Medical/Health Communications Portfolio
Below are the pieces of my portfolio specifically focused on messages that advocate for global and public health, disability visibility, and general wellbeing. They combine my skills of visual storytelling and translating complex topics into accessible formats.
NCD Financing Gap Whiteboard Video
This video explains, through a series of hand-drawn animations, the non-communicable disease (NCD) financing gap: the phenomenon that occurs when common but serious conditions are under-funded, contributing to a lag in care and increase in costs.
I created this video for my internship with the Health Finance Institute (HFI) using Adobe tools, after realizing the need for an accessible explanation of HFI's work closing the NCD financing gap.
I adapted my superiors' script, helping ensure it was clear while retaining their subject matter expertise.This video was posted on HFI's homepage. All rights belong to them.
Refugee Advocacy for UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency
I hand-illustrated and animated this graphic using Adobe Tools for the UNHCR's global social media pages (@refugees). It advocated for refugees' access to clean, safe water during World Water Week 2022, and emphasized
Refugees and displaced people frequently have to walk long, physically arduous distances to fetch clean water, and face increased risks of communicable disease due to poor sanitation services, as I learned my internship with the United Nations Association of Greater Boston in 2018.
All rights belong to UNHCR.
This is an example of a Tiktok I made for the UNHCR (@refugees). I created it during my internship with the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), to advocate for refugees' access to menstrual products, using available footage (that is not my own) in South Sudan. I wrote this project script with my supervisors' approval and compiled/edited visuals myself. Tools used were my iPhone, Adobe Premiere Pro, and Photoshop.
Some comments:
[Tiktok user 1]: PERIOD 😍💅🏻
[Tiktok user 2]: 🥰🥰🥰
This was originally posted on the UNHCR's TikTok page (@refugees). All rights belong to them.
DEVELOPED BY DUMASTAR
Podcast episode: Step Therapy
In this podcast episode for my undergraduate capstone, I investigated fail-first insurance policies and the dangerous effects they can have on patients' lives, as well as what can be done to encourage change. My hope was that the project could encourage patients' own health literacy when communicating with their insurance provider.
I directed this episode from start to finish, including background research, its interview, and script creation. It came about after listening to real patients' stories during my internship with the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation.
I hand-illustrated the cover image and created this podcast via Adobe Audition.
This podcast includes a brief excerpt from Dr. Ann Bass’ testimony to the Texas State Senate. The clip is used solely for educational purposes as part of my undergraduate capstone project.
Social media for DC PCSB that champions disability representation and visibility
I hand-drew this graphic using Adobe tools to encourage the compassionate treatment of disabled students and raise awareness about the school resources available to them, via DC PCSB's social media pages.
Part of my work with the DC Public Charter School Board included uplifting students with disabilities and their academic experiences and achievements, to ensure their voices are heard and appreciated. My writing and graphic design furthered this goal.
For example, in DC PCSB's April 2023 newsletter, I wrote about Autism awareness and what DC public charter schools did to celebrate it.
All rights belong to DC PCSB.
I hand illustrated this video to ensure the DC Public Charter School Board's Alternative Education policy for Special Education students was explained in an accessible, engaging way. Voiceover is a colleague. Tools used: Adobe Fresco, Canva
Intersectional Awareness Posts via X (Twitter) for HFI
![Screenshot of X (Twitter) thread by Health Finance Institute June 15 2021. Captions read #DYK LGBTQIA+ youth are at increast risk for mental illness? In a 2020 survey, almost half of respondents reported wanting mental health services but being unable to get them (@TrevorProject) (1/2) [Separate post, thread continues] More research and funding is needed to find #innovative solutions to NCDs such as mental illness and to address such health disparities. Read more about LGBTQ youth mental health: thetrevorproject.org/survey-2020/ #PrideMonth2021. Graphic: Pale orange background with small black text saying June is LGBTQIA+, and rainbow colored text curved like a rainbow saying PRIDE MONTH. Hands of different skin tone shade hold different waving pride flags representing the LGBTQIA+ spectrum.](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/728ef2_dc59d299ae92464c909c06d3718ba3b5~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_347,h_550,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_avif,quality_auto/IMG_0548.jpg)
![Screenshot of continued Twitter/X thread by Health Finance Institute, June 19 2021. Text reads "Inequalities in healthcare also mean that Black people face a higher #NCD burden. Black people in the US: -Are [down arrow emoji] likely to recieve #mentalhealth treatment, as well as prescription meds for it - Have an [up arow emoji] rate of obesity - Have an [up arrow emoji] rate of childhood asthma. Source [yellow hand emoji pointing down]. [New post] "Read more: Center for American Progress:[Link] New York Times: [Link] #JuneTeenth2021](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/728ef2_a14d3249f7594f95bd6d8c9ea6651d15~mv2.jpg/v1/crop/x_0,y_328,w_1178,h_1467/fill/w_330,h_411,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_avif,quality_auto/IMG_0545.jpg)
![Screenshot of X (Twitter) thread by Health Finance Institute June 19 2021. Caption reads "The Emancipation Proclamation passed in 1863, but it wasn't until June 19, 1865 that many enslaved Black people learned they were free. Today, more work must be done to heal the divides in our nation due to raism and inequities. Read on [yellow hand emoji pointin down] to learn how inequalities still persist." Graphic with bright orange background and hands of different skin tones ranging from white to dark brown coming together to make heart. Text in all caps JUNETEENTH; J is red, UN is black, E is dark green, TEE is dark blue, NTH is red. Blue HFI logo on bottom left.](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/728ef2_e585fe1a87894092ace0d86ac2e01b40~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_325,h_550,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_avif,quality_auto/IMG_0544.jpg)
I designed these graphics via Canva, and wrote the copy under my supervisor's guidance during my internship with the Health Finance Institute. Intersectionality is vital for global health advocacy.
Infographic: the impact of wellness-linked insurance incentives
![Screenshot of post on X/Twitter by Health Finance Institute. #DYK that wellness-linked #insurance can [down arrow emoji] healthcare costs and improve health outcomes for people living with #NCDs and NCD risk factors? More work must be done to expland these programs to LMICs, and push the [world emoji] toward #UHC. Read more in our blog [yellow hand emoji pointing down]. [Link].](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/728ef2_1135ab4aedf1466f92cb74c8017a70ad~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_359,h_272,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_avif,quality_auto/IMG_0547.jpg)
Can there be better health outcomes for people worldwide at a lower cost? Wellness-linked insurance incentives might make this happen.
I designed this graphic to illustrate this idea, accompanying a blog post written by my superiors during my internship at the Health Finance Institute in 2021 and a post on X (Twitter) advertising it.
Graphic created via Canva. All rights belong to Health Finance Institute.