Faculty Mentor/s:
Khanjan Mehta, Creative Inquiry
Students on the team:
Aabiskar Thapa Kshetri ‘26
Elif Ozturk ‘24
Eric Yang ‘25
Omar Hossain ‘25
Rachel Platt ‘24
Sofia Espinoza ‘24
Zavier Urbaez ‘26
Project Description:
The Sierra Leonean healthcare system is chronically underfunded, with an insufficient number of skilled health workers striving to address a growing double-disease burden of communicable and non-communicable diseases. Rural clinics are typically staffed by nurses or clinical officers with minimal training. While there are clearly-established triaging, diagnosis, and treatment protocols for the most common illnesses reported at these primary clinics, there is often a gap in adhering to these standardized processes. How might a $20 Alexa-enabled device enable primary healthcare workers to serve their communities better? Can Alexa facilitate better decision making? Remind healthcare workers to check for underlying conditions? Nudge healthcare workers to report unusual cases to district authorities? This team will explore the complexities of the primary healthcare system in Sierra Leone and collaborate with local partners to develop a suite of practical solutions to empower frontline workers and bolster access to healthcare. All majors are welcome to apply.
Month/Year Project Began:
January 2023