My Hubert Trust Scholarship mission work is based in Cameroon in sub-Saharan West Africa. The focus of this work is improving health in rural Cameroon by supporting a local non-profit medical organization named ASCOVIME. This organization provides free medical care and educational supplies in villages that do not have access to health care. My mission aimed at supporting this organization through medical volunteerism, research and education. I used resources in the US in late 2010 and early 2011 before traveling to Cameroon to develop a research project that could monitor the health outcomes of the communities ASCOVIME serves over time. I also worked to develop an educational program that could be used by ASCOVIME members to help address specific health issues in rural villages. To help ASCOVIME identify the specific needs of each community it serves, I developed a needs assessment survey that can be administered to learn about perceived health issues in each village.
All of this work was developed in collaboration with the founder of ASCOVIME, Dr. Georges Bwelle, and founder of Hope International for Tikar People, Issa Nyaphaga. Dr. Daniel Schidlow of Drexel University College of Medicine (DUCOM) provided mentorship on research techniques and overseas medical volunteer work. Dr. Dennis Richardson and Dr. Kristen Richardson of Bawa Health Initiative and Quinnipiac University provided invaluable words of experience and help in planning research activities in Cameroon. I traveled with seven other students from Drexel University and one student from St. George University who also volunteered with ASCOVIME and provided collegial support for this endeavor. The laboratory technicians, community health workers, and countless others in Cameroon were critical to the success of this work and provided constant support and interest in the project.
This report includes a description of health in Cameroon, an in-depth description and evaluation of the activities undertaken from June 3 – July 5, 2011, and reflections upon the experience with regard to professional development and future work in the region. I comment throughout this report on the needs and issues in the communities that can be addressed discuss the number of people served and impacted by our various activities, and offer direction for future projects in the region. I comment on what I learned through this mission and how this experience affected me both personally and professionally. I have divided the service description into four main parts for ease of reading. The first describes the medical service work done by ASCOVIME and the volunteers from DUCOM. This includes a description of the number of people directly served during the fellowship. Second is a description of the general health research conducted, a presentation of results and discussion of the indications of the findings. The third section describes the hygiene education program and plans for its integration into community health programs. The fourth section introduces the needs assessment survey and plans for its interpretation. In a final conclusion, I share my recommendations for future service work to improve health in Cameroon. I comment on how this experience has affected my understanding of medicine and my plans to share this knowledge with the wider medical community.
View Natalie Beaty's complete report (charts, photos, etc) HERE.
Posted on
Tue, September 20, 2011
by beaty