[Health] OLPC Health Projects

Tue Aug 18 10:31:44 EDT 2009

This also might be good case study for the book sprint
in early September, Washington DC just before
and including the 9/11 anniversary aka National
Day of Service or similar...

http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Class_Acts

dwc

On Tue, Aug 18, 2009 at 9:38 AM, Samuel Klein<meta.sj at gmail.com> wrote:
> Hello Kirsten,
>
> How did this project go over the summer?  What tools did you end up
> using?  I'd be interested in seeing such a program tried out with XOs,
> and in hearing more about your ideas for how to represent (and
> gather?) health information.
>
> SJ
>
> On Sun, Jan 11, 2009 at 11:44 PM, Kirsten Austad<keaustad at gmail.com> wrote:
>> Hello all,
>>
>>     I have been on the OLPC health list before, but to reintroduce I am a
>> first year at HMS.  This summer I and another student will be working with
>> the PIH-affiliated program in Chiapas, specifically with the health
>> promoters who have asked for an easier way to use clinical algorithms for
>> diagnosis and treatment of common disease (already designed by a
>> physician).  Presenting these medical flow charts on paper is often
>> confusing due to the overwhelmingness of all the information on the page at
>> once, so we will be spending this summer looking at whether some sort of
>> technology could be used to make the clinical algorithms easier to use for
>> the health promoters.
>>
>>      The director of our project Dr. Palazuelos has been working with groups
>> who are using PDAs for similar projects, but there are some worries about
>> the utility and sustainability of PDAs in rural Chiapas (power source,
>> durability, etc.).   In thinking about how to get around these problems, we
>> thought of OLPCs whose design seems perfect for what the PDAs lack.
>>
>>     I was wondering who we could potentially speak to about this issue and
>> whether OLPCs are allowed to, or have ever been used for, this sort of
>> "off-label" purpose.  Of course these are just preliminary ideas that we had
>> and wanted to check in about and brainstorm this as a potential solution, or
>> to see whether it could take us in a productive