This summer I had the opportunity to spend 8 weeks in Tanzania at Kilimanjaro Christian Medical College. I worked with the Department of Epidemiology and the Department of OB/Gyn on a project to assess knowledge and attitudes of women in the semi-urban distract of Arusha towards cervical cancer and willingness to perform self collection. I was working jointly on this project with my classmate, Meridith Pollie.
During our time, we were able to participate in multiple different aspects of the research project, I conducted an extensive literature review search of studies conducted in Sub-Saharan Africa that had evaluated self-collection as a technique for cervical cancer screening. The data for this study was collected prior to our arrival in Tanzania since the survey was conducted in Swahili. I worked on analyzing a subset of the data alongside the biostatistics team within the Division of Epidemiology at Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Center. Namely, I analyzed participant's knowledge of the warning signs of cervical cancer, prevention methods including the vaccine, and screening. I collaborated with our PI and the research team at KCMC to discuss the findings from the analysis. With the help of my mentor and colleagues, I helped to write the manuscript for this study. I also had the opportunity to visit the communities and clinics in which the data was collected, as well as meet with the physicians and nursing staff who had been involved in recruitment for this study.
We also had the opportunity to gain exposure to different aspects of clinical medicine. Throughout our time, we spent time shadowing clinicians in the OB/GYN department. Many mornings, we spent at the morning meeting where patients were presented and research projects were discussed. We then would go on rounds with the team to see the patients. We were also able to spend time shadowing in the labor ward, observing both Cesarean sections and vaginal deliveries.
Finally, we were able to join other teams for individual days to expand our understanding of healthcare delivery in Tanzania. We spent one day with the cancer research team, visiting a small community hospital. We also spend a day with the palliative care team, where we visited two different patients in their homes and discussed their biggest barriers to care and their goals for their futures.
My eights weeks in Tanzania were extremely enriching and I learned about cervical cancer in this population, aspects of clinical medicine, and barriers to healthcare in this region of a developing country. I am so grateful to the Global Health department for this opportunity!