My career path involves practicing and publishing my own research, therefore, my APE work is providing me with additional experience before I enter my PhD program.
Q: What are you missing out on because of the pandemic, in terms of working face-to-face with people?
A: One noticeable factor that is affected due to the pandemic is the inability to work face-to-face with participants. My APE involves administering questionnaires which were traditionally meant to be done in person. However, due to the current circumstances, we are using phone or video calls instead. Ideally, I would have liked to have met with the participants so they could have had a familiar face throughout the process.
Q: What advice do you have for future students who might have disrupted internships or APEs?
A: My advice to future students who may find themselves with disrupted APEs is to be creative. One thing that this pandemic has taught me was that there are alternative ways to produce the same work. My original plan was to administer questionnaires in person, but we had to think creatively and figure out new ways to achieve the same results. Our faculty are very resourceful so if you ever find yourself in that position, do not hesitate to use your resources!
Alumni of the College of Applied Health Sciences have myriad career options thanks to the tremendous diversity of programs. We periodically will put the spotlight on an alum to find out what they’re doing now, what experiences they had and what AHS means to them. This week, we talk to Tiffany Wilkinson, who got her bachelor of science in 2011 in Community Health and is now Senior Public Health Research Associate with Arizona-based Empowerment Research, LLC.
Q: Why did you pick AHS?
A: The University of Illinois became a collegiate option when I was approached and offered a scholarship from the Wheelchair Basketball Program at the university. I am originally from Arizona, born and raised, and the thought of going out of state hadn’t crossed my mind until I was recruited to the program. I knew I had an area of focus I wanted to get into and when I did my research into the university it was very clear that the College of Applied Health Sciences was where I needed to be. I wanted to stay in the realm of health education and public health, as my goal transitioning out after college was to get back into the nonprofit sector because I believed in working with communities and helping to improve the quality of life of those who benefited from such organizations and services. After careful consideration and debate I knew I wanted to get into AHS and get my degree in Community Health because it closely matched what I wanted to pursue as a career after college.
Q: Which professors had the most impact on you?
A: This is a tough question as I loved all my classes, professors, and experiences at Illinois. But if I had to name a couple people here who had the most impact on me I would have to say for one, Professor (David) Strauser. I loved his courses and the enthusiasm, dedication, and passion he brought resonated with me. I conducted a research project with two other students under his supervision for one of our courses. I love research, data analysis, and statistics, and conducting our project, and getting to present it at the Symposium on campus, was one of the highlights while I was there. He supported what we wanted to do, what areas we wanted to focus on, and guided us to do our work and due diligence during the whole process. It was a valuable learning experience but it was also fun at the same time. And that research project, which was based in the disability community, helped provide another lense to what I was doing and where I wanted to go. His courses truly helped shape the path I wanted to continue on and I am forever grateful for those experiences. He was definitely one of my favorite professors on campus. To this day I work within the disability community, and have been for several years, and I have to thank him for what I learned in his courses but for also grounding even deeper my passion for wanting to work within the disability community as well.
I also want to make mention of two other amazing people, my academic advisors, Christopher Cosat and Carol Firkins, as they probably were two of the most hands-on and supportive people on campus. I cannot express enough gratitude for those two advisors in the College of Applied Health Sciences. They were fantastic at supporting me, keeping me on track for graduation, advising what classes I should take and what semester, advice on professors, you name it. Besides them being extraordinary at their job, they were both kind, caring, and compassionate. They went above and beyond to help students and showed me such heart and warmth during my time there that I can’t say enough about them. There were several occasions where I struggled, lost two grandparents in the same year and was away from family, and I could turn to them, no questions asked, and they would listen to my struggle and offer as much help as they could. It isn’t just doing the job, but also caring about the human being who is a student, but also someone’s daughter or son, niece, brother, sister, whatever. And that is the side that made them two very influential people during my time at Illinois.
