Health Equity Scholars Volunteer for "Dining Out for Life" to end HIV in Kentucky
Pictured above from left to right are UK College of Nursing Health Equity Scholar interns Kylie Higgins and Lily Kasey; Ethan Davis and Haylee Boehm; and Henrientha Oziegbe.
On Thursday, Sept. 16, 2021, students from the University of Kentucky College of Nursing's Health Equity Scholars Program volunteered to help with the annual AVOL Kentucky's Dining Out for Life event in Lexington, Kentucky to support ending HIV in the Commonwealth.
Several students from the program volunteered at restaurants around Lexington to encourage diners to support AVOL Kenntucky's mission to end HIV and to improve Kentucky's numbers in five key areas by 2023. Those areas include:
- Increasing the number of people living with HIV who know their status.
- Decreasing the number of new HIV infections
- Increasing the number of people living with HIV connected to, reconnected to, and maintained in medical care
- Increasing the number of people living with HIV who achieve and maintain viral suppression
- Working to eliminate health disparities and HIV stigma
To support AVOL Kentucky's goals and to learn more about their efforts and Dining Out for Life, visit https://www.givegab.com/campaigns/dineoutlex2021.
Health Equity Scholars Program
The Health Equity Scholars Program was launched in January 2021 as an internship opportunity for undergraduate students at UK's College of Nursing as an opportunity for students to provide public health service, with a health equity focus, within the local community. The program is in line with the American Association of Colleges of Nursing’s (AACN) goals of advancing diversity, inclusion, and equity in academic nursing. The enrichment program aims to:
- Improve the quality of education by enhancing the capacity of academic nursing to maximize learning opportunities and experiences for students and faculty, alike, which depend in significant ways on learning from individuals with diverse life experiences, perspectives, and backgrounds.
- Address pervasive inequities in health care by ensuring the preparation of nurses and other healthcare professionals able to meet the needs of all individuals in an increasingly diverse American society.
- Enhance the civic readiness and engagement potential of nursing students who will be in positions of leadership in health care, as well as in society, more broadly
Currently, 17 students are enrolled as Health Equity Scholars.
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