The immersion experience required for Global Health minors allows students to dive deeper into the world of Global Health through hands-on learning or volunteer experiences. My immersion was through the Global Health in The Gambia study abroad program, and it left me with many questions concerning maternal and pediatric health. Throughout my time in The Gambia, a small country on the west coast of Africa, I got the opportunity to volunteer at the Bundung Women, Infant, and Children’s Hospital. The task that stood out the most was weighing children. While weighing children, I began to notice the prevalence of malnutrition. Mothers would lay heavy blankets on the scale before setting down their children. I started to wonder if some of the blankets were adding weight to the readings to make it seem like the children were on the right track of being healthy for their age. This is what struck my initial interest in malnutrition. My research project was performed using a literature review of malnutrition and stigma. After conducting research about the prevalence of malnutrition in West Africa, I posed my question about stigma and malnutrition. The major finding of this review was that stigma is a barrier to treatment. Secondly, more research needs to be done on this topic specifically in West Africa in order to properly address malnutrition. Stigma often goes unaddressed when discussing treatment for malnutrition, but this project has shown me that the two are related. This experience has been relevant for me and my intended future career in healthcare because it has opened my eyes in ways I never anticipated. Health and healthcare look different all over the world, and getting to experience that firsthand was life changing. This experience gave me a feeling that I belong in the medical field.
Author: Caitlin Dennison
Faculty Advisors: Kelly Abshire, Department of Microbiology, and Paul Flaspohler, Department of Psychology
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