Deeptha Bejugam (she/her) is a fourth-year medical student at Georgetown University School of Medicine and a graduate of Georgetown University, where she studied mathematics and philosophy. Her research interests include health disparities, chronic disease, and the intersection of health with social and structural factors. Through her clinical and research career, Deeptha hopes to integrate patient-centered medicine, scholarship, and advocacy to better understand how patients’ social contexts shape their health and access to care.
Project: Book Bans, Health Literacy, and LGBTQIA+ Adolescent Health
Book bans targeting literature about gender identity and sexuality have increased across U.S. schools and libraries, raising questions about what happens when young people lose access to information that may help them understand their identities and health. This project examines book bans not only as an educational or political issue, but also as a potential health literacy and gender justice issue, with particular attention to LGBTQIA+ adolescents and transgender and gender-diverse youth. Drawing on scholarship in public health, gender studies, education, and sociology, the project will investigate how restrictions on identity-focused literature may shape access to information about mental, sexual, reproductive, and gender-related health. It will further examine potential downstream implications for healthcare, including young people’s knowledge of preventive services, ability to navigate healthcare systems, and decisions about when and where to seek care. Using frameworks of intersectionality, minority stress, structural stigma, and health literacy, the research will consider how these effects may differ across race, socioeconomic status, geography, disability, and other intersecting identities. Ultimately, the project seeks to identify ways educators, librarians, healthcare professionals, and communities can preserve access to reliable, inclusive health information and empower young people to make informed decisions about their health.