I would also like to add that I had an incredible experience in one of my classes that has stayed with me since that day in class. It was Community Health 100, I believe, an entry-level course. And one day we had a guest speaker who came in to talk with us about cancer (that was the section we were on in the course). She was 35 years old, a wife, mother, daughter, and she had breast cancer. She was there to tell us her story and what she was going through. I remember it like it was yesterday and I will never forget it. She shared how her goal was to see her son’s fifth birthday, as the cancer she had was very aggressive. To see him get to five, I couldn’t even fathom that. Her strength, conviction, life experiences, all of that touched my heart. I don’t remember there being a dry eye in the classroom that day after she shared her story. And at the end she said she was leaving us and going to get a double mastectomy at the hospital right after. I was just blown away that this brave woman took the time out of her life to come talk to us, share her story, right before having a life changing surgery. That to me was one of the most incredible experiences I had on campus in that sense and forever grateful to my professor (I can’t remember his name) that he did that for us.
These are the reasons why Illinois stands out to me and why I know deep down I made the right choice going to the university and choosing the College of Applied Health Sciences. It was these experiences, and individuals that still shape who I am today since I graduated. And as I have said, I am forever grateful for them and my time at Illinois.
Q: What course did you most enjoy?
A: It is really tough choosing just one course that I enjoyed the most. In response to a previous question I did make mention of one day in a course that has stayed with me, the guest speaker we had. But it is hard to choose just one course overall as each one taught me something different and my experiences were also unique in each one as well. But one course that did stand out the most for me was REHB 402: medical aspects of disability with Professor Strauser. During the semester we had the opportunity to study and become more familiar with various physical, mental, and cognitive disabilities and what they look like for those individuals in the community who have them. I found the class very fascinating and highly educational. Plus it was a special area of interest for me as well. One part of the class I thoroughly enjoyed was when we got to work in small groups where we were given case studies and we had to diagnose (and) figure out what the disability was. The ones I found the most intriguing were disabilities that fell under mental health. The psychological side of those disabilities and how someone’s mind and brain manifests and changes was so intriguing. To this day I remember working on those case studies and it was one of my best learning experiences in a class. I am a hands on, experience, kinesthetic learner so when we got to work in groups and on projects like that it helped me turn what I learned knowledge wise into something applicable, by working on case studies and real-life experiences.
I also thoroughly enjoyed all of my other health education courses, as well as a couple of the kinesiology courses I had to take as well. I have always been fascinated by how the body and mind work, so when I had the opportunity to take all these courses related to that, and disability as a part of, I just dove right in. I do have to add that one course I took outside the College of Applied Health Sciences was Sociology. That course also aided in my career path because I got to take a bigger look outside us as individuals and look at the community level and how we as humans fit into that. With my career goals post graduation of going to work in the nonprofit sector I knew that this course would also better prepare me on how to look not just at the individual but also the whole of the community and how we interact and intersect. To choose just one course is really hard as I could look back over my career at Illinois and give hundreds of examples of educational experiences I had in each course and what they taught me. But the ones mentioned above would have to be at the top of my list and most impactful courses I took.
Q: Did you enter AHS knowing your career path, or did AHS help you decide?
A: As mentioned above, I had an idea of my career path going into AHS. I had some life/work experience under my belt prior to attending the university. I knew I wanted to stay in the area of community/public health with an emphasis on health education. But it did help me decide what I wanted my future to look like. I would also have to add that my internship at the Women’s Resource Center on campus also helped shape my future as well. (I am) grateful for that experience and what it taught me that semester in college. I had a passion for service, for helping others, and doing what I could to make this world a better place, one person at a time. And I found my passion within the disability community, but also within violence education and prevention as well. AHS helped foster that, along with my many other wonderful and educational experiences on campus.
Q: Did your AHS experience lead to your current job?
A: I would say AHS did in fact help get me better prepared for the career path I have gone down. What I learned while attending the university gave me the tools, resources, and education to back up some of my previous experiences in the career force before attending the university. It also validated that I was on the right path and pursuing the right degree for what I wanted to do. Every position I have held post graduation has been supported by my academic success at the university but also my internship as part of my degree as well. Everything I learned from AHS, my professors, academic advisors, peers, has benefited me in some shape or form during my journey.
Q: What is your current job?
A: My current job is Senior Public Health Research Associate with the company Empowerment Research, LLC based in Arizona. Dr. Susan Wolf and I provide training, education, and technical assistance to the community on brain injury and neuro-impairment. The courses and trainings we offer cover a variety of topics related to brain injury and how to support individuals in school, the workplace, and community. On top of those annual events we also do program evaluation and curriculum development, and consulting on other various projects.
