Date of Award

Spring 5-20-2026

Document Type

Undergraduate Honors Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts in Biochemistry

Department

Chemistry & Biochemistry

Advisor

Jennifer Tillman

Abstract

This honors thesis examines the biochemical, ethical, and public health consequences of insufficient post-operative follow-up care for undocumented immigrants injured in border falls. Discussing pathways of inflammation resolution, wound healing, and bone remodeling, this thesis argues that recovery depends on tightly regulated molecular and cellular processes that are highly vulnerable to disruption without continued monitoring and rehabilitation (Loi et al., 2016; Maruyama et al., 2020). When follow-up care is absent, these processes can be predicted to derail, leading to infection, impaired healing, and permanent disability (Chung & Sohn, 2025; Howard et al., 2020; Kruidenier et al., 2018). Framed through principles of biomedical and public health ethics including justice and equity, this thesis contends that current care practices constitute an ethically significant omission rather than a neutral resource limitation (O’Neill, 2002; Sandman, 2023; Wild & Dawson, 2018). Inadequate continuity produces foreseeable, preventable harm, widens health disparities, and increases long-term healthcare costs through avoidable complications and rehospitalization (Jones et al., 2016; Tsai et al., 2014). Improving follow-up care is therefore both a moral obligation independent of citizenship status and a biologically substantiated public health intervention.

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