Civic Engagement as a Pathway to Meaningful Medical Student Engagement on the Social Determinants of Health

Authors

Alexander Reardon, University of Michigan Medical SchoolFollow
Jennie DeBlanc, University of Michigan Medical SchoolFollow
Alister Martin, Massachusetts General Hospital - Department of Emergency Medicine

Keywords

civic health; voter registration; medical education; social determinants of health

Disciplines

Medical Education | Public Health Education and Promotion | Social Justice

Abstract

The social determinants of health have gained increasing prominence in medical education, but medical students and professionals alike are under-prepared to address those determinants. There is a growing body of evidence that voting and other forms of civic engagement affect the health of patients and communities. Registering patients in healthcare settings offers students and professionals an opportunity to impact their patients’ health beyond the clinical encounter. Medical students are particularly well suited to this work for a variety of reasons, including increasingly positive attitudes toward this kind of advocacy, increasing diversity in the medical student body, and lighter clinical and administrative loads. The 2020 election made these effects clear as students prepared over 18,000 patients and their peers to vote.

Recommended Citation

Reardon, Alexander; DeBlanc, Jennie; and Martin, Alister (2021) "Civic Engagement as a Pathway to Meaningful Medical Student Engagement on the Social Determinants of Health," Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice: Vol. 14: Iss. 4, Article 2.
Available at: https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/jhdrp/vol14/iss4/2