Q: What was your favorite on-campus experience?
A: I do not know how I can choose just one on-campus experience but since I have to, I would have to say my career being a wheelchair basketball player for the university would definitely be one of my highlights. Nothing beats playing a tournament on your home court. Teammates by your side, coaches supporting from the sidelines, the competition, the adrenaline, playing against a tough opponent, and that feeling of a big win. I was proud to be a student at the university, but I was even more honored to be a student-athlete and play the game I love. Those experiences from tournaments, to practices, watching film, developing a game plan, weight training program, all of it was incredible and made me feel even more part of the university. I cherish those moments and my time there and hands down some of my most memorable experiences were on that basketball court wearing orange and blue to represent the university. I would also like to add that I am incredibly grateful on so many levels for the staff, coaches, athletes, student volunteers, athletic trainers, and overall support from the University and the Wheelchair Basketball Program. DRES was a second home for me and the love and support from everyone involved with the program was incredible. One person that always went above and beyond for every single athlete and student was Maureen Gilbert, and I want to say a special thank you to her for everything she did for me while I was there but for every other student as well. I am beyond grateful for her and the program is very lucky to have her, along with the amazing other staff and coaches.
Q: What does AHS mean to you?
A: AHS means family, community, and a lifelong belonging to something bigger than us individually. I am proud to be a graduate of the University of Illinois but I am also incredibly proud to be a graduate from the College of Applied Health Sciences. The adventure I embarked upon by becoming a Fighting Illini is one of the best adventures in my life so far. I feel a humbling honor to be a part of a community of individuals that is out there doing their part to make this world a better place. I feel everything does happen for a reason, and the reason I ended up at Illinois was to help guide me to where I am today but also to where I am going tomorrow.
The College of Applied Health Sciences has experts in many areas that have been affected by the COVID-19 outbreak. Periodically we will ask these experts about how their areas of expertise have been impacted and what we can expect in a post-COVID-19 world. Today, we ask David Strauser, a professor in the department of Kinesiology and Community Health, about how marginalized workers are affected by COVID-19 workplace conditions.
According to David Strauser, for marginalized workers, the stress does not come from losing work, but instead from having to work during a pandemic. (Stock image)
Q: How much more difficult is a loss of work due to an act of God like this on the so-called marginalized worker? They can’t get unemployment or other services.
A: Loss of work is always hard for individuals because it creates financial insecurity, a sense of personal uncertainty, and lack of control. This is especially true when individuals do not see the economic change coming (e.g., others being laid off, talks of downsizing). Workers who are marginalized are at a significant disadvantage because they do not have, or lack access to, the material and instrumental resources that other workers may have access to that allows them to cope with being furloughed or terminated due to lack of work. In addition, the environment in which many marginalized workers work and reside are under consistent personal and environmental stressors that limit the individual’s co-workers, family and community from providing the much-needed emotional support to manage the situation.
The passage of the CARES Act attempts to address the financial issues with unemployment by expanding eligibility for unemployment, supplementing typical unemployment amount by $600 per week through July 31, 2020, and providing an additional 13 weeks of coverage from 26 weeks to 39 weeks. In Illinois, the maximum unemployment amount is $471 per week. Under the CARES Act, that amount increases to $1,071 ($471 + $600). However, few marginalized workers will come close to getting that amount. In Illinois, unemployment is based on 47 percent of an individual’s total two quarters of earnings divided by 26 weeks. If an individual makes $30,000 per year ($15,000 for 2 quarters), his or her unemployment benefit would be $271 per week based on 47 percent of the two-quarter earnings ($7,050) divided by 26 weeks. The CARES Act provides an additional $600 per week, increasing the weekly benefit to $871 per week through July 31, 2020.
However, it is important to note that for many marginalized workers, the stress does not come from losing work, but instead from having to work. Many marginalized workers are considered necessary employees (e.g., janitorial/cleaning, Certified Nursing Assistants, Nursing Home Aides). As a result, they must report to work and work in situations where they are at increased risk of being exposed to COVID-19. Health care technicians and those working in the meat-packing and food-processing plants across the country provide a great example of this. We are on the verge of a meat shortage in the country because so many packing plants have had to close due to workers being sick with COVID-19. In addition to increased health risk, with schools being closed and reduced access to childcare, many workers are dealing with how to manage younger children who are left at home. Finally, many marginalized workers are in the group of individuals who have secondary health conditions, such as diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease, that place them at increased risk for adverse effects COVID-19. Lack of access to appropriate health care also increases stress.
