Project Description

The Collaborative Sahsa Health Initiative (CSHI) was established in 2008 as a cooperative team of students and faculty from UNC-CH and the University of Nicaragua in Leon (UNAN-Leon) interested in serving the population living around the town of Sahsa in rural eastern Nicaragua. Over the last two years, UNC students have worked with UNAN students to collect epidemiological data in Sahsa in the areas of maternal and child health. This summer, I will join an expanded team of 10 UNC medical, public health, nursing and geography students in cooperation with UNAN medical students to continue assessment efforts and to implement new basic health interventions.

Since CSHI was developed in 2008 through the partnership of UNC and UNAN students and faculty, group members have shown their commitment to forming a sustainable project in the Sahsa area. Though the UNC team is only in Nicaragua for 6-8 weeks out of the year, we spend much of the school year planning and fundraising in order to build on the good work of previous missions. This year we plan to improve the existing health infrastructure by empowering local health leaders with educational materials they can use to increase awareness of health issues and remedies in the community. In this way, we hope to promote sustainable changes in health-related decision making. In addition to the advances we can make through health promotion activities, the data we collect can be used by UNAN and the Nicaraguan Ministry of Health (MINSA) to stage more focused health interventions in the North Atlantic Autonomous Region (RAAN) of Nicaragua . For example, we can use the Geographic Information System (GIS) technology, using GPS units purchased by last year´s group, to map areas of low vaccination coverage. We expect that this will help MINSA acquire sufficient resources and support to immunize children in RAAN and make plans for reaching remote areas. Moreover, UNAN has significantly invested in the Sahsa Clinic, making it the site of a clinical rotation for medical students to maintain a year-round healthcare presence, and a base for health interventions. Our team will support the clinic this summer by collecting reusable medical equipment donated by MedShare, Atlanta and MEDWorld, Chapel Hill and delivering them this summer. Our team is further dedicated to recruiting a new team of student volunteers to visit Sahsa in the summer of 2010. I intend to return with the group next summer to evaluate the hopefully positive effect our efforts have had on the health of the population there.

Our main point of contact at UNAN is Dr. Rodolfo Peña, the Director of UNAN's Center for Research in Demography and Health (CIDS). His input and advice have been extremely helpful in enabling UNC to work effectively in Nicaragua. Dr. Douglas Morgan, the Faculty Mentor for the UNC group going to Nicaragua, has been working with Dr. Peña over the past several years to strengthen the partnership and solidify UNC's commitment to supporting CIDS research efforts.