Public Health Commons^™

La Medicina Alternativa En Oaxaca: Su Coexistencia Con La Medicina Alópata, Katie Deeg

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

En este ensayo exploro la coexistencia entre la medicina alternativa y la alópata en Oaxaca y determino que, dada la relevancia cultural de la medicina alternativa y el estatus deficiente de la salud y servicios médicos en el estado, la promoción de la medicina alternativa es importante para ayudar a la gente a alcanzar la mejor calidad posible de salud. Primero presento una definición de la medicina alternativa dentro del contexto de Oaxaca y describo su presencia en Oaxaca. Considerando la naturaleza de la coexistencia entre la medicina alternativa y alópata, presento mis descubrimientos sobre la importancia de usar los …

More Than Just Biology: Creating An Informational Website For Teens On Sexuality And Lifelong Sexual Health, Sarah Cyr-Mutty

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

“More Than Just Biology – Creating an informational website for teens on sexuality and lifelong sexual health” is the product of four weeks’ research in Amsterdam, NL on sexuality education and the use of the Internet as an educational tool for youth. The research defied a “Dutch approach” to sexuality education and used it to create a website for American teenagers to get confidential and accurate information regarding their sexual lives and health. Information was gathered primarily through personal interviews, as well as a review of existing literature on the subject. Through this research, it was found that the Dutch …

El Papel De La Educación Y Las Ong’S En Mejorar El Acceso A Derechos Para Inmigrantes: El Caso De Los Derechos Sexuales Y Reproductivos = The Role Of Education And Ngo’S In Helping Immigrants Obtain Better Access To Their Rights: The Specific Case Of Sexual And Reproductive Rights, Amy Torres

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In January of 2004, Argentina approved a new immigration law that guaranteed the protection of human rights for all immigrants in the country regardless of their legal status with the State. Among the rights explicitly guaranteed by this law were the right to migrate, the right to education and the right to health care. While this law represents a significant advance by the Argentine government in protecting the human rights of immigrants, oppressive mechanisms still remain in everyday practices that inhibit actual access to their rights.

Considering the changes in the law and the breach between the laws and everyday …

Bridging The Gap: Identifying Social Factors That Affect The Knowledge Of Sexually Transmitted Infections And Use Of Prevention Methods In Young Women, Ariel Spigel

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This study investigates the social factors that affect the transmission of sexually transmitted diseases (STIs) in young women, focusing on their knowledge of the subject and use of prevention methods in order to discover why STIs, though preventable, are still prevalent in the lives of young adults, and more often, young women. Sixty-one anonymous, closed questionnaires were distributed to female students of at least eighteen years at the Colegio Estadual Francisco da Conceição Menezes in Santo Antônio de Jesus, Bahia, Brazil, and six structured interviews were conducted with students from the same pool. Results showed varying levels of knowledge, educational …

A Case Study Of Appendicitis At Antanimalandy Lutheran Hospital, Jennifer Gemmell

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

From the introduction:

The island of Madagascar houses a total of 19,159,000 people who spend only $34 per person per year on health care (“Madagascar,” 2008). The government claims to have “committed itself to the principle that good health is a right of each Malagasy citizen, and has made significant studies in the area of health care,” according to the country study for the Library of Congress. However, with political corruption, political crisis after political crisis, and lack of international support, the government does not dispense the funds necessary to support this commitment (Metz, 1994). For example, in 1976 the …

Education As A Detour On The Path To Inevitable Motherhood: The Acquired Values And Collective Ambitions Of The Students At La Maison D’Education Mariama Ba, Hannah Deangelis

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The values young Senegalese women acquire at home revolve around motherhood, domesticity and, above all, solidarity. The students lucky enough to attend La Maison D’Education Mariama Ba, the most elite girl’s high school in all of Senegal carry these community-centered values. Here, young Senegalese women have a chance to take a detour from the prescribed path that their gender has dictated by spending seven years living and studying with their peers in a highly intellectual setting. An understanding of the narratives of their lives before school, time spent at MEMB, and vision of their futures provides a lens through which …

