Speak Out for Surgery

In partnership with local nonprofit organizations, our mission is to provide free surgical care and long-term support services to people from underserved communities who have been denied access to crucial medical procedures due to disparities within mainstream healthcare. Although many organizations focus simply on the medical issues at hand, we wish to construct an empowering narrative around disability. To do so, we conduct interviews across Southern California with the children and their families to highlight holistic aspects of their lives. In our discussion with the patients, we also wish to understand structural barriers in society that exacerbate their surgical conditions, such as insurance issues, bullying, housing insecurity, etc. Moreover, we hope to eradicate these issues through connecting them with the right resources and organizations, using the funds that we raise to do so. In addition to working towards patient care on an individual basis, we increase awareness about socioeconomic and sociocultural disparities in the healthcare system. With our written pieces about legal reform, anecdotal instances of inequity, and research-based findings about healthcare, we call attention to an area that is often overlooked—the surgical and psychological health of marginalized children within domestic borders. Additionally, via our educational health outreach initiatives such as our health literacy curriculum for high school students, we work to empower students and their families with the tools to advocate for themselves in the context of their medical care. Through “speaking out” on these issues, we aim to encourage a culture where advocating for community needs leads to healthcare equity.

https://www.speakoutforsurgery.org
sos@g.ucla.edu

Signatories: Cate Schroeder, Swetha Atluri, and Chloe Allen

Advisor: Pamela R Cysner