Q: Where can workers turn when they lose gig jobs or employment that doesn’t come with benefits?
A: In Illinois, gig workers will have access to unemployment benefits starting May 11, 2020. The delay on getting these funds to gig workers will likely place individuals in significant financial distress and force them to make hard choices between putting food on the table or paying rent. As outlined above, when individuals become eligible, funds may not be enough to provide financial relief. Individuals may also encounter difficulty navigating the system. With many nonprofits under financial pressure as well, programs designed to help individuals navigate governmental programs may no longer be available or may operate at a reduced capacity, further increasing stress on the unemployed.
Q: Many marginalized workers cannot work from home. What can they do?
A: Many marginalized workers cannot work at home because they have been identified as necessary workers, placing them at increased risk for becoming infected. For many of the jobs held by marginalized workers, social distancing is not feasible and the work environment does not allow for many of the CDC guidelines to be implemented. Many of these workers also depend on public transportation, where social distancing can prove difficult.
Q: Will those workers with comorbidities have more trouble re-entering the work force because of insurance concerns?
A: Access to health insurance and appropriate health care is a significant issue impacting many workers in the U.S., especially those working in low wage positions. COVID-19 has had a disproportionate impact on individuals with co-morbid health conditions, such as hypertension, obesity, and diabetes. A bigger potential issue emerging is further reduced physical capacity for those individuals with co-morbid conditions from the residual effects of being infected and recovering from COVID-19. The combination of working in positions with increased risk of infection, the presence of co-morbid conditions, and the lack of resources place individuals at increased physical and psychological risk of decreased health outcomes, which stresses an individual’s ability to meet the demand of work. Importantly, workers with comorbidities will face a difficult decision about re-entering the workforce. Although many may need to work to obtain health insurance, doing so may put them at increased risk of infection, especially given their comorbidities. Faced with this difficult choice, we cannot presume that workers will risk re-entering the workforce. Many may seek SSDI. But will they qualify? Can access Medicaid? This uncertainty and the lack of resources available to navigate the bureaucracy (for instance, some state governments are cutting funding for legal aid) are additional stressors with which these individuals must cope.
A group that will be significantly impacted that is not being talked about at all right now is high school students with disabilities who will be looking to transition from high school to work for the first time. It is likely that a large number of students with disabilities will not enter the labor market, placing them at increased risk for long-term unemployment and developing additional co-morbid physical and mental health conditions that will reduce future work capacity. Individuals aging out of foster care and those being released from prison will experience similar difficulties, placing them at risk for negative outcomes ranging from chronic unemployment, increased recidivism, and homelessness. Finally, adults who are participating in adult day services, that often include vocational services, will experience a cut in services placing them at increased risk for negative outcomes
Q: Workers on the H-2A guest worker program make up an estimated 10 percent of the U.S. agricultural workforce. But now the Trump administration is looking to cut their pay in the middle of a pandemic, ostensibly to help farmers. Your reaction?
A: A further example of the current administration’s targeting of non-U.S. citizens combined with the devaluation of marginalized workers and the systemic problem of pay inequity. This is a good time for all of us to become reacquainted with Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers movement in the late 1960s.
Q: Black sanitation workers in Pittsburgh recently carried out a one-day strike to fight for protective clothing. How common is this?
A: I believe this is becoming more common as frontline workers are facing increased stress from the lack of access to necessary safety equipment. Workers at Amazon protested working conditions, and, after doing so, an individual who tried to organize workers was fired and publicly scapegoated by the company. Amazon is also being sued in New York because their warehouses are not following social distancing guidelines. I have seen more ads for health care unions and their push to organize and demand a better work environment and increased safety on the job. Workers in Missouri filed an unsafe workplace complaint against Smithfield, and a judge ordered the company to comply with federal guidelines. In New York City, 10,000 correction officers have sued to remedy the lack of safety practices in jails and prisons that place both inmates and correctional officers at increased risk of COVID-19. In Richmond, Va., bus drivers called out of work to protest lack of hazard pay. Unions across the country are fighting for increased access to PPE and hazard pay. My guess is more will be coming as we become more aware of the issues and unsafe environments that many of these workers have had to endure since the start of the pandemic.
