School of Medicine and Health Sciences Poster Presentations
Piloting an Enhanced VHT Research Trial in Rural Uganda
Poster Number
244
Document Type
Poster
Status
Medical Student
Abstract Category
Global Health
Keywords
Global Health, Community Health
Publication Date
Spring 2018
Abstract
Omni Med is a non-governmental organization that has provided innovative and sustainable programs in the local communities of several countries including Belize, Kenya, Guyana, and Uganda. One of Omni Med Uganda’s most impactful programs is the Village Health Team (VHT) training program, empowering these VHTs to operate as a cohort of health providers who in turn assist the local community to take charge of their own health in a sustainable manner. Currently, Omni Med hosts week-long training seminars for VHTs that cover a curriculum developed through partnership with the Uganda Ministry of Health and represents many areas of interest within global health. In addition to the VHT training program, Omni Med helps build clean water sources in rural villages and, in conjunction with another organization, properly ventilated cookstoves made from local resources.
The Enhanced VHT pilot will be the first formal research study on the incidence and prevalence of certain key preventable illnesses pre- and post-intervention within a village in the Mukono district of Uganda. For this pilot study, a data collection tool was created utilizing feedback from experienced VHTs and local community leaders. As a result, the data collection tool targeted several key areas of quantitative and qualitative measurements including the following: basic household demographic information, access to medical care and treatment, proper hygiene practices, safe water practices, cookstove usage, mosquito net usage, and rates of diarrheal illnesses, pneumonia, and malaria. Specifically, this investigation focused on the impact of VHT community involvement on three key outcome measures: 1) clean water sources and safe water usage on reducing the rates of diarrheal illnesses, 2) cookstove construction and usage on reducing the rates of pneumonia, and 3) mosquito net distribution and usage on reducing the rates of malaria. The pilot project has recently received approval from the International Review Board and preliminary results are being collected. Already, several VHTs have been trained in the village and are actively participating in both data collection and community education.
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Open Access
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Piloting an Enhanced VHT Research Trial in Rural Uganda
Omni Med is a non-governmental organization that has provided innovative and sustainable programs in the local communities of several countries including Belize, Kenya, Guyana, and Uganda. One of Omni Med Uganda’s most impactful programs is the Village Health Team (VHT) training program, empowering these VHTs to operate as a cohort of health providers who in turn assist the local community to take charge of their own health in a sustainable manner. Currently, Omni Med hosts week-long training seminars for VHTs that cover a curriculum developed through partnership with the Uganda Ministry of Health and represents many areas of interest within global health. In addition to the VHT training program, Omni Med helps build clean water sources in rural villages and, in conjunction with another organization, properly ventilated cookstoves made from local resources.
The Enhanced VHT pilot will be the first formal research study on the incidence and prevalence of certain key preventable illnesses pre- and post-intervention within a village in the Mukono district of Uganda. For this pilot study, a data collection tool was created utilizing feedback from experienced VHTs and local community leaders. As a result, the data collection tool targeted several key areas of quantitative and qualitative measurements including the following: basic household demographic information, access to medical care and treatment, proper hygiene practices, safe water practices, cookstove usage, mosquito net usage, and rates of diarrheal illnesses, pneumonia, and malaria. Specifically, this investigation focused on the impact of VHT community involvement on three key outcome measures: 1) clean water sources and safe water usage on reducing the rates of diarrheal illnesses, 2) cookstove construction and usage on reducing the rates of pneumonia, and 3) mosquito net distribution and usage on reducing the rates of malaria. The pilot project has recently received approval from the International Review Board and preliminary results are being collected. Already, several VHTs have been trained in the village and are actively participating in both data collection and community education.