Crouching Tiger Hidden Goiter Belt: A Critique Of Health Care And Universal Salt Iodization In The Tsum Valley, Julian Goetz, Vanessa Soetanto

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The Tsum Valley, opened to visitors in 2008, has only recently begun the process of modernization. The health of the population is still not stable with regards to nutrition, and the health care system is still inadequate due to geographic conditions of remoteness and difficulty of access. The health condition is further exacerbated by political interactions affecting iodine consumption. This paper presents original information collected via interviewing processes throughout the valley and in Kathmandu over the course of a four-week period. The results include the inadequacy of health care facilities in treating endemic health issues and of the failure of …

Finding The Right Fit: Unique Challenges Faced By Health Ngos In The Health System Of Lamu District, Lauren Hartel

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This study examines how nongovernmental organizations and community-based organizations in Lamu District interact with the governmentally structured health care system at the district level. This is done through participatory observation, interviews and removed observation of NGOs, CBOs and government officials. From these observations, this study then identifies major challenges faced by health NGOs that inhibit them from performing to the best of their ability, and at times even compromise the health of the people they are trying to help. The results of this study show that in Lamu District, the most relevant challenges are continuity of care, dissemination of information, …

Midwives, Rain, And Donkey Carts: Factors Affecting Women’S Decisions To Deliver At Home Or At A Clinic In Rural Mali, Jessica Preslar

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This study focuses on this complex array of factors that affect women’s decisions or abilities to go to a local clinic, a Centre de Santé Communitaire (CSCOM), to give birth. The influence of money, distance from a CSCOM, and beliefs about the CSCOM and modern medicine are all investigated, as well as an open discussion about the decision and ability surrounding place of delivery.Both qualitative and quantitative data is gathered through interviews regarding these factors to allow for a broad range of data analysis; interviews are used to communicate directly with the women, and to obtain a more thorough understanding …

Health Care In Aymara Women In The North Of Chile, Rossana Testa Phd, Academic Director

Fostering Multicultural Competence and Global Justice: an SIT Symposium

Background: In Chile the most important indigenous population lives in a determined territory, we found Mapuche people in the south and the Aymara people in the north of the country. The majority of the indigenous people live in the urban zones. However, the indigenous people that live at the rural areas are who conserve their traditional medicine practices.

The region of Arica and Parinacota is the northern region of Chile and has the largest concentration of the Aymara indigenous group in all of Chile.

At the rural areas are the women whom most attended at the public health system, especially …

Strengthening Civil Society And Community Capacity To Respond To Hiv/Aids, Blanka Homolova Ma, Senior Hiv/Aids Specialist, Jennifer Whatley Ma, Senior Technical Specialist For Civil Society And Governance Programs

Fostering Multicultural Competence and Global Justice: an SIT Symposium

The Global Fund and PEFPAR have increased resources for preventing, treating, and caring for HIV/AIDS and dramatically changed the ways in which the HIV/AIDS epidemic is addressed internationally. While attention often focuses on the roles of government and health workers, national civil society organizations (CSOs) and local communities are gaining recognition and key roles to play in responding to HIV/AIDS in many countries. For CSOs and communities, however, accessing Global Fund and PEPFAR resources can be challenging given these mechanisms’ technical, financial, and programmatic requirements. Insufficient capacity of potential recipients to manage the funds presents a challenge for donors as …

The Feminization Of Hiv: Patriarchy As A Threat To Public Health In Ecuador – A Trans-Feminist Perspective, Fabián Espinosa Ma, Academic Director