Despite actions by workers, industry is responding as well. There have been widespread attempts to discourage unions, and the president has issued an Executive Order declaring meat-packaging workers essential employees, essentially mandating them to work despite the poor work conditions. While many industries hold out their workers as “heroes on the front line,” they often implement policies that suppress wages, minimize workplace protections, and work to diminish bargaining power that could potentially lead to increased wages and protections on the job. Overall, the shortages of certain goods, such as meat, will lead to production-centric decisions, likely placing workers at increased risk.
Q: Lower-income workers are still forced to go to their jobs, many via public transportation, where social distancing rules have not been followed. Is this emblematic of part of the problem for the marginalized worker?
A: Yes. This pandemic has actually lifted the veil on existing inequity in terms of pay, work conditions, and transportation. Issues in the workplace that negatively impact low-income workers are threefold. First, low-income workers typically are physically exposed to repetitive work, toxins, chemicals, and noise that cause harm. Second, low wages and the lack of benefits are financial factors that contribute to poor work environments and have been found to have a negative impact on health and well-being. Finally, an often-overlooked way the work can cause harm is psychosocially. Work that has high demands and low control, an imbalance between effort and reward, is socially isolated, and has real or perceived job insecurity negatively impact an individual’s health and well-being
Q: Will these types of employees have the most difficult time when the economy does return?
A: Yes. The saying last hired, first fired, historically has applied during times of financial downturns, such as recessions. When the economy is strong, businesses must make more concessions to employees, and they are more accommodating to hiring and supporting marginalized individuals, including individuals with disabilities, criminal backgrounds, poor employment histories, and lower work skills. When the labor market is tight, employers can afford to be more selective in who they hire and retain for positions.
Q: What can be done, at a local, state or federal level, to protect these workers?
A: It would be my hope that as we deal with this as a country we continue to become aware of and increasingly uncomfortable with the fundamental inequity that exists in the work environment. In the short term, the government has implemented some good programs that are designed to target those workers most in need, such as increasing and extending unemployment benefits and the passage of the Payroll Protection Program (PPP). It would also be good to see the implementation of hazard pay for those workers deemed necessary.
However, it is important to point out that this pandemic has highlighted the issues of workplace safety, low wages, and the overall social inequity created by unhealthy work environments. I think the common response from most individuals and businesses will be a desire to return to the pre-pandemic normal. But that environment was not good for a majority of workers in the United States. I think now is an opportune time to think bigger, and think change. In the long-term, it would be good to see the implementation of hazard pay for those workers deemed necessary, expanded Medicaid eligibility, the introduction and expansion of paid sick leave, and increased wages. Addressing issue related to affordable housing, discrimination, and a fairer system for addressing workplace injuries would also help ameliorate some of the problems workers face. Finally, the role of unions may need to get explored. Unions have traditionally voiced workers’ concerns about healthcare, paid sick leave, increased wages, a grievance system, and workers compensation.
The funding is for a Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center entitled ENHANCE (Enhancing Neurocognitive Health, Abilities, Networks, and Community Engagement)
The University of Illinois is part of a team receiving a $4.6 million grant aimed at helping adults with cognitive disabilties deal with challenges associated with everyday activities.
The grant from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research runs from Sept. 30, 2019 to Sept. 29, 2024 and is a collaborative effort with Weill Cornell Medicine and Florida State University, with Illinois’ share amounting to approximately $1.4 million.
Kinesiology and Community Health professor Wendy Rogers and Speech and Hearing Science associate professor Raksha Mudar are the principle investigators on the research for Illinois. Harshal Mahajan, assistant research professor of Kinesiology and Community Health, is also an investigator on the project.
The funding is for a Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center entitled ENHANCE (Enhancing Neurocognitive Health, Abilities, Networks, and Community Engagement).
Rogers and Mudar said the primary research aims are to understand challenges adults with cognitive disability deal with every day, and to identify existing and emerging technology that can help. Three segments of the population are part of the study group: Adults 60 and older with mild cognitive impairment, cognitive impairments due to stroke and those who have sustained a traumatic brain injury.
