Medical students from Divine Word University and three of their faculty doctors took part in a rural outreach program recently in Madang.
The outreach was in partnership with Madang Provincial Health Authority who provided additional medicine and rapid tests kits.
The outreach was done in Malala community in the Bogia district, which saw collaborative efforts together by the Catholic Health Service, Malala Health Centre, local church leaders who assisted to organize patients as well as the nutrition research participants.
Under the clinicians’ supervisors, Professor Dr. Jerzy Kuzma and Dr Marcella Yeou, the year 4 medical students were able to examine and manage a number patients with various sicknesses.
Another group including six staff from the Faculty of Medicine and Health Science and two students conducted nutrition action research within the community.
This included reporting on the mapping of nutrition status and behaviour and further discussions with the local community on effective and acceptable interventions on how to improve nutrition status of children under the age of 5 as well as pregnant women.
The nutrition action research was sponsored by Bread for the World Organization.
The initial study showed a high level of malnutrition among the children in Malala community. A postgraduate student in the Master of Public Health Program also had an opportunity to collect data for the Master thesis nutritional research.
“Healthcare outreach programs are critical in addressing healthcare disparities and improving the health outcomes of underserved rural communities,” said Professor Dr Jerzy Kuzma.
Professor Dr. Kuzma highlighted that such program can further help improve the overall health and well-being of the community.
“Outreach program improves training in clinical and public health arenas by exposing medical students to hands-on patient experience and community health promotion projects in rural settings, showing them the opportunity for future career pathways.”