Fostering Multicultural Competence and Global Justice: an SIT Symposium

This article attempts to analyze male sexual conduct in Ecuador and its determining role in the feminization of HIV. Male promiscuity, not only tolerated but celebrated by sexist discourse, severely impairs public health initiatives and remains one of the critical issues for both individuals and collectives struggling for structural changes in sexual politics. The exercise of citizenships, sustained by a new constitutional framework, embraces the principle of “subversion from within”, the only significant way of challenging heterosexist imaginaries and practices. This type of activism focuses on the formal and normative political dimension of sex and gender, but also and most …

Comparative Experiential Education In Global Health For Undergraduates: A Platform For Careers And Lifelong Learning In Public Health, Lois Mccloskey Drph, Mph, Onsultant, Founding Program Director, Health And Community, Christopher J. Colvin Phd, Mph, Program Director, Faculty And Country Coordinator, South Africa, Health And Community

Fostering Multicultural Competence and Global Justice: an SIT Symposium

In 2005, the International Honors Program, a longstanding organization that runs comparative study abroad programs, launched its “Health and Community” (HC) Program. The program is offered to upper-level undergraduates from across the US and from a wide range of disciplinary backgrounds. It travels to four countries in one semester and uses lectures, site visits, case study research and homestay experiences to engage students in critical and comparative thinking about health and illness at both the global and community levels. The interdisciplinary curriculum combines the perspectives of political economy, medical anthropology, and public health and each country program focuses learning around …

Aids Epidemic In The Russian Federation And Policy Reform, Veronika Kiselev

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The AIDS epidemic in the Russian Federation has been a constant struggle for the government and the population since the early 90’s. The epidemic is the most rapidly growing epidemic of HIV/AIDS seen in history and has caused much international attention. The epidemic coinciding with the fall of the Soviet Union and the transition of the Russian government from socialist to democratic state has had a huge impact on the policy and government actions to fight the epidemic. The financial struggles that hit a large portion of the population as a result of the fall of the Soviet Union caused …

Hiv Risk Factors Among Moroccan And Turkish Same-Sex Attracted Youth In Amsterdam, Daniel Woznica

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This report is the outcome of a month-long exploratory study on the main HIV risk factors among Moroccan and Turkish same-sex attracted (SSA) youth in Amsterdam. Data was obtained by way of interviews conducted with five experts, categorized as: academics, sexual and ethnic minority activists, and HIV professionals. Five main risk factors were determined: cultural differences; language barriers; stigma and taboo around sexuality and HIV within Islamic communities; socioeconomic marginalization; and lack of a positive term for same-sex sexual behavior and identity among the target group. Recommendations for future research include interviews with Moroccan and Turkish SSA youth themselves. Implications …

An Approaching Epidemic: Exploring Diabetes Awareness & Care In Mombasa, Kenya, Benjamin Marhan Dropkin

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The prevalence of Type II Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) has become an increasing problem in virtually every city in the world due to lifestyle changes in recent decades that have greatly reduced healthy eating habits as well as exercise. Research has shown that T2DM is largely preventable through healthy lifestyle choices. It is crucial for every country’s population to be aware of the risk factors and complications of diabetes so that they can take active steps to avoid the monumental physical and financial burden of the disease. This study attempted to gauge diabetes awareness among patients living with diabetes and to …

Factors That Contribute To The Low Uptake Of Skilled Care During Delivery In Malindi, Kenya, Alexandra Carter

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In Kenya, maternal mortality ratios remain high and the number of births attended by skilled health attendants hovers at just 44%. Using both qualitative and quantitative data, a study was conducted to determine the uptake of antenatal care and skilled attendance in Malindi District and to explore factors that contribute to the low use of maternal health services during delivery. It was found that after the first antenatal visit attendance to health facilities begins to decline ending in low rates of births attended by skilled care and that socio-cultural and economic factors play a larger role than access alone in …

Salud Reproductiva De Mujeres En Edad Fertil De La Zona De Intag: Deteccion Oportuna Del Cancer Cervico Uterino (Doc) Papanicolaou, Astia Roper-Batker

