MPH-PEP student focused on cardiovascular health advocacy
Meet Angela Lee, a MPH-Program for Experienced Professionals student whose background in medical journalism and consulting inspired her to continue her education at The Ohio State University College of Public Health.
What led you to pursue a career that blends cardiology and public health?
While completing medical training at George Washington University, I also pursued my interests in health communications and health policy through participating in the GW Residency Fellowship in Health Policy and the ABC News Medical Unit. These electives gave me a deep understanding of implications that U.S. health policy has on clinicians and patients and the importance of covering health information in a way that is both accurate and understandable to the public. I didn’t know it at the time, but these side interests would ultimately play a big role in my career trajectory.
During the COVID pandemic, I gained a great appreciation for the importance of public health and health policy in real time, and specifically how the communication of health information can affect health behaviors. Lamentably, politicized and misleading information seemed to take over the national discourse during the pandemic, affecting peoples’ response to policies on masking, social distancing and vaccinations.
I started doing some writing and consulting work with medical education and media companies and contributed to projects related to cholesterol and blood pressure control with CDC/CMS Million Hearts® initiative.
You’ve contributed to various health media platforms like ABC News, Verywell and Healthline. How do you approach the challenge of making complex medical information accessible to the public?
One of the things I most enjoy about my medical journalism work is summarizing complex scientific information into an article or news story that’s understandable and engaging to the public. I rely heavily on guidelines and publications from respected journals when providing medical information and aim to interpret information accurately and in a manner that people without a scientific background can understand. It’s my hope that anyone can read one of my articles and take away important points that directly apply to their life.
As someone with a medical journalism background, how do you believe the media can shape public understanding of health issues, for better or worse?
The media plays a huge role in educating people about health issues, from alerting the public to recalls for food and baby products, to promoting healthy behaviors like annual influenza vaccination, to informing the public about new science and treatments. Media companies are of course driven by the amount of traffic to their websites/programs, and sensationalized pieces that aren’t medically accurate can create undue fear and panic or promote unproven treatments. There’s a great responsibility for media companies to maintain the trust of their consumers by having knowledgeable professionals review their stories to ensure accuracy and appropriateness and to minimize bias.
What is the greatest impact you hope to achieve through your quality improvement projects in cardiovascular care?
Cardiovascular disease is the number one killer, and an estimated 80% of cardiovascular disease is preventable — that’s huge! Several risk factors are modifiable, and by addressing these risk factors on a population level, we can make a huge difference. My goal is to bring awareness to the importance of risk factor control and gaps in practice, and to provide practical and broadly implementable solutions to address them.
How has your work with the Million Hearts® initiative shaped your view on public health, especially in managing conditions such as high blood pressure?
Through quality improvement projects, with Million Hearts® such as the Cholesterol Management Chance Package and the Hypertension in Pregnancy Change Package I’ve come to appreciate some of the challenges faced by both patients and health care practices...There are important disparities in cardiovascular risk factors and outcomes related to race and ethnicity, geographic location, education attainment and income level that play into access to care and ability to adhere to treatment. I’ve also come to appreciate the important role that health policy plays in improving access and affordability to care and incentivizing the provision of quality health care.
As you look toward the future, how do you hope to advance your contributions to public health?
I have found deep satisfaction in marrying my knowledge and interest in cardiovascular disease and health communications and decided to go back to school to pursue an MPH through Ohio State’s MPH-PEP program. It’s my goal to learn more about the public health system and health policy to ultimately be an effective advocate and advisor for public health initiatives and health policy as they relate to cardiovascular health.
What role does public health play in the future of cardiovascular care and preventative medicine?
We have a long way to go in improving cardiovascular health at a population level. While scientific advancements have made strides in treating cardiovascular disease that’s already present, it becomes increasingly important to…treat and manage existing risk factors, and also the social and environmental conditions that lead to risk factor development. In my view, public health will need to pay increasing attention to addressing air pollution, climate change, microplastics and reliance on ultra processed foods.
What advice would you give to students wanting to apply a public health perspective to clinical care?
While my career trajectory has been anything but typical, I have heavily relied on a network of peers and mentors to gain perspective, inspiration and learn about projects that align with my knowledge and passion for cardiovascular health. My advice is to follow your interests, engage your network and consider joining advocacy groups and attending conferences and webinars in your field to learn more about what kind of work is being done and the ways you can contribute.
Any students with any questions should feel free to reach out to me at
