Alumni Impact: Improving Healthcare Access With an MPH Degree

Help boost community health as a public health professional.

Health equity is a key public health issue, and one of the American Public Health Association’s (APHA) core values.¹

“We believe in conditions that give everyone the opportunity to reach their best health. This requires valuing all individuals and populations equally. It means addressing inequities in the places where people are born, grow, live, work, learn and age,” the APHA says.1

In a public health career, there are numerous ways to improve and provide access to services that help strengthen communities. There are a variety of fields in which to practice, including community health, education, advocacy, environmental health and epidemiology, for example. And, there are a variety of roles, such as public health analyst, public health educator and community health worker, to name a few.

Many of the graduates of Chamberlain University’s online Master of Public Health (MPH) degree program are inspiring examples of professionals whose efforts promote healthcare accessibility. Let’s take a look at some of those contributions:

Improving Language Barriers

As a public health nurse at the Center for Public Health at Reading Hospital, in Reading, Pennsylvania, Omayra Reyes, MPH 2021, BSN RN, serves as an interpreter for Spanish-speaking patients. She also gives immunizations, provides education and works with an STD clinic. Ms. Reyes is known for her positive influence on diverse communities across diverse healthcare settings.”

Serving College Students

Sarai Mapp, MPH 2023, a public health nurse, is the associate director of Residence Life and Housing at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, in Tifton, Georgia. College students are an important constituency in the healthcare equity and access discussion. Chamberlain public health faculty commend Mapp for helping to address the health and safety challenges of college students, many of whom are away from home, and living communally, for the first time.

Conducting and Sharing Research

Chamberlain faculty members selected several MPH grads to participate in poster presentations at two national public health conferences.

A Chamberlain team presented the research poster “Interprofessional Collaboration and Integrative, Complementary and Traditional Health Practices: A Model Fostering Diversity, Equity and Inclusion as Framed by COVID-19” at the APHA 2022 Annual Meeting and Expo. Chamberlain alumni selected for the presentation were Mae Tanner, Gurjit Sparhar, Jonathan Bateman, Ceresa Page and Toshia Webb. They were co-investigators on the research team that included principal investigators Janice Unruh Davidson, PhD, DrPH(c), DNP; Christopher Tex, PhD (external reviewer from the University of Arizona global campus); and Dr. Michelle Wylie.

Six Chamberlain MPH graduates were selected for the international poster presentation at the Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health (ASPPH) 2023 Conference. The research poster title was “Engaging MPH Students and Alumni in an Interprofessional Collaborative Research Experience During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Structure, Process and Outcomes.” 

Co-investigators Tanner, Sparhar, Bateman, Page, Webb and Zenat Mahmuda joined principal investigators Davidson, Tex and Wylie on the research team.

Build Your Public Health Career

If you’re interested in improving public health and healthcare access, a Master of Public Health from Chamberlain University can be a great start. 

Chamberlain’s online Master of Public Health (MPH) degree program can prepare you for a diverse range of jobs in public health. Your courses will cover topics like healthcare policy, community activism and participatory research, and cultural competency and health communication. MPH courses are taught by a diverse team of educators who are public health thought leaders and experts.

Coursework for MPH students is fully online and available 24/7. This may give you the flexibility you need to earn a public health degree while staying active in your personal and professional activities. This online master’s program has other flexible features. In the accelerated study track, you may be able to earn your MPH in as few as four semesters. Chamberlain also offers full-time and part-time options.

Chamberlain’s MPH program is accredited for a five-year term by the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH). CEPH accreditation assures quality in public health education and training.

Using what you learn in our online MPH program, you can help improve healthcare access, joining other Chamberlain alumni working for the greater good as public health professionals.

Chamberlain University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (www.hlcommission.org), an institutional accreditation agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education

Chamberlain University offers an online Master of Public Health (MPH) degree program and other online degree and certificate programs in the nursing and healthcare professions. With a growing number of robust online programs, Chamberlain continues to build on more than 130 years of excellence in preparing extraordinary healthcare professionals.

¹Source: https://uat.apha.org/About-APHA

The Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH), www.ceph.org, Board of Councilors acted at its August 26, 2021, meeting to accredit Chamberlain University's College of Health Professions Master of Public Health (MPH) program for a five-year term. The accreditation term extends until December 31, 2026, pending the program's continued documentation of compliance as required by the Council. The effective date of the program's initial accreditation is December 16, 2019. CEPH is an independent agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education to accredit schools of public health and programs of public health. CEPH assures quality in public health education and training to achieve excellence in practice, research and service, through collaboration with organizational and community partners. For a copy of the final self-study document and/or final accreditation report, please contact Dr. Sharonda Wallace, MPH program dean at MPHProgram@Chamberlain.edu.

By Chamberlain University