Awardee: Audrey Nguyen
Program: MPH in Health Management
Project Title: Strategic development and implementation of digital educational curricula and telehealth aid for humanitarian emergencies: the Pakistan Flood Response
Organization: Health Tech Without Borders (HTWB) (Boston, MA, and Karachi, Pakistan)
Global humanitarian crises, from natural disasters to armed conflict, have led to the rise of displaced populations. To help communities better adapt, Health Tech Without Borders (HTWB) is a nonprofit that provides digital health aid to disaster zones by partnering with local institutions to support patients and equip medical personnel with specialized skills. This project aimed to serve displaced refugee and migrant communities in Pakistan, which has faced unprecedented floods since 2022. The prevalence of health issues such as contaminated water and mosquito-borne illnesses has risen significantly, with local clinicians and villagers needing additional health educational support. HTWB therefore partnered with the National Institute for Kidney and Urological Diseases (NIKUD) Research Hospital in Karachi, Pakistan, to develop a multipronged approach to flood relief. The Pakistan Flood Response is community-led program that has aimed to create a digital curriculum consisting of clinician-to-clinician and clinician-to-patient educational videos, telehealth interventions, and combined remote and on-site support for communities impacted by destructive floods. The project has shown that digital health interventions in humanitarian emergencies have potential to provide complementary yet impactful solutions for advancing healthcare access and education for displaced populations.
Most rewarding part of the field experience
Being able to form connections between community stakeholders, global health volunteers, and the HTWB team. It was so rewarding to witness and be part of the growing community of individuals across the world working toward a shared vision to sustainably help Pakistan. Interdisciplinary collaboration really is the cornerstone of public health!
Advice for students doing work in the field
In public health, we are constantly trying to create solutions for increasingly complex healthcare problems, often with limited resources and no standardized playbook. While it can feel daunting at times, learning from subject-matter experts and listening to the community you serve will help you maintain purpose and optimism.
Acknowledgements
Many thanks to Dr. Jarone Lee and the Health Tech Without Borders (HTWB) network and to Dr. Sakina Naqvi and the NIKUD Hospital team in Karachi, Pakistan, for the opportunity to work on this program, and to Bill Bean for his ongoing guidance and mentorship.
You must be logged in to post a comment.