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Alyssa Linehan

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Alyssa Linehan poses wearing a black collared shirt, with green trees in the background

1st Place

Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences, 2026

I grew to appreciate conflicting findings as an opportunity to strengthen and provide nuance to the analysis of a topic, rather than viewing them a hindrance to be pushed to the side or explained away.”

— Alyssa Linehan

Racial Disparities in Pain Management: Exploring the Causes and Potential Solutions

Literature review for UWP 104F: Writing in the Professions: Health

Read Alyssa’s Paper

Project Description

Motivated by her EMT training experience, Linehan investigated the causes and potential solutions to racial disparities in pain management. After evaluating sound studies with conflicting findings, she learned that raising awareness of biases without structured guidance to resolve them can lead to overcorrection, which carries its own set of health risks. Following guidance from librarian Erik Fausak, Linehan used PubMed and Scopus to identify sources including peer-reviewed studies, literature reviews, and randomized controlled clinical trials.

In Their Own Words

Read Alyssa’s reflective essay (pdf) from their Lang Prize application.

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