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

El cáncer delcuello uterino es el segundo más frecuente tipo de cáncer entre las mujeres a nivel mundial (15). La falta de planificación resulta en una alta incidencia de partos y abortos. Estos factores, junto con otros, significan una predisposición al cáncer del cuello uterino (18). El tratamiento más efectivo en la lucha contra este cáncer, es la prevención a través de la detección temprana por el examen de papanicolaou (16, 15,17). En la zona de Intag, localizada en Ecuador, 289 mujeres se realizaron papanicolaou y fueron encuestadas sobre su salud reproductiva. El estudio presente tiene por objetivo determinar si …

Breaking The Cycle Of Domestic Violence, Rebecca Bolden

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Domestic violence is a serious problem that affects women all over the globe. It has been found that children who witness domestic violence in their homes are more likely to be involved in a violent relationship later on in life, perpetuating an intergenerational cycle of violence. This project aims to look at services that exist for women who suffer from domestic violence, in order to suggest future prevention strategies to end the cycle of violence. My methodology was interviewing four different organizations that exist in Salvador that support women who have suffered domestic violence as well as work to prevent …

Trapped In The Street: Defining The Health Care Use Of The Homeless Adult In Salvador, Bahia, Nicole Lunardi

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Problem Statement

Homelessness is a universal problem. This population represents some of society’s most marginalized members who, paradoxically, need society’s help the most. In this study, data was collected in order to discern in which circumstances and how homeless people utilize medical care in order to better understand the concepts of self efficacy and self agency among this population.

Question and Hypothesis

In what circumstances and by what means does the adult homeless population seek medical attention?

Since the homeless population is marginalized by society, I believe that this population lacks the self efficacy and agency that is required to …

Mujeres En Las Sombras: Un Estudio Sobre El Aborto En Chile, Molly Serventi-Gleeson

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Mi proyecto consistió en una investigación sobre la situación actual del aborto en Chile. A través de entrevistas con expertos y investigación directa, realicé una análisis de las razones históricas por la redacción de la ley permitiendo el aborto terapéutico, la situación hoy en día y la posibilidad de un cambio en el futuro. El aborto en Chile representa el nexo entre la historia, la política, la economía y la cultura Chilena. A través de mi estudio, concluí que los efectos de la dictadura resultó en una democracia incompleta, que no se atreve de hacer cambios a la estructura social …

Living In Pain, Throwing Out Agony: A Health Study Of The Rural Residents Of Three Hani Zu Ethnic Minority Villages In Hong He Prefecture, Yunnan Province, Haley Newman

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Nestled in the rice-terraced mountains of Southern Yunnan, there are dozens of small towns of about 300 people. The villagers are physically and emotionally drained and perpetually exhausted. The men smoke over a pack of cigarettes every day and drink five or six small glasses of baijiu, their home-made rice wine. Some have been coughing up blood, others can’t breathe deeply enough to walk, let alone work in the fields anymore, leaving their wives to do all of the farm work.

By bus theses villages are just a few hours away from Mojiang, yet life here feels decades away from …

“Tem Um Doido No Caps / Que Diz Que Louco É Gente/Que Diz Que Louco Sabe/Que Diz Que Louco Sente” Failures And Successes In Brazilian Mental Health Reform: A Case Study Of Caps – Quixadá, Zachary Fuhrer

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In 1987, as public health decentralized and O Movimento da Luta Antimanicomial challenged the internment of loucuras in asylums, Brazil hosted its first National Conference of Mental Health. While the fight for mental health reform and the dehospitalization of the mentally ill in psychiatric hospitals began to take form in the 1970s with the Rede de Alternativas Psi and O Movimento dos Trabalhadores de Saúde Mental, Brazil has battled with questions of saúde loucura (treatment of the mad) since the country's colonial era and the reception of the epileptic and mentally ill family of Dom João VI. The Brazilian state …