“What we’re trying to do is understand the challenges that they experience in their daily activities,” Rogers said. “In one study, we’ll be interviewing them about what they do outside the home, what they do around the home; shopping, transportation, health, finances and then just basic daily activities, such as mobility and medication regimen.”
Rogers said the study’s participants will include both the the individuals with cognitive disability as well as their family members who provide support and care. They will be exploring whether needs change over time, with interviews repeated across the five-year project.
“Really, we’re trying to get an understanding in general of people with cognitive disability on an everyday basis, what kind of challenges are they experiencing and how might we design technology to support that.”
Another goal is understanding what this population uses in terms of current technology to mitigate their impairments.
One of the projects, Rogers said, involves helping adults with cognitive disability use Google Maps and rideshare apps, through additional instructions and support, which could include an app on their phone that walks them through steps, or a video that illustrates what to do and helps them as they learn.
Mudar explained that they also plan to engage healthcare providers and the technology industry in hopes of developing partnerships.
Cancer-related cognitive impairment, in memory and focus, is an understudied phenomenon
Cancer survivors have many obstacles to overcome to achieve a sense of normalcy. A University of Illinois researcher believes she can help combat some of these problems with a cost-effective tool of exercise.
Kinesiology and Community Health assistant professor Neha Gothe has initiated the STAY Fit study, which stands for Strength Training, Aerobic walking and Yoga for cancer survivors.
Gothe is enrolling cancer survivors ages 30-70 to take part in a 12-week fitness program aimed at reducing some of the negative effects of cancer treatments such as functional fitness, fatigue, lack of sleep and brain fog.
The study’s aims are to measure how participants’ fitness and quality of life have improved over the study span, but primarily, Gothe said she’s focused on cognitive function.
“We are looking at cancer-related cognitive impairment. It’s a very understudied phenomenon,” she said. “Up to 70 percent, and some studies show that more than that percentage of cancer survivors, regardless of cancer type, report these subjective complaints, that they feel like they are not functioning optimally when it comes to their memory or they can’t stay as focused as they used to. It is particularly common during and after treatments, especially chemo and radiation, but has also been documented before patients begin treatment. Only in the late ‘90s CRCI was formally recognized as a quality of life matter that deserved higher priority in clinical research.”
Gothe said the National Cancer Institute and National Institutes of Health have since encouraged researchers to design and conduct interventions to understand what’s causing CRCI and how to prevent and treat it.
“People are looking for solutions outside more medications,” Gothe said, which is a driving factor for STAY Fit study’s yoga-based holistic approach.
The study participants are randomly placed into one of three groups, either the strength group, aerobic walking or yoga, with two trainers assigned to each group of 10-15 people. The groups are kept purposely small to ensure participants get equitable treatment and to ensure healthy group dynamics.
All participants wear a heart monitor during the sessions, which run 60-90 minutes, and they’ll exercise 2-3 times a week for a total of 150 minutes as prescribed by the Center for Disease Control and American Cancer Society.
The STAY Fit exercise sessions begin Aug. 26 and runs through Nov. 15. Given the community engagement and interest in the study, Gothe and her research team will run another 12-week program in the new year starting Jan. 27, 2020.
Editor’s note:
This study is now complete. Neha Gothe joined the faculty of Northeastern University in 2023.
Cancer survivors have many obstacles to overcome to achieve a sense of normalcy. A University of Illinois researcher believes she can help combat some of these problems with a cost-effective tool of exercise.
Kinesiology and Community Health assistant professor Neha Gothe has initiated the STAY Fit study, which stands for Strength Training, Aerobic walking and Yoga for cancer survivors.
Gothe is enrolling cancer survivors ages 30-70 to take part in a 12-week fitness program aimed at reducing some of the negative effects of cancer treatments such as functional fitness, fatigue, lack of sleep and brain fog.
The study’s aims are to measure how participants’ fitness and quality of life have improved over the study span, but primarily, Gothe said she’s focused on cognitive function.
