ME/CFS San Diego and UCSD Essay Contest 2024-2025

Win a cash prize!

We are offering a first prize of $500 and the potential opportunity to be published by the Bateman Horne Center, the Massachusetts ME/CFS & FM Association, MEAction, Open Medicine Foundation, and SolveME in their non-profit publications to reach a wide audience.  Second and third cash prizes will also be offered if there is sufficient participation.

Essay title: What Would You Do to Make a Difference for ME/CFS Patients?

We are looking for an essay that can offer creative, thoughtful solutions and/or insight into how to help patients with reference to the disease’s impact on any aspect of their quality of life, and level of functioning.  Proposals for improvements can be at a global, national, local, or personal level.

Key factors used to evaluate essays (e.g., originality, clarity, argumentation, relevance to topic, would like to see ideas from different perspectives based on different academic backgrounds - solutions are not limited to medical or biomedical science-based solutions but can be from a wide variety of fields including engineering, public relations, legislative, economic, journalistic, computer science… options) 

It might help to consider:

• What is the gap between what you knew before and after you started learning about ME/CFS?

• What area of your studies might pose solutions to difficulties faced by patients with ME/CFS?

Some areas to spark ideas:

• Awareness and Education - Research and Development of Educational Materials - Multimedia Resources, Interactive Learning Tools

• Integration into Existing Health Education Programs

• Economic Analysis of Funding

• Evaluation and Feedback Mechanisms

• Curriculum Development for Patients in School

• Caregiver Support and Training

• Online Learning Platforms

• Cultural Sensitivity Training

• Diagnosis and Screening

• Research Funding and Support

• Ways to get Clinical Care Guidelines widely known

• Improvement of Clinical Care Guidelines

• ME/CFS information for Different Specializations

• Support Services

• Policy & Cultural Advocacy and Engagement with Policy Makers

• Public Relations campaigns

• Marketing

• Longitudinal Studies and Data Collection

• Community Engagement

• Wearable Health Monitors

• Symptom relief ideas

• Solutions for communications, cognitive, sensory, and processing difficulties

• Ways to connect with healthcare, social services, disability support

• Ways to counter misinformation

• Telehealth Solutions

• Personalized Mobile Apps

• Tools to help with Daily Living

• Community-Based Research - Ethnographic Studies, Participatory Action Research

• Social Support Networks

• Peer Support Models

• Narrative and Storytelling

• Documentary Projects

• Short film ideas

All entrants are asked to research and show knowledge of ME/CFS before starting work on the essay.  There is a list of recommended resources on the Instructions page.  Entrants are also able to email info@mecfsSanDiego.com for more resource options.

Please submit any essays through: [Essay Contest Winner has been chosen.  Hope to see you for our 2025 contest this Fall]. The competition will close at midnight PST on Tuesday 31 December 2024 and judging will be completed before the end of January 2025.

For Rules, Instructions, and Resources - please visit Essay Contest Details