Hello!

Let me introduce us. We are first year osteopathic medical students at Touro University who are humbled and honored to be heading to Shirati Hospital in Tanzania. Our goals are to conduct various research studies and provide medical care to patients. 

Africa is the continent with the highest need for health care workers. Many people will go years or even their whole life without seeing a healthcare provider. Our research will help us understand some of the barriers that prevent members of the community from accessing health service. The Shirati KMT Hospital conducts screenings for HIV and cervical cancer. We will be organizing free health screenings at the local market for the elderly and disabled patients who are unable to travel to the hospital. All of the medical students on this trip will receive training for Helping Babies Breath -- a World Health Organization project to teach neonatal resuscitation in resource-limited areas. We will then train nurses and medical staff to implement these techniques, in order to save lives. 

Our Research:
-Helping Babies Breath: Helping Babies Breathe is a basic neonatal resuscitation course designed for low-resource settings, that has been shown to decrease neonatal mortality by up to 47%. The curriculum provides basic skills for birth attendants to better assess, monitor, and intervene when necessary within the first few minutes of a babies life to improve their outcome. Rates of neonatal death is 5x what it is in the United States, this project will aim to combat this statistic. 

-HIV and Rates of Depression
-Medical Compliance in Pediatric Patients with HIV
-Rates of Cervical Cancer in Tanzania
-Saving Mothers - Maternal mortality postpartum hemorrhage
-Adult HIV treatment adherence and compliance
-Treatment of Chronic Pain with Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment in Rural Tanzania
-Assessment of Palliative care in Tanzania
-Accessible low-cost treatment for Scabies in rural populations

In addition, we will be donating bag-valve masks, scrubs, and needed medical supplies to the hospital and staff.

Donations will go towards the purchase and transport of medical supplies and research expenses (ex: setting up health screenings, paying for translators, etc.). If we do exceed our goal then we will put the funds towards our travel expenses, since this is a self-funded medical mission. 

All donations would be greatly appreciated.

Best,

Aleia Boccardi, JohnPaul Kwak, Jacob Blitstein, Gina DeMeo , Nicole Hamburger, Vikrant Khosa, Pichaya Promsatit, Katherine Bowlin, Jennifer Dionisio, Bryant Chee, Danielle Nelson, Rachel Contopoulos, Alvin Li, Jackson Mesick.


More information about Touro University California (Touro University California): Touro University California provides graduate and professional educational excellence in the fields of Health Sciences, Public Health, and Education. The TUC learning experience is student-centered, enriched by focused research and scholarship, and prepares professionals for rewarding lives in service to others both locally and around the globe.