“We are looking at cancer-related cognitive impairment. It’s a very understudied phenomenon,” she said. “Up to 70 percent, and some studies show that more than that percentage of cancer survivors, regardless of cancer type, report these subjective complaints, that they feel like they are not functioning optimally when it comes to their memory or they can’t stay as focused as they used to. It is particularly common during and after treatments, especially chemo and radiation, but has also been documented before patients begin treatment. Only in the late ‘90s CRCI was formally recognized as a quality of life matter that deserved higher priority in clinical research.”
Gothe said the National Cancer Institute and National Institutes of Health have since encouraged researchers to design and conduct interventions to understand what’s causing CRCI and how to prevent and treat it.
“People are looking for solutions outside more medications,” Gothe said, which is a driving factor for STAY Fit study’s yoga-based holistic approach.
The study participants are randomly placed into one of three groups, either the strength group, aerobic walking or yoga, with two trainers assigned to each group of 10-15 people. The groups are kept purposely small to ensure participants get equitable treatment and to ensure healthy group dynamics.
All participants wear a heart monitor during the sessions, which run 60-90 minutes, and they’ll exercise 2-3 times a week for a total of 150 minutes as prescribed by the Center for Disease Control and American Cancer Society.
The STAY Fit exercise sessions begin Aug. 26 and runs through Nov. 15. Given the community engagement and interest in the study, Gothe and her research team will run another 12-week program in the new year starting Jan. 27, 2020.
Two studies–one in mice and the other in human subjects—offer the first definitive evidence that exercise alone can change the composition of microbes in the gut
Exercise can have an effect on your gut independent of diet, said Jeff Woods (Stock image)
Study Methods
In the first study, scientists transplanted fecal material from exercised and sedentary mice into the colons of sedentary germ-free mice, which had been raised in a sterile facility and had no microbiota of their own. In the second study, the team tracked changes in the composition of gut microbiota in human participants as they transitioned from a sedentary lifestyle to a more active one—and back again.
“These are the first studies to show that exercise can have an effect on your gut independent of diet or other factors,” said Jeffrey Woods, professor of Kinesiology and Community Health and director of the Center on Health, Aging, and Disability within the College of Applied Health Sciences. He led the research with former doctoral student Jacob Allen, now a postdoctoral researcher at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. The work with mice was conducted at the U. of I. and with scientists at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, who develop and maintain the germ-free mice. The work in humans was conducted at Illinois.
What Was Found?
In the mouse study, changes in the microbiota of recipient mice mirrored those in the donor mice, with clear differences between those receiving microbes from exercised and sedentary mice. “That proved to us that the transplant worked,” Woods said.
Recipients of the exercised mouse microbiota also had a higher proportion of microbes that produce butyrate, a short-chain fatty acid that promotes healthy intestinal cells, reduces inammation and generates energy for the host. They also appeared to be more resistant to experimental ulcerative colitis, an inflammatory bowel disease. “We found that the animals that received the exercised microbiota had an attenuated response to a colitis-inducing chemical,” Allen said. “There was a reduction in inammation and an increase in the regenerative molecules that promote a faster recovery.”
In the human study, the team recruited 18 lean and 14 obese sedentary adults, sampled their gut microbiomes, and started them on an exercise program during which they performed supervised cardiovascular exercise for 30-60 minutes three times a week for six weeks. The researchers sampled participants’ gut microbiomes again at the end of the exercise program and after another six weeks of sedentary behavior. Participants maintained their usual diets throughout the course of the study.
Fecal concentrations of SCFAs, in particular, butyrate, went up in the human gut as a result of exercise. These levels declined again after the participants reverted to a sedentary lifestyle. Genetic tests of the microbiota confirmed that this corresponded to changes in the proportion of microbes that produce butyrate and other SCFAs.
The most dramatic increases were seen in lean participants, who had significantly lower levels of SCFA- producing microbes in their guts, to begin with. Obese participants saw only modest increases in the proportion of SCFA-producing microbes. The ratios of different microbes in the gut also differed between lean and obese participants at every stage of the study, the researchers said. “The bottom line is that there are clear differences in how the microbiome of somebody who is obese versus somebody who is lean responds to exercise,” Woods said. “We have more work to do to determine why that is.”
The Mayo Clinic-University of Illinois Alliance for Technology-based Healthcare and the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive Kidney Diseases supported the study in mice. The human study was partially funded by a doctoral student research grant from the American College of Sports Medicine.
