Kristen DiCresce

Kristen DiCresce is a senior Public Health student assisting Dr. Bethany Lanese with her work evaluating the THRIVE program, a Stark County initiative through Canton City Public Health aimed at reducing the disparity of infant mortality between Black and white babies through the assignment of Community Health Workers. Kristen has gotten the opportunity to assist with the creation of two literature reviews, as well as deciphering and coding interview-data on care quality and the efficacy of CHW intervention. An anti-racist perspective of research pairs nicely with the Public Health idea of prioritizing prevention, not just treatment. Kristen has seen how social support can serve as a primordial prevention of negative outcomes. This means it gives the patients, or moms, tools to better help protect or remove themselves from the environments in which diseases can grow, or, where health determinants often created or exacerbated by racism can put them at risk. It is Kristen's belief that this means prioritizing the mother’s health and voice in these programs and research, not just her baby’s. Kristen's goal is to graduate from Kent State with Honors as well as a Community Health Worker certificate and attend Kent State's Global Health Immersion program where students get to be delegates to the World Health Assembly. She would also like to complete her Masters in Public Health and pursue a job within health-care, research, and social work.