Project Overview Problem Statement: We tackled the challenge of Policy Understandability and Equity Access Gaps. Using the Gemini API, React, and Recharts, we built PolicyPulse.
Motivation Cancer policy is often written in legalese that creates barriers for the very people it's meant to serve. Our team was inspired by the work of ACS CAN and wanted to provide a bridge between complex policy and community action.
How it works
- Simplify: LLM-powered simplification of insurance clauses.
- Analyze: Data visualization of screening disparities across LA ZIP codes.
- Mobilize: Automatic generation of legislative letters to demand change.
Simplified Results Summary The provided text outlines specific guidelines for documenting a personal journey or project, emphasizing the importance of detailing your motivations, what you learned, the construction process, and the obstacles you faced. It requires the use of Markdown for formatting and LaTeX for mathematical expressions to ensure information is presented in a structured and professional manner.
Key Points Describe the inspiration and purpose behind your project or journey. List the knowledge gained and the specific steps taken to complete the project. Identify and explain the challenges encountered during the process. Use specific digital tools like Markdown and LaTeX for clear formatting. Patient Impact While this text is not a health policy, using a structured approach to document a medical journey can help patients communicate complex experiences and data more effectively with their healthcare providers.
Project Overview
Problem Statement. Cancer policy—particularly insurance language and eligibility rules—is often written in dense legal and technical prose. This creates policy understandability gaps and equity access gaps, disproportionately affecting communities already facing barriers to screening and care. PolicyPulse addresses these gaps by translating complex policy into plain language, analyzing geographic inequities, and mobilizing civic action.
Solution. We built PolicyPulse, a web-based prototype using React, Recharts, and the Gemini API to (1) simplify insurance and policy clauses, (2) visualize screening disparities across Los Angeles ZIP codes, and (3) generate evidence-based legislative letters that enable community advocacy.
Purpose and Motivation
Cancer outcomes are shaped not only by medicine, but by policy. Our team was inspired by the advocacy work of ACS CAN and the need to bridge the divide between complex cancer policy and the lived realities of patients and families. When policies are opaque, individuals are less able to understand their rights, navigate insurance, or advocate for change. PolicyPulse matters because it lowers cognitive and informational barriers, enabling informed decision-making and collective action.
Future Vision. PolicyPulse can expand to additional states, integrate real-time policy updates, and partner with advocacy organizations to turn community insights into coordinated legislative campaigns—improving access to screening, survivorship protections, and environmental health safeguards.
How It Works
- Simplify
Using an LLM-powered pipeline (Gemini API), PolicyPulse translates insurance clauses and policy excerpts into plain-language summaries while preserving legal meaning. Users can input or select policy text and receive an accessible explanation.
- Analyze
PolicyPulse visualizes cancer screening disparities using Recharts, mapping outcomes by LA ZIP code. This enables users to identify inequities geographically and understand how policy intersects with place-based access.
- Mobilize
Based on identified gaps, the platform auto-generates legislative letters tailored to the issue and district, transforming insight into advocacy.
Data and Methods
Technologies: React (frontend), Recharts (data visualization), Gemini API (text simplification and generation).
Data Sources: Publicly available screening and demographic datasets aggregated at the ZIP-code level (prototype scope).
Methodological Approach: Human-centered design, focusing on accessibility, clarity, and actionability.
User Stories
As a patient or caregiver, I want to understand my insurance policy so I can make informed screening decisions.
As a community advocate, I want to see where disparities exist so I can argue for targeted policy changes.
As a student or policymaker, I want clear evidence and narratives to support equitable cancer legislation.
Impact on Patients and Communities
By simplifying policy language and pairing it with visual evidence and advocacy tools, PolicyPulse empowers patients and communities to communicate complex policy realities more effectively with providers and legislators. This structured, transparent approach supports equity, accountability, and participation in cancer policy reform.
Alignment with Hack4Hope
PolicyPulse directly advances Hack4Hope’s mission by transforming creativity into advocacy. It demonstrates how rapid, youth-led prototyping can make cancer policy more understandable, accessible, and actionable—supporting ACS CAN’s commitment to equitable cancer outcomes.
Built With
- css
- geminiapi
- python
- react
- typescript
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