CENTER VALLEY, Pa. \u2014 A career in dentistry is the goal for both fourth-year biobehavioral health (BBH) students, Melanie Villarreal and Jana Elarousy. The Penn State Lehigh Valley duo channeled their interest in dentistry and behavioral health through collaboration on a research poster that explored factors such as oral health, stigma, and socioeconomic equality and their relationship to mental health. <\/p>\n
\u201cMy interest in the topic stems from a perspective that oral health is often overlooked as an influence on overall well-being,\u201d Elarousy said. \u201cAs someone aspiring to attend dental school, I am interested in understanding the broader social and psychological factors that influence oral health and patient outcomes.\u201d <\/p>\n
Villarreal shared her classmate\u2019s interest in exploring the dynamics between oral health and dental aesthetics and their influence on self-esteem and well-being.<\/p>\n
\u201cQuality of life is so closely connected to both mental and physical health,\u201d she said. \u201cI wanted to better understand that connection.\u201d <\/p>\n
Villarreal represented Penn State Lehigh Valley at the annual Eastern Sociological Society conference<\/a> in Washington D.C. this past March. She presented the pair\u2019s research alongside more than 100 college and university poster competitors throughout the country, serving as the only representative of Penn State. <\/p>\n \u201cWe found that social burdens far outweigh physical burdens pertaining to oral health when linked to mental well-being,\u201d Elarousy said of their work. \u201cExperiences such as embarrassment, stigma and discomfort in social or work settings are actually a stronger predictor of depression than physical oral health symptoms like pain or difficulty eating.\u201d <\/p>\n Villarreal and Elarousy\u2019s research was selected as one of six poster winners awarded for outstanding research at the D.C. conference. Jennifer Parker<\/a>, associate professor of sociology at Penn State Lehigh Valley, encouraged her students to participate in the opportunity. <\/p>\n \u201cMelanie and Jana represent the very best of what we hope to cultivate in sociology students and in the BBH program here at Penn State,\u201d Parker said. “Their research on oral health and depression shows that they are already thinking beyond the clinical setting by asking how dentistry can address broader inequalities in health care.\u201d <\/p>\n Elarousy noted her experience in the BBH program at Penn State Lehigh Valley a transformative one.<\/p>\n \u201cI chose Penn State Lehigh Valley because the small campus environment allows for meaningful, one-on-one relationships with the professors\u201d she said. \u201cI began my college experience with only a general idea of my goals and the support and mentorship from faculty and staff have helped me develop a clear path for achieving them.\u201d <\/p>\n Villarreal credited her involvement in the Justice, Equity, and Social Impact (<\/a>JESI) program<\/a>, an initiative designed to support student research experiences, as the catalyst for her interest in research. <\/p>\n \u201cThe JESI program showed me how research can create real social change and it pushed me to step outside my comfort zone, connect with others and explore new perspectives,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n Both Villarreal and Elarousy plan to pursue dental school after graduating from the four-year BBH program<\/a> at Penn State Lehigh Valley. <\/p>\n Penn State Lehigh Valley, established in 1912, combines over a century of academic excellence with personalized instruction and industry-connected faculty. Students can choose from 11 baccalaureate degrees or begin any of Penn State\u2019s 275+ majors through the 2+2 program. With small class sizes and advanced learning technology, our modern campus prepares students for success in the Lehigh Valley and beyond. For more information, please visit lehighvalley.psu.edu<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CENTER VALLEY, Pa. \u2014 A career in dentistry is the goal for both fourth-year biobehavioral health (BBH) students,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":153639,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[153,155,154],"class_list":["post-153638","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-bethlehem","tag-bethlehem","tag-bethlehem-headlines","tag-bethlehem-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153638","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=153638"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153638\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/153639"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=153638"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=153638"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=153638"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}