75 Hours, 18 Babies, Dozens Of Women, And Me: Exploring Gynecological And Obstetrical Care In Bamako, Minnie Yordon

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Mali has the third highest total fertility rate in the world, with each woman having an average of 6.62 children in the year 2009. Gynecological and obstetrical care, therefore, plays a large role in the lives of these women; 70% of women attend at least one prenatal consultation over the course of their pregnancy, and a skilled attendant is present at approximately 50% of all births. In this paper, I seek a better understanding of gynecological and obstetrical care in Bamako, the capital, from the perspective of an Ob/Gyn, which often centers on pregnancy and childbirth. Based on real experiences …

Intellectual Propriety: Compulsory Licenses Through The Trips Agreement And The Doha Declaration On Public Health, Samuel Mintzer Fuchs

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property (TRIPS), part of the Uruguay Round of trade negotiations led to the creation of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1995, has led to a variety of interpretations and opinions. Though its application goes beyond matters of public health, it is this area that has come under the most scrutiny in the last fifteen years as the gaps between developed and developing countries have widened and exposed the health disparities between the two groups. Tensions over intellectual property and access to newly developed medicines to treat diseases such as HIV and …

Responsibility For Disease Management On Rusinga Island: Reconciling The Limitations Of External Aid And The Role Of Community-Based Initiatives, Allyson Russell

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Rusinga Island has been on the receiving end of many non-governmental and government-run health interventions. Though ample money has been invested in disease control, malaria and HIV/AIDS transmission and death rates remain higher than in any other location in Kenya. This study employs the use of interviews, both formal and informal, focus group discussions and observation in order to discover possible factors which have confounded the success of previous disease management programs. The study seeks the community's perspective on these programs as well as ideas for community-based, bottom-up strategies which might be able to curb the high rates of malaria …

How To Build A Health Clinic: Disease Burden, Health Seeking Behavior And Clinic Structures In The Kibera Slums, Samuel Mcgowan

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This study seeks to determine a model for a health clinic to be run by the Kibera School for Girls in the Katwekera village of Nairobi’s Kibera slums. The study examines the disease burden of the school’s initial target population, the health-seeking behavior of the community, and current clinic structures in Kibera. Using these methodological tactics, the study suggests the Kibera School for Girls should start a small, locally-run clinic that offers basic primary health care to a target population of about 5,000 Kibera residents.

The Impact Of Brazil’S Bolsa Familia Program On Food Security In Santo Antônio De Jesus, Bahia, Mario Felipe Dest

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The purpose of this research project is to evaluate the impact that the Bolsa Família Program has on the level of food security within an impoverished community of Santo Antônio de Jesus. The issue of food security is important because a person’s overall health worsens as a result of not having access to a healthy and well balanced diet. As a result of these negative health aspects, one’s capacity to do work, learn, and take care of one’s family are all affected. This relationship between nutrition and social situations is the focus of this study, which will be used to …

Breastfeeding: A Landmark In Global Public Health, Melissa Tinling

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In the study of public health and the discipline of global health, what is the meaning of the term “global public health”? The author, Melissa Tinling, defines the concept and gives an illustration through the model of the global effort to increase breastfeeding prevalence. Using the WHO and UNICEF joint Global Strategy for Infant and Young Child Feeding as the central framework, the responsibilities of the global, international, national, and local levels are depicted within the context of Geneva, Switzerland. The author identifies the ethical considerations implicated in the application of the global public health strategy to breastfeeding.

Kibera Community Unconscious Of The Silent Disease: Sti, Sindhya Rajeev

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The objective of this study was to conduct a Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI) Awareness Survey that explores knowledge about STIs and attitude towards them, and thereafter, institute and implement an educational intervention in the Kibera slum, of Nairobi. The survey included 120 participants from the 12 villages of Kibera. It revealed that, of those interviewed, 34% are unable to name an STI other than HIV/AIDS and 99% are unaware of any of the syndromes associated with STIs. This demonstrated a clear need for STI Awareness and education, and thus an informative brochure on STIs was created, to be distributed during …