Student Profile: Chavon Hamilton-Burgess

Video courtesy of the Hartford Foundation.

Q: Tell us about your UMass experience so far.

I started my PhD program in 2020. Right now, I’m preparing to defend my perspectives this semester and then will move on to my dissertation. Beginning the program during COVID was interesting, to say the least. I started by doing two semesters on Zoom and then transitioned to in-person and on-campus, so it’s been a journey. Throughout my time here I have felt super supported by the faculty, they give me so much guidance especially while I balance my professional, home, and school lives.

I’ve been working closely with Kathryn Derose. I have been working as her research assistant for the last two years. That started after joining one of her classes. She thought I had quite a bit of knowledge and I’ve been working with her since.  

Q: Why did you choose to attend UMass?  

Some people say that I am a lifelong learner. I love school and I'm constantly in school so I always knew that I wanted to get my PhD. When I was in my Master of Social Work (MSW) program, I got a job with the Institute for Community Research, which is a small research institute in the city of Hartford. I liked what I did so when I graduated, I stayed in public health and worked in research for Emory University in Atlanta. After that, I worked at the Boston Public Health Department.

Those experiences showed me that I wanted to be able to have some autonomy in my own research, not work toward someone else's goals and questions. I began researching the program and came across Aline Gubrium, a professor in community health education. Her interest areas are maternal health and maternal health disparities which is my interest area and what I wanted to focus on in my PhD program.  That was a major draw for me and the UMass program. She was the first person I spoke to about UMass and is now my advisor.  

Q: Can you expand on your research in maternal health?

I focus specifically on black maternal health. My first pregnancy with my first daughter was actually twins. I lost one spontaneously at six months. My daughter was born at 27 weeks and weighed one pound and 10 ounces. At that time, being a first-time parent, I wasn't aware that it was something that could be predicted. There were no red flags right up until that time. And so, for me, it was just like, why did it happen? No one had an answer. Fast forward a few years later, after moving back to Hartford, I started learning more information about it and why it happened. I found out my situation could be predicted for a variety of reasons.  

It’s not a first-time experience I would wish on anyone because it was traumatic. I feel like I was lucky in the sense of even having one child because of it. Many people go through a similar situation and never have children. I always say, that because of the city I was in, the city of Boston, the medical care that I was available was really, really good. I feel like if I was anywhere else it could have been an even higher risk.  

My goal is to just make sure that no one else has that experience. I want to do that through education and my research but also through the work that I do in the community.

Q: You are the founder and executive director of the Hartford Health Initiative. Explain what the initiative is.  

I started the Hartford Health Initiative when I moved back from Boston in 2016. We officially got our 501c3 in 2017. I was born and raised in Hartford and one of my goals was to start a non-profit for young people to give them support. Growing up you can go right or you go left. I have a lot of friends who ended up in jail or have died because of the paths they took. They were not as fortunate as I am and I always wanted to create a place to offer support because that's what got me to where I am. People took an interest in me and provided support. Coming back to Hartford and surveying the landscape there was a lot of need around the youth. No one was talking about those needs from a public health standpoint. I felt that we could fit that niche.

At Hartford Health Initiative we are the bridge between providers, state agencies, policy, and the community. We do not do any direct service but have our care coordination network, which is just like a form of case management. We directly connect the people we serve with the partners that we've established relationships with. It makes for a soft handoff with constant communication. If someone goes to one of our partners for care and they have to wait an extended period to be seen, they can call us and we can then advocate for them at a higher level. It’s all about providing a gateway for people to get to their specialty care and keep their health maintained by having access to care.  

We have our Sister to Sister Health and Wellness Initiative coming up on September 28th where we are offering free mammograms. That came from the disparity around black women and breast cancer. They die the most but they don't get it the most. The event helps us create access to screening.  

For us, access is a huge word and I'm really sensitive about that word. Everyone uses it now but just because you build a building, it doesn’t mean you are creating access. For us, it’s about how people get there, when they get there how are they treated, how are they spoken to, do they understand the language that you're using, that’s creating access. We constantly work at that. You have to really drill down into the micro details to ensure you are intentionally creating access

Q: Do you think your time at UMass will help you move forward in your career?  

Definitely! With Professor Derose we work on a project in Kansas City. It's a faith-based initiative that uses faith-based organizations to convey information and messaging and be a place in the community that is trusted, that can provide a service, and minimize disparities amongst specifically black communities. I have never done faith-based initiatives so having done that project I feel like I can bring faith-based interventions to Harford Health Initiative by creating opportunities with churches and creating partnerships

Having met our counterparts in Kansas City has opened up a new network for me. To me, networks are gold. I could care less how much you pay me, it’s all about how can I use my networks to help more people. Even after I graduate and am not at UMass anymore, I can call those counterparts if needed and they can call me if needed.  

During my time here, I want to strengthen my research skills so that I’m more well-rounded. I know a few different research methods that work for me and my work, but I want to learn other creative methods that would be receptive to community members.  

Our organization is based in research. I mentioned our care coordination, that initiative came from a survey of black women during COVID. I wanted to see where they got their information from around COVID. A majority said their primary care providers are their most trusted sources of information. I knew statistically that a lot of people in Hartford are not connected to a primary care provider. So, we set out to find a way to make that trusted source of information available for everyone. Our Sister to Sister Health and Wellness Initiative also came from data. We are drenched in research. UMass has allowed me to see different research methods, be a part of different projects, and go to conferences to grow those skills and it intertwines and integrates with my professional life.