FROM A SUSTAINABLE HEALTH PERSPECTIVE...Alia Cornell, David Chung, Nicole Miller, Ayesha Parikh,...
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A Balanced Approach to Health Care in Maclovio Rojas, Mexico Alia Cornell, David Chung, Nicole Miller, Ayesha Parikh, Krupa Prajapati, and Elizabeth Tsuang Fellowship for International Service and Health: University of California, Los Angeles FROM A SUSTAINABLE HEALTH PERSPECTIVE BACKGROUND Established in 2004, Fellowship for International Service and Health (FISH) is a student-run 501(c)3 non-profit organization at the University of California, Los Angeles, aiming to improve access to healthcare and educational opportunities for the residents of Maclovio Rojas, Mexico, a low-income squatter community on the outskirts of Tijuana. In Maclovio, FISH hosts preliminary health screenings and consultations in clinics, educational health fairs, and English lessons on a biweekly basis in partnership with local physicians, nurses, educators, and community leaders. At UCLA, FISH associates maintain cultural humility with regular language training, clinical certifications, and seminars on relevant global health topics. In the Fall of 2019, FISH re-evaluated the efficacy of its services in Maclovio Rojas and has since adapted its services to serve in a sustainable and culturally competent manner. OBJECTIVES • Health Education: Organize health fairs that increase Maclovio residents’ awareness of non-communicable diseases and provide health educational resources. • Clinical Interventions: Provide preliminary screenings for non-communicable diseases, direct community members to local and affordable forms of clinical intervention and treatment, and certify members through UCLA’s Hypertension Certification Program prior to performing consultations in Maclovio. • Community Based Feedback: Actively seek regular feedback from Maclovio residents via surveys to ensure that our objectives and methods align with community health needs. • Cultural Humility: Train members through workshops promoting cultural competency, assign Spanish modules and host verbal sessions to limit language barriers, and implement evidence-based teaching strategies to host English lessons for elementary-aged students in Maclovio. METHODS External: In Maclovio The following measures help to evaluate the efficacy of FISH’s services, maintain a strong partnership with Maclovio Rojas and continue improving our services. ● Interview leaders at the community center about Maclovio’s population demographics, greatest needs, and perception of FISH and its services at the beginning of the year ● Brainstorm with community leaders throughout the year on how FISH can alter its services to better serve Maclovio ● Build connections with community members through the networks of the community leaders and connections made at FISH’s blood pressure screenings ● Implement focus groups with community members to discuss the factors preventing them from achieving good health, how they would like FISH to be involved in their community, and gage their interest in potential new services Internal: At UCLA Expert Feedback ● Recieve English lesson feedback at the start and end of each quarter with an ESL professor at UCLA to measure our standard of curriculum, discuss results, and receive feedback on our work. ● Work with a medical professional for oversight, currently we have UCLA School of Nursing to establish a new mentorship in hopes to increase both our quantity and quality of care. ● Evaluate FISH’s structure and services through the help of medical anthropologist Bonnie Taub, whose speciality emphasizes community health and cultural competence in health interventions, specifically within Latin America. Programs/Events ● Conduct internal quarterly think tanks to reevaluate our methods and services, while discussing our projects, resources, results, and how we can improve them to raise our caliber of service. ● Host annual global health panels where a variety of professionals including practitioners, researchers, and students are invited to come speak. We go through target questions and an open Q&A session to learn about new techniques and methods we may apply. INITIAL RESULTS Results from Focus Group ● Lack of medical supplies at local clinics, lack of clinics to treat serious illnesses, and need for diabetes screening services such as blood glucose monitoring ● Desire for FISH to improve English lessons by tailoring content to each student’s level, coordinating off-week lessons, and building a curriculum for students who do not attend class regularly ● Limited transportation options are the largest barrier to seeking medical care ● Provide a balance of health education resources and services to support individuals in improving their own health Shift in Service Model ● Reaching out to local nurses, doctors, and medical students who can accompany service trips to provide blood glucose screenings and other medical services ● Shifting English lesson model by standardizing curriculum and increasing coordination with local teacher ● Strengthening and expanding partnerships with local mobile dental and vision clinics to increase the frequency of community visits ● Improving health education by developing interactive, preventative health fair activities which maintain cultural humility FUTURE WORK Due to the current circumstances of COVID-19, we have suspended all trips to Maclovio Rojas, and have continued to communicate with leaders in Maclovio through regular phone calls and online messages. The projects that we are working on remotely include: ● Developing a long term English lesson curriculum with guidance from ESL professors ● Collaborating with medical students, faculty, and deans at Universidad Autóma de Baja California to establish a long-term partnership with our services ● Gathering information about transportation accessibility to clinics from local contacts ● Planning associate training for blood glucose level certifications with UCLA nurses ● Designing interactive health fair projects to increase community implementation of health education FISH will resume quantifying the long term effectiveness of our shift in service model as soon as it is safe to do so. This includes conducting community-led focus groups and implementing questionnaires in the check-in and consultation sections of our blood pressure clinic to stay informed on the community’s needs. Sustainability is an important criterion in all of FISH's public health services. Our services strive to bring more awareness to preventable, non-communicable disease and equip residents with the resources they need to develop beneficial lifestyle habits through diet and exercise and ultimately maintain their own health. Maclovio Rojas has limited governmental support, health care, and medical supplies; therefore, FISH aims to build long term partnerships with physicians, nurses, mobile dental and vision clinics, and local medical schools to improve access to quality care. SUSTAINABLE SERVICES IN UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We would like to thank current and past FISH associates for their service to Maclovio Rojas and our community partners including Doña Hortensia, Enrique Aguilar, Nahomy, and Maria Luisa for their help. We would also like to thank Dr. Patricia Gonzalez and Gilberto Zuniga for their medical services in Maclovio Rojas and mentorship to FISH. Finally, we would like to thank Dr. Francisco Medina, Instituto de la Visión, and the Clinica del Niño for their service in Maclovio Rojas. LINK TO PRESENTATION: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKj8bNz08Gw
Transcript of FROM A SUSTAINABLE HEALTH PERSPECTIVE...Alia Cornell, David Chung, Nicole Miller, Ayesha Parikh,...
A Balanced Approach to Health Carein Maclovio Rojas, MexicoAlia Cornell, David Chung, Nicole Miller, Ayesha Parikh, Krupa Prajapati, and Elizabeth Tsuang
Fellowship for International Service and Health: University of California, Los Angeles
FROM A SUSTAINABLE HEALTH PERSPECTIVE BACKGROUNDEstablished in 2004, Fellowship for International Service and Health (FISH) is a student-run 501(c)3 non-profit organization at the University of California, Los Angeles, aiming to improve access to healthcare and educational opportunities for the residents of Maclovio Rojas, Mexico, a low-income squatter community on the outskirts of Tijuana. In Maclovio, FISH hosts preliminary health screenings and consultations in clinics, educational health fairs, and English lessons on a biweekly basis in partnership with local physicians, nurses, educators, and community leaders. At UCLA, FISH associates maintain cultural humility with regular language training, clinical certifications, and seminars on relevant global health topics. In the Fall of 2019, FISH re-evaluated the efficacy of its services in Maclovio Rojas and has since adapted its services to serve in a sustainable and culturally competent manner.
OBJECTIVES• Health Education: Organize health fairs that increase Maclovio residents’
awareness of non-communicable diseases and provide health educational resources.
• Clinical Interventions: Provide preliminary screenings for non-communicable diseases, direct community members to local and affordable forms of clinical intervention and treatment, and certify members through UCLA’s Hypertension Certification Program prior to performing consultations in Maclovio.
• Community Based Feedback: Actively seek regular feedback from Maclovio residents via surveys to ensure that our objectives and methods align with community health needs.
• Cultural Humility: Train members through workshops promoting cultural competency, assign Spanish modules and host verbal sessions to limit language barriers, and implement evidence-based teaching strategies to host English lessons for elementary-aged students in Maclovio.
