MS Capstone

The MS in Community Health and Social Justice capstone is a culminating community-engaged health project. Students synthesize and apply competencies and skills acquired in the program, partnering with community-based agencies to create equity focused innovative solutions addressing health disparities and social injustices in the region.

2025 Capstone Projects

Partnering with Snohomish County Health Department of Prevention Services, students identified communication needs and preferences of groups most impacted by gun violence in Snohomish County and to translate these into culturally responsive information materials.

Gun Violence Prevention for Rural Youth in Snohomish County: This project explored how social norms impact gun violence and ways to prevent it in rural communities with the goal of creating safe storage material for youth.

Firearm Secure Storage Materials for Spanish-Speaking Families: This project developed targeted educational materials about safe storage of firearms to the communities most impacted by firearm injury.

Armed with Knowledge: Eliminating Firearm Usage Among High School students: This project addressed firearm safety among high school students by creating and promoting a proactive community-based approach to firearm safety for students, parents and family members.

Partnering with Snohomish Health Department of Prevention Services STI Clinic students improved STI-focused health promotion materials for communities disproportionately affected by STIs.

Tailoring Health Interventions: Meeting the Unique Needs of High School Aged Youth Affected by HIV and STIs: This project addressed disparities in HVI and STI by developing focused, relevant educational materials and resources to support high-school-aged youth via social media platforms, such as Instagram.

STI Prevention for BIPOC Youth and Young Adults (Ages 17-23): Empowerment Through Tailored Health Promotion: This project analyzed local STI and demographic data to guide the creation of culturally relevant, asset-based prevention materials, develop tailor materials for BIPOC youth disproportionately affected by STIs and increase STI prevention education and awareness through community-specific messaging.

Partnering with Washington State Department of Health Center for Epidemiology Practice Equity and Assessment a student highlighted the significant role of historical and contemporary policies in shaping the experiences of marginalized communities in Washington State.

Archival Data as a Tool for Social Justice: This project examined how archival data can inform public health policy and practice by highlighting structural inequalities becoming a guide for more equitable decision-making.

Partnering with Skagit Public Health-Population Trust students provided a health equity report that provides a historical view of structural racism in Skagit county and the ongoing impacts on health in the community.

Sovereignty and Health: How Historical Policy Shaped Disparities for Tribal Nations in Skagit County: As part of a broader analysis to understand how historical structural racism has played a role in shaping contemporary health disparities, this project examined historical policies, structural racism, and colonial impacts on sovereign tribal nations and their health disparities.

From Exclusion to Resilience: The Historical Roots of Health Inequities Among Skagit’s Japanese and Ukrainian Communities: This project examined how structural racism among Japanese Americans and Ukrainian refugees in Skagit County have experienced historical and structural racism in order to better understand contemporary barriers to access to health services.

Understanding Structural Barriers to Care: Investigating how the Skagit County Latinx Community has been Impacted by Historic Events and Policy: This project examined how historical events and discriminatory policies shape structural barriers which continue to impact the health and well-being of the Latinx farming community.

Partnering with Public Health Seattle and King County Public Community Health Services students gathered best-practice resources on conducting youth development groups with a focus on sexual and reproductive health.

Tailoring FLASH for Youth in Detention: Trauma-Informed Sexual Health Education: This capstone project aimed to help tailor FLASH (Family Life and Sexual Health) curriculum to the juvenile detention context.

Tailoring Sexual Health Curriculum for Youth in Detention: Best Practices for LGBTQIA+ Inclusive Teaching: This project provided recommendations for how a local county could improve the sexual education curriculum (FLASH) and teaching practices to better serve the youth in juvenile detention.

Tailoring FLASH for Youth in Detention: Culturally Responsive Sexual Health Education: This project developed recommendations on how tailoring the sexual health curriculum can improve sexual health programming for youth in the juvenile detention facility.

Students partnered with Public Health Seattle and King County Public Community Health Services to gather best-practice resources on conducting youth development groups with a focus on sexual and reproductive health.

Stopping Syphilis in its Tracks: Addressing the Rise of Syphilis and Congenital Syphilis Among Women in Snohomish County: This project identified the unique needs of communities affected by HIV and STIs by creating relevant health promotional materials on HIV/STI prevention and education in English and Spanish.

Peer-Led Education and Youth Leadership in Sexual Health: A Review of Impact and Best Practices: This project demonstrated how youth centered interventions empower youth to educate their peers, promote safe practices, and reduce stigma surrounding sexual and reproductive health.

Updated September 2025