Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) student, Mary Farley is a recipient of the 2022 Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Program, Track 1 (SURF Fellow). Through this program, Farley will receive a $2000 scholarship for the Summer C term from the UCF Office of Undergraduate Research (OUR) to continue her research on access to healthcare for sexual assault survivors.
Farley’s research began with her honors undergraduate thesis (HUT) titled, “Access Barriers to Long-term Healthcare for Female Sexual Assault Survivors” for which she has also received a $750 research grant from OUR.
“As a social work major it is quite an honor for Farley to receive both awards from OUR. These awards are predominately awarded to STEM majors and Farley is the only social work student in the program,” said UCF Social Work Professor Kim Anderson, chair of Farley’s HUT.
Farley plans to expand her research by bringing awareness to an “important, yet taboo topic in our society.” Farley says, “Identifying the barriers preventing female sexual assault (SA) survivors from accessing long-term healthcare can help encourage them to stay current with medical tests and screenings.”
She hopes that this will increase the likelihood that sexual assault survivors receive the essential long-term healthcare they need throughout their lives.
Farley plans to present her research at Student Research Week in the spring of 2023.