METHODSExternal: In MaclovioThe following measures help to evaluate the efficacy of FISH’s services, maintain a strong partnership with Maclovio Rojas and continue improving our services.
● Interview leaders at the community center about Maclovio’s population demographics, greatest needs, and perception of FISH and its services at the beginning of the year
● Brainstorm with community leaders throughout the year on how FISH can alter its services to better serve Maclovio
● Build connections with community members through the networks of the community leaders and connections made at FISH’s blood pressure screenings
● Implement focus groups with community members to discuss the factors preventing them from achieving good health, how they would like FISH to be involved in their community, and gage their interest in potential new services
Internal: At UCLAExpert Feedback ● Recieve English lesson feedback at the start
and end of each quarter with an ESL professor at UCLA to measure our standard of curriculum, discuss results, and receive feedback on our work.
● Work with a medical professional for oversight, currently we have UCLA School of Nursing to establish a new mentorship in hopes to increase both our quantity and quality of care.
● Evaluate FISH’s structure and services through the help of medical anthropologist Bonnie Taub, whose speciality emphasizes community health and cultural competence in health interventions, specifically within Latin America.
Programs/Events● Conduct internal quarterly think tanks to
reevaluate our methods and services, while discussing our projects, resources, results, and how we can improve them to raise our caliber of service.
● Host annual global health panels where a variety of professionals including practitioners, researchers, and students are invited to come speak. We go through target questions and an open Q&A session to learn about new techniques and methods we may apply.
INITIAL RESULTSResults from Focus Group● Lack of medical supplies at local clinics, lack of clinics to treat
serious illnesses, and need for diabetes screening services such as blood glucose monitoring
● Desire for FISH to improve English lessons by tailoring content to each student’s level, coordinating off-week lessons, and building a curriculum for students who do not attend class regularly
● Limited transportation options are the largest barrier to seeking medical care
● Provide a balance of health education resources and services to support individuals in improving their own health
Shift in Service Model● Reaching out to local nurses, doctors, and medical students
who can accompany service trips to provide blood glucose screenings and other medical services
● Shifting English lesson model by standardizing curriculum and increasing coordination with local teacher
● Strengthening and expanding partnerships with local mobile dental and vision clinics to increase the frequency of community visits
● Improving health education by developing interactive, preventative health fair activities which maintain cultural humility
FUTURE WORKDue to the current circumstances of COVID-19, we have suspended all trips to Maclovio Rojas, and have continued to communicate with leaders in Maclovio through regular phone calls and online messages. The projects that we are working on remotely include: ● Developing a long term English lesson curriculum with guidance from ESL professors ● Collaborating with medical students, faculty, and deans at Universidad Autóma de Baja California to establish a long-term
partnership with our services● Gathering information about transportation accessibility to clinics from local contacts ● Planning associate training for blood glucose level certifications with UCLA nurses● Designing interactive health fair projects to increase community implementation of health education FISH will resume quantifying the long term effectiveness of our shift in service model as soon as it is safe to do so. This includes conducting community-led focus groups and implementing questionnaires in the check-in and consultation sections of our blood pressure clinic to stay informed on the community’s needs.
Sustainability is an important criterion in all of FISH's public health services. Our services strive to bring more awareness to preventable,
non-communicable disease and equip residents with the resources they need to develop beneficial lifestyle habits through diet and exercise and
ultimately maintain their own health. Maclovio Rojas has limited governmental support, health care, and medical supplies; therefore,
FISH aims to build long term partnerships with physicians, nurses, mobile dental and vision clinics, and local medical schools to improve
access to quality care.
SUSTAINABLE SERVICES IN UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We would like to thank current and past FISH associates for their service to Maclovio Rojas and our
community partners including Doña Hortensia, Enrique Aguilar, Nahomy, and Maria Luisa for their help. We would also like to thank Dr. Patricia Gonzalez and Gilberto Zuniga for their medical services in Maclovio Rojas and mentorship to FISH. Finally, we would like to thank Dr. Francisco Medina, Instituto de la Visión, and the Clinica del Niño for their service in Maclovio Rojas.
LINK TO PRESENTATION: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKj8bNz08Gw
