Adithya Vegaraju organized with the Spokane Alliance (through the Health Equity Circle) for his first two years of medical school in the Washington State University Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine from 2020-2022.

Adithya is now in his fourth year of medical school in the Seattle area. His recent research on senior mental health was featured in the Spokesman Review. 

After studying older adults in urban Washington ZIP codes, the research showed that seniors rated their mental health as better when they were closer to trees and green spaces or water. His research was published in the journal Health and Place.

 

Adithya reports that he began his research while in Spokane because he was “inspired by the fact that many people found walking outside during the COVID quarantine to be beneficial for their mental health.  … If studies continue to find a strong connection between access to nature and health, I think it would be an excellent argument that the environmental impact of urbanization is also a public health issue.”

On a more personal note Adithya said, “I miss my time organizing in Spokane and I found the leadership skills I've developed there to be incredibly useful in the clinic and hospital. I am currently interviewing for residency positions and many of my interviewers are far more interested in my organizing work rather than my clinical training and medical knowledge!”

More information on the COVID Community Health Monitoring Program that was related to this research can be found on the Spokane Alliance website, www.spokanealliance.org

Article citations:

Adithya Vegaraju, Solmaz Amiri, Urban green and blue spaces and general and mental health among older adults in Washington state: Analysis of BRFSS data between 2011-2019, Article 103148, Health and Place, Volume 85 (January 2024), https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/health-and-place/vol/85/suppl/C

Seniors living near urban open spaces report less mental distress, a dementia risk factor, January 15, 2024, Spokesman Review, https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2024/jan/15/seniors-living-near-urban-open-spaces-report-less-/