DETROIT – Three years after an earthquake killed more than 200,000 people and left an estimated 1.5 million people homeless in Haiti, a Henry Ford Hospital study found that more mobilized medical care is necessary to bridge cultural and health care barriers and better serve the Haitian population.
Highlights of the study:
Samia Arshad, MPH, a Henry Ford Infectious Diseases epidemiologist and the study's lead author, related the story of a woman whose traditional healer diagnosed her pregnant, only to learn later at a health clinic that she had a tumor in her stomach.
"These results show that a more coordinated effort is needed to develop some standard guidelines to bring together the various efforts for providing health care to the Haitian population, and to address gaps in prevention methods," Arshad says.
The study is being presented Saturday at the Infectious Diseases Society of America's annual meeting in San Francisco.
Henry Ford researchers sought to examine health-seeking behaviors, medical care utilization and vaccination prevalence.
The findings were compiled from health care surveys conducted by Henry Ford researchers during three medical mission trips to the country from June 2012 to January 2013. Researchers, with the aid of translators, surveyed 204 Haitians at 11 free health clinics in urban and rural areas. Other key findings:
Arshad said a large majority of respondents said vaccination is effective for preventing diseases, and either had their child or themselves vaccinated.
The study was funded by Henry Ford Hospital.