For this internship, Jazmine partnered with Metta, a refugee clinic inside of Lowell Community Health Center to create a program plan for Khmer patients with diabetes. She worked alongside Sarah Bradshaw, NP and Maria Lim, MD. and created a Chronic Disease Self-Management Program Plan for Khmer patients with diabetes in Metta that was embedded in the Chronic Disease Self-Management Model and Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory. To create the program plan, Jazmine used the 2019 Lowell Community Health Needs Assessment which highlighted the disparity of diabetes in the Cambodian population and potential risk factors and barriers. She also looked at the literature of other program plans and research trials that used the Chronic Disease Self-Management Model and Social Cognitive Theory. Family Medicine in Lowell Community Health Center also had implemented a program similar in their department, so Jazmine collaborated with them to adapt it to be more culturally appropriate while still containing the same mission, goals and message to ensure the center is operating in the same way.

This was important because marginalized communities face many health inequities that affect their quality of life. Living with a chronic disease is very stressful and takes a toll on individuals and families. Minorities with chronic diseases have even more barriers in dealing with their condition and the quality of care they are receiving due to health literacy, availability of culturally appropriate care and the complexities of their condition.