Meet the 2020 Scholars

"What do you believe is the greatest unaddressed patient need in the CF community, and if you could, how would you try to fix it? Who would you partner with (e.g. public figure, organization) to help fix the issue and why?"

I believe the most unaddressed patient need in the Cystic Fibrosis community is the need for adequate mental health care to be provided. While mental health side effects are talked about in the CF community, there is little discussed on how to improve that mental health. I would fix this situation by providing CF patients and immediate family members a consultation with a licensed counselor annually, so the patients and family have the opportunity to discuss how the illness affects them mentally without having to feel ashamed about needing help. The patients/family would be allowed to confer with counselors continually if needed. I would partner with celebrities Haley Lu Richardson and Cole Sprouse, who portrayed a CF couple in the movie Five Feet Apart, to help spread worldwide awareness of the issue. I would partner with the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and National Institute of Mental Health to provide widespread awareness that could reach as many people in the CF community as possible. I would partner with the CF Foundation because they are able to discuss this topic and conduct research on the CF community exclusively, and are able to contact the targeted community, whereas other organizations may not be able to reach the CF community directly. I would partner with the National Institute of Mental Health, as this organization provides up-to-date research that provides understanding of treatment, and prevention methods for mental illnesses. This organization has free resources online to educate the public about overall mental health in general.