Dec. 8, 2006 - Jan. 1, 2007

As a public health student, my experience working at a mission hospital in Kenya made me realize the glaring difference between chronic diseases prevalent in the United States and the infectious diseases rampant in Kenya.  Education through the use of trained community health workers is the primary means to stop the spread of these crippling diseases i.e., bed nets for the prevention of malaria, use of condoms for the prevention of HIV/AIDS.  In a hospital where supplies are limited, gloves are not worn with many of the procedures where bodily fluids could transmit various infectious diseases. Furthermore, hand-washing between patients is almost futile, since there is simply one sink for an entire ward, which contains one bar of soap and one hand towel. More Info >