Rachel Hess
Medical Student, MS1
University of Utah School of Medicine
rachel.l.hess@hsc.utah.edu
Salt Lake City, UT, USA

Rachel Hess is a first-year medical student who attends the University of Utah School of Medicine, where she serves as co-founder and coordinator of the UUSOM student-run asylum clinic. Rachel holds a degree in Clinical Psychology and Global Mental Health from Columbia University, Teachers College. She has assisted on projects nationally and internationally with the aim of enhancing health and mental health services in low-resource settings. Her work focuses on the impact of forced migration on health outcomes in vulnerable populations.

Her past work includes developing culturally relevant pathways for integrating mental health into primary care for Syrian refugees in Lebanon and an assessment of potential risk and protective factors affecting the mental health needs of humanitarian workers in the U.S.-Mexico border region. Her current work examines how barriers to access contribute to refugee health disparities in Northern Utah. Her research interests include global health; migration and displacement; mental health and psychosocial interventions in complex, emergency settings.