Anjna Patient Education

I am the founder and executive director of the largest student-run nonprofit at Stanford University, Anjna Patient Education. Named after my mother, the organization is the first of its kind to implement sustainable health education programs at free clinics. Our goal is to empower this medically underserved population by giving them the tools to self-manage chronic disease. Every minute, 10 Americans are diagnosed with a chronic, preventable disease. Chronic diseases such as Type-II diabetes, hypertension, and depression are the leading cause of deaths and disability in the United States, accounting for 1.7 million deaths each year. Furthermore, these diseases are disproportionately represented amongst socioeconomically disadvantaged populations,1 resulting in rising healthcare expenses that further exacerbate their circumstances. In lieu of this issue, medical professionals in all divisions of the healthcare sector are increasingly turning to health education programs as a means for encouraging prevention of chronic diseases and the encouragement of healthy lifestyles. However, free clinics are often restricted to very narrow budgets and nearly 25% of all U.S. free clinics are unable to provide access to quality educational programs for their patients. Because free clinics represent the primary care providers for a large majority of medically underserved communities, these clinics need a easy-to-implement and cost effective way to provide health education services to their patients.