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By Emma Finn, Sharon Finn and Aoife Murtagh

By Emma Finn, Sharon Finn and Aoife Murtagh. Aims of Presentation. Outline our service learning site. Our planning process How we funded the project Our service learning experience Healthcare provided in Zambia. Zambia is a large land-locked country in Southern Africa.

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By Emma Finn, Sharon Finn and Aoife Murtagh

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  1. By Emma Finn, Sharon Finn and Aoife Murtagh

  2. Aims of Presentation • Outline our service learning site. • Our planning process • How we funded the project • Our service learning experience • Healthcare provided in Zambia

  3. Zambia is a large land-locked country in Southern Africa. • Population 12.9 million (US Department of State) • Median age of just 16years. • Climate: Dry season & Rainy Season • Mpongwe is an isolated village in the copperbelt region.

  4. Mpongwe Mission Hospital • 100 beds • Female, Male, Paediatrics and Maternity wards. • Outreach Community Clinics • ART Clinics, Outpatients Dept, Dental Therapist, Doctors Clinics, Major and minor Theatre, TB unit, Malnutrition unit, Neonatal unit.

  5. The Planning Process • Reasons for choosing Mpongwe: • To gain a broader insight to illnesses and treatment in Africa in a hospital as opposed to a hospice. • We liked the idea of working in a remote area.

  6. Getting Started… • Making contact with our service learning site. • Getting fundraising ideas. • Booking flights. • Getting Vaccinations • Checking passports. • Looking up relevant information on Zambia and illnesses • Finding information on the Irish embassy in Zambia etc.

  7. In total we brought over €12,500. Pharmacy and lab supplies, Oxygen cylinder, a glucometer for each ward, Cleaning products, kettles, bins, stationary. • We each did our own fundraising and have different experiences.

  8. Contacting our link person. Obtaining a permit. Fundraising without a charity name. Passport office strikes. Flight cancellations - Volcanic Ash. Fundraising interfering with exam studies. Difficulties keeping motivated. Have events advertised in the local paper and at mass. Get your name in early for bag packing. Try to finish fundraising early as it can take priority over exams. Use your contacts and Clubs. Consider having t-shirts printed Planning Difficulties, Concerns and Advice

  9. First Impressions: On arrival: heat, poverty, local people, armed military presence, road safety. Service learning site: people on sides of roads, dawn and dusk, insects, housing, isolated, dirt tracks. Service Learning Experience

  10. Thoughts/Expectations • Pleasantly surprised: • people, • building boom. Hospital: • Better funded • Hygiene- hand washing, lack of running water • Beautiful scenery • Expected less bugs and lizards.

  11. Differences in Health Care Systems • Funded by non-governmental organisations. • No sick benefits. • Less standardised- lack of policies and procedures. • Involvement of patients families- “Bedsiders”. • Lack of available medicines in Zambian hospitals. • Less autonomy in patient care (Beauchamp & Childress, 2009).

  12. Outline of the clinical speciality • Male, female, paediatric and maternity wards • ART clinics provided for those with HIV/AIDS • Took turns working in each area • Learned basics about each speciality • Outreach was most beneficial

  13. Languages and cultural differences • Languages Spoken: Lamba and Bemba • Greetings: Muli Shyani/Mutende Mwuane • Clapping and genuflecting for respect • Customary to call to peoples houses. • Forward and honest people • Laid back attitude • Dress code • Religious people

  14. Main Areas of Learning • Importance of CD4 count in HIV patients • Importance of feeding malnourished children only the Nutriset formula (International Malnutrition Task Force) • Non verbal communication skills

  15. Interesting/Shocking/Exciting Aspects • Lack of resources and improvisation • Optimistic outlook on life • Superstitions • Lack of privacy and confidentiality • Hygiene, wound care, T.B. patients not isolated • Surgeries, snake bites • Outreach-going into the unknown http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sK8vFUgbPnE

  16. Recommendations for Students • Bring; • Appropriate Clothing • Torches, batteries, candles • Solar Shower • Music, board games, portable DVD player… • Sun cream, Mossie repellent • Toys • Alcohol Hand wash • Do; • Get a VISA credit card • Get only necessary vaccinations & anti-malarias • Make friends • Travel • Contact us for more information!

  17. Suggested Reading List • Visit Tropical Medical Bureau on www.tmb.ie • Department of Foreign Affairs www.dfa.ie • Irish Embassy in Zambia www.embassy-finder.com/ireland_in_lusaka_zambia • Culture and Customs of Zambia by Scott D. Taylor. • Zambia & Malawi - The Lonely Planet Book

  18. Reference List • Beauchamp, T.L. & Childress, J.F. (2009) Principles of Biomedical Ethics. 6th edn. New York: Oxford University Press. • International Malnutrition Task Force, http://imtf.org/_uploads/wallchart-10-steps.doc Accessed on 5/10/2010. • Masiye, F. (2007) Investigating health system performance: An application of data envelopment analysis to Zambian hospitals. BMC Health Services Research 2007. 7:58. • US Department of State Website (2010), Bureau of African Affairs, http://www.state.gov/p/af/ci/za/ Accessed on 5/10/2010.

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