Are you passionate about making a difference in health equity for rural areas around the world? Join the HEART (Health Education and Accessibility for Rural Territories) program!

As a participant, you will be responsible for creating educational materials on important health topics such as handwashing, first aid, treating respiratory tract infections (RTIs), and using contraception. You can use your creativity to develop flyers, videos, apps, games, cartoons, and more. Just remember to consider that many rural areas have limited access to technology and Wi-Fi, and literacy rates, especially among women, can be quite low.

Throughout the program, you will have access to guidance from various experts at Columbia University and support from Medic Outpost, an organization committed to providing healthcare in rural villages. At the end of the program, the best projects will be chosen for implementation in rural villages in Kenya. Your educational materials will be reviewed by Medic Outpost directors and physicians.

The top 10 submissions will be distributed to impoverished rural communities, helping save lives by empowering women with the knowledge to take control of their long-term health. Every student who creates and submits educational material will receive volunteer hours for their work, regardless of whether they are selected as one of the top 10.

I AM INTERESTED

As part of their Heart Program Summer 2024 assignment, students developed interactive and informative health education modules to raise awareness about important health topics. Explore their work below!

FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION

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Aly

Pregnancy Nutrition

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Yoojin Chang

Menstrual Hygiene

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Rita Lin

VIEW MORE

important information

• SUBMIT HERE: Click here ​​
• A virtual orientation meeting will be held July 7 at 4 pm CST (2 pm PST)  with the Medic Outpost team to introduce the project and its impact on rural communities.
• Students may attend Office Hours on Thursday evenings held on Zoom held by IYRC teaching fellows and Medic Outpost members for extra support when creating their material.
• Educational materials are due August 30​
• We updated our topic list, so you have more options to choose from. The highlighted topics are what we want to focus on due to its importance.

TOPIC LIST

1. Handwashing
   
2. Oral health
   
3. Adolescent health
   
4. Menstrual Hygiene
   
5. Contraceptives- family planning, 
   
6. Female genital mutilation- prevention
   
7. First aid (basic topics)-- Bleeding, -choking,- fractures, -burns, -bites.
   
8. Hypertension- prevention, signs , complications
   
9. Diabetes- prevention, signs , complications
   
10. Sanitation-  open defecation ( Free)
    
11. Fistula - prevention, signs, treatment options,
    
12. Pregnancy: 
    
13. Prenatal care- nutrition, danger signs, Individual birth plan
    
14. Natal- Hospital delivery. Why?  Pros
    
15. Postnatal care,  breast feeding, Cord care- newborn
    
16. Immunizations- watoto (KEPI-guidelines)
    
17. Infection prevention- droplets, contact, enteric 
    
18. Nutrition 
    
19. Malnutrition- PEM, Kwash.
    
20. Intestinal worms- prevention, treatment
    

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

• The educational materials will be posted on the IYRC website as a running blog. 
• Learn more about Medic Outpost Here: https://www.medicoutpost.org/our-vision
• Q&A from Introduction Meeting: Click here 
• Office Hour Zoom Meeting Link: Click here

get in touch

• Kara Fan [email protected] and Radhiya Bharmal [email protected] 
• Images from Medic Outpost