The Alpha Chi chapter at California State University, Bakersfield recently won first place in the Collaborative Research Competition at the 2021 National Convention, which took place virtually this year, April 8-10, with the theme of “…and Justice for All.”
The team’s project was entitled, “The Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Access to Mental Healthcare,” which also won the group $5,000, to be split between the team members.
“I was grateful that the students had their work recognized by others because we have been meeting most Wednesdays over the past few months. To have some type of external recognition of those efforts was important – especially this year, with overcoming the barriers associated with data collection and the pandemic – learning about data analysis, learning about obtaining ethical approval, learning how to write a manuscript” said Dr. Zachary Zenko. “I was consistently impressed, but having judges also recognize that was really rewarding for me.”
California Iota’s winning team included Jennifer Hart, a psychology major; Carson Vollmer, a kinesiology major; Elizabeth Wood, an English major and Dr. Zenko, assistant professor in CSUB Department of Kinesiology, the team’s faculty mentor.
“When I decided to do this, it wasn't because I wanted to win the competition. It was just for the experience; it was something I hadn't done before. Getting out of your comfort zone is how people grow -- you don't know what you can do until you do it,” said Wood.
“I agree with that,” Hart added. “I wasn’t even thinking about winning when I was doing this project. It was more like, ‘can I do this?’ And, just taking it step by step and, learning and doing the project along the way and putting in the effort. It just didn't even occur to me that the whole possibility of winning.”
Hart also added that faculty member Dr. Jacquelyn Kegley is the one who inspired her, because she had taken one of her classes involving race, class, gender and sex.
“I felt a sense of gratitude and excitement when we heard the news. It was great to hear all the advice the judges had for us and to see the recognition of our hard work. I was very proud of the work the team was able to do and I am grateful the judges saw it as well,” said Vollmer.
Dr. Kegley originally sent out an email inviting faculty to be mentors and students from different majors were asked to participate, as well. The goal is to make the teams interdisciplinary.
“I was invited to be a faculty mentor, not knowing exactly what the project would be. Initially we had to decide on the topic, and we knew that there was a lot of time pressure. Generally, each student came with a couple of ideas and we discussed and came to some level of consensus about those project ideas, trying to merge them. It ended up focusing on mental healthcare access in response to the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Dr. Zenko.
As the students met, they tried to determine what would fit with each of their disciplines and COVID-19, with a lot of research on it, they decided on that topic.
“We collaborated to determine what aspects from each one of our disciplines could come together and create a project that would have a significant relevance. Obviously, the pandemic was extremely relevant and something that has played a factor in everyone’s life in one way or another,” said Vollmer. “We also saw how these trying times have been affecting individual's state of mental health, as well as access to healthcare due to facilities being shut down. Through analyzing these current conditions and assessing our different backgrounds, we decided that this topic was one that deserved to be researched.”
Once the topic was decided, the goal was to do a literature review and identify what was known about COVID-19, as well as how it is impacting other aspects of healthcare and overall challenges.
“As they were doing that, they also developed a questionnaire that could be used to collect data and understand how more specifically access to mental healthcare would be influenced. This involves potential barriers related to race, ethnicity, gender and socioeconomic status.”
The team walked through the process of obtaining ethical approval from the institutional review board before collecting data.
From that point, the team was able to collect data from an online survey and analyze the feedback as a group. After, the group compiled the manuscript, which consisted of a lot of collaboration.
During the virtual convention, the students each took a portion in the presentation, including introduction, methods, results and discussion. The students were required to submit a video, which is essentially what the judges watched during the convention and were then available for the live question and answer portion, following the video presentations.
“I think it’s a coup for CSUB. We have been participating in Alpha Chi and we’ve had successful student presentations. Last year, two of our students won fellowships to go to pharmacy school right now on a fellowship. There are fellowships they can compete for, and then there are also prizes for the presentation. It’s really a coup for one of the research teams to win. It’s a big plus for the university. It says something about the quality of our students,” said Dr. Kegley.
“The Alpha Chi National Honors Society and the National Alpha Chi convention are packed full of amazing experiences and information for individuals to experience. This organization prides itself on advocacy, leadership, and scholarship and I am proud to say I am a part of this organization,” added Vollmer.
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