# @rhodeislandcollege on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/CEUPeJBAtPU
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/74941268-rhodeislandcollege-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/75203d4c6c.jpg
- **Posted:** 2020-08-25T14:51:03.000+00:00

## Caption

This is Steffany and she has #asthma...
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Steffany DeJesus '19 is a RIC alumna with a B.S. in #communityandpublichealth. As an asthma sufferer, she is inspired to do all she can to educate people about this repiratory problem – especially since it disproportionately impacts her community. "In Rhode Island, the overall number of children suffering with uncontrolled asthma is 12 percent, as of 2016. Hispanic children comprise eight percent of all those kids with asthma problems," explains DeJesus, who is originally from the Dominican Republic. "The two communities with the highest risk are children of Dominican and Puerto Rican descent."
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Last year, DeJesus interned at the Bradley Hasbro Children's Research Center, where she worked with Lifepan on research about asthma and health disparities in Rhode Island. The research project, "Asthma Management at Schools," was developed to administer an asthma self-management program/intervention targeting high rate Latino middle school children in public schools. DeJesus emphasizes that this information is more important than ever during a pandemic driven by a respiratory virus. The CDC cites asthma as a major risk factor with #covid19.
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Now a master's candidate in epidemiology and biostatistics at bostonu, DeJesus is passionate about viruses and the effects they have on people. She aims to work in the field of #communityhealth, particularly those communities feeling the worst impacts of COVID-19. She is trying to stay active doing volunteer work, despite being a high-risk person. Most recently she was assisting with COVID-19 testing in Tiverton. "The experience was good and scary at the same time because of my asthma," she admits. "But being on the frontline of an infectious disease response, which is what I am passionate about, was very exciting and fulfilling."
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#RICNews #experienceRIC #RICAlumni #RICSpirit #rhodeislandcollege #gradstudent #publichealth #research #healthcareheroes #healthcareworkers #frontlineworkers #latina #latinasinhealthcare #dominicana

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## Tags

communityhealth, latinasinhealthcare, ricnews, publichealth, healthcareworkers, covid19, rhodeislandcollege, research, ricspirit, experienceric, ricalumni, frontlineworkers, gradstudent, asthma, healthcareheroes, dominicana, communityandpublichealth, latina

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