Four weeks into our Duke Global Health SRT program in Kisumu, Kenya, Afraaz, Kelsey, Skylar, and I (Sahil) have been assisting in launching a pilot study for a mobile health app designed to facilitate HPV screening and cervical cancer prevention. While our initial focus was on integrating feedback from community health promoters (CHPs) who use the app, we quickly found ourselves contributing to two other critical projects: U54, focused on HPV vaccination and screening, and Elimisha, aimed at community education and stigma reduction around HPV and cervical cancer.
Our first field visit took us to three primary schools, where we met with head teachers and the local chief to discuss an upcoming free vaccination and screening clinic. This involved securing permission for girls to attend the multi-day clinic, even if it meant missing some school. Since then, our primary contribution to U54 has been creating a one-pager to advertise the clinic, set to be distributed starting July 1st.
The second field visit, focused on survey administration for the Elimisha project, proved to be a humbling lesson in the realities of data collection in a resource-limited setting. We quickly realized that the tools and technologies we often take for granted, like Google and Microsoft forms, Qualtrics, and readily available internet access, are not universally accessible. While this is not a new idea, it does not really sink in until you have seen it firsthand. The project’s reliance on tablet-based surveys underscored the stark digital divide. This was evident during our visit to Kinasia Health Center. Departing the office at 8:34 AM, we arrived at the local clinic at 9:35 AM. After waiting for women to arrive, we began the informed consent process at 10:43 AM. By the time we returned to the office at 7:01 PM, we had collected 43 survey responses, a surprisingly low number given the 10 hours and 27 minutes spent in the field. However, the difficulties faced during survey administration actually make this number a success. Constant network issues, glitchy tablets, and a lack of literacy and digital literacy require the Kisumu team to work with women one-on-one to complete the surveys without introducing bias. This is a time-consuming process, which brought to life the statistics we often read in reports from international organizations, revealing the immense effort required to collect seemingly simple data. Gathering this type of data requires a dedicated team of individuals working tirelessly day after day to collect these survey responses.
“This is a time-consuming process, which brought to life the statistics we often read in reports from international organizations, revealing the immense effort required to collect seemingly simple data.”
Since our initial field visit, the Kisumu team has dedicated five more consecutive days to survey administration, spending nearly eight hours each day under the hot sun. With another seven days of fieldwork ahead of them, we as SRT students have had the privilege to observe and assist the team in any way we can. However, the language barrier has limited our ability to directly help women completing the surveys.
These early weeks have been a reminder that the realities of global health work often differ significantly from what we learn in the classroom. The resource constraints and logistical hurdles faced by local teams highlight the importance of adaptability and cultural sensitivity in achieving meaningful impact.