Insights & Updates

It may have only been a few weeks since we departed Kisumu, but I already miss the peaceful walks to the office, cooking dinner with friends, and working with the best people I know. The summer started with us a bit confused and working on tasks that seemed a mile away, especially since the office was actively conducting surveys in the field and meeting with community leaders. Additionally, we came to Kenya with our focus solely on mSaada, the digital platform designed to boost cervical cancer screening rates. We were fortunate enough to learn about and contribute to several other initiatives concerning vaccination, HPV stigma, and biopsies. As we quickly learned, cervical cancer is just one piece of the puzzle, surrounded by numerous equally important initiatives that collectively drive forward the mission of improving public health.   "As we quickly learned, cervical cancer is just one piece of the puzzle, surrounded by numerous equally important initiatives that collectively drive forward the mission of improving...

A few weeks have passed since our departure from Kisumu, and as I reflect on our experience, I’d like to echo some key insights shared by Kelsey and Sahil in their final reflections.   Our work was characterized by its dynamic and multifaceted nature.  Kelsey emphasized the importance of laying foundational groundwork—an often-overlooked aspect that, though not always immediately visible, is crucial for a project's future success. While urgent and important tasks may appear different, they are equally vital for overall success. Sahil highlighted the necessity of workflow improvements, noting that in resource-constrained situations, adapting our tasks and optimizing workflow are not just helpful but essential. This became evident as we managed limited resources and numerous ongoing tasks. Streamlining workflow was critical to enhancing team efficiency and achieving our goals.   A key project where many of these lessons came to fruition was the U54 initiative, which aimed to screen women for HPV and vaccinate young girls across Siaya County through community health fairs....

As our summer project in Kisumu drew to a close on July 20, the SRT team reflected on a productive and enlightening experience. Initially focused on the mSaada app, we soon discovered a handful of ongoing projects that broadened the scope of our time in Kisumu. mSaada is a digital platform designed to aid community health promoters (CHPs) in cervical cancer prevention efforts. Features of the app include patient education, screening reminders, and screening result notifications just to name a few.     Beyond mSaada, we contributed to several other initiatives. The U54 project, centered on HPV vaccination and screening, saw us designing promotional materials for health fairs offering free services. We also participated in the Elimisha project, which explored community perceptions of HPV, HIV, and cervical cancer stigma. Our involvement in survey administration was limited due to language barriers, as we lacked proficiency in Swahili and Luo. A personal and team highlight was developing tools to streamline our colleagues' workflows, allowing them to focus...

We were incredibly lucky to be working with the team during some crucial moments of their work. These were moments that had been in the works for months, finally coming to fruition. During our stay, the team was constantly looking to the next visit to the field, always another big day on the horizon. This, of course, meant that their focus had to be set in the short term.   With everyone’s attention on these big moments, we found it easy to lose sight of some of the work that, while no less important, was less pressing. It quickly became clear that this was an opportunity for us fill in. Much of our time became focused on preparing for the future. We did some of the groundwork for future phases of studies, building tools that will hopefully be integral to their work, but which will not be used for quite a while. We were able to work on the app that will...