June 3, 2020

UW HPRC Student Honored as a 2020 Husky 100

The University of Washington Health Promotion Research Center (UW HPRC) is proud to announce that UW honored Perla Bravo Acevedo as one of the Husky 100 this year. The award goes to 100 University of Washington students who actively connect what happens inside and outside of the classroom and apply what they learn to make a difference on campus, in their communities, and for the future.

Since July 2019, Bravo Acevedo has been a research assistant for a study to better understand if the Program to Encourage Active, Rewarding Lives (PEARLS) can help older adults who are experiencing social isolation and depressive symptoms.

“I can say without reservation that Perla has helped improve the lives of older adults,” said Amanda Parrish, UW HPRC research scientist. “Not only has she furthered the science of our multi-site, multi-year research project, her consistently empathetic and thoughtful approach also made older adults participating in the study feel heard and valued. Several personally called to tell us how much they enjoyed talking with her during the phone surveys. We’ve been incredibly fortunate to have her as a team member, both because of her expertise and her lived values.”

She is earning her master’s in public health with the Department of Health Services* within the UW School of Public Health and is set to graduate this year.

“I am thankful for the Husky 100 award because it has given me a platform to raise awareness of the health issues experienced by immigrant farmworker communities in Washington State,” Bravo Acevedo said. Her capstone project focused on how occupational health research can inform policy and help prevent smoke inhalation for farmworkers during wildfires by increasing the use of personal protective equipment, ultimately improving worker health.

“Farmworkers are left out from important labor policies that most Washington State employees can depend on and as a result, they experience higher rates of workplace injuries,” she said. “There is a need for occupational health policies that provide increased protections for the hardworking communities that feed America. As the daughter of immigrant farmworkers, I will continue to advocate for my community’s health needs.”

Read about Bravo Acevedo on the Husky 100 website.

* The Department of Health Services is now the Department of Health Systems and Population Health. This name change took place July 1, 2021.