To seek care, a woman must often walk up to four hours to the bus stop and then endure the multi-hour ride to the hospital on a packed bus. Family clinics travel into rural communities to perform routine women’s health exams and distribute vitamins; resources, however, are limited and exam tables are difficult to transport. This issue inspired these students to make women’s healthcare more accessible in the rural areas of Nicaragua. Their part of the solution: a portable exam table.
PROJECTS
Nearly one quarter of the world population is anemic. The group most at risk of developing anemia include women of reproductive age and children from 6 months to 2 years of age. Between 55% and 60% of pregnant women are affected in Latin developing countries. Due to the living conditions in the rural area, few of the women and children have the knowledge of anemia, its symptoms and consequences if left untreated. Truth be told, they have little access to anemia detections methods/devices either, let alone the treatment. Therefore, education, donations of anemia detection devices with maintenance guide as well as proper treatment for anemia is essential to addressing this problem. MDRC is now striving to provide a comprehensive maintenance manual for the local technicians/clinics. Later down the road, we plan to develop a cheap prototype of hemoglobinometer as well. By collaborating with Timmy Global Health, we obtain direct contacts with local clinics for feedbacks and ensure people receive treatment/guidance once they are diagnosed with anemia.
Vaccines prevent disease and save lives every year. However, vaccines are extremely sensitive to temperature and must be kept within a range of 2-8 degrees Celsius. In rural areas with extremely warm climates and unreliable electricity, keeping vaccines at their optimal temperature is a challenge. According to the World Health Organization, vaccines prevent more than 2.5 million child deaths a year, yet nearly 24 million children under one year of age are not being vaccinated. There is a need for an alternative way of refrigerating vaccines to help these rural regions.
Due to limited access to clinics and hospitals, many people in developing nations often go undiagnosed with diabetes and may suffer from a shorter life term as a result. Though diabetes can be easily managed through medication and/or careful diet, if the patient is not aware of their disease, they could experience a dramatically decreased quality of life. Along with trying to diagnose this illness early, BluCircle’s mission is to develop an innovative design for a non-invasive blood glucose detector targeted towards people with a high potential risk for type-2 diabetes, as well as to bring forth overall awareness about diabetes.
This year’s Service Abroad Needs Assessment trip went to Antigua, Guatemala. The group volunteered in clinics, schools, and visited a hospital to assess the present health inequities. The project team intends to narrow their focus by prioritizing the needs statements they generated this summer. The topics they are currently considering include upper respiratory infections and air quality, anemia, maternal care, hygiene, and diagnostic equipment. The goal is to develop a prototype addressing one of these areas by summer 2016.
Skin-to-skin-contact care for pre-term infants, kangaroo care, has been proven to be beneficial for both the infant and the mother. However, currently no infant incubator allows for both incubator and kangaroo care. The Initiative is designing a hybrid infant warmer, which would have the benefits of an infant incubator while giving a method to provide kangaroo care.
The World Medical Relief Project Team is working with World Medical Relief, a non-profit organization that focuses on distributing medical donations to healthcare facilities in low- and middle-income countries. World Medical Relief is moving its facilities from Detroit to Southfield, Michigan. The project team is focused on optimizing the layout and workflow of World Medical Relief’s new facilities.
Power outages are very common in rural parts of Nicaragua and can last for extended periods of time. These outages limit the ability of medical professionals to examine patients in clinics with unpredictable electricity. Without light, even the most basic exams are made difficult. The team is working on a prototype of a rechargeable battery operated standing lamp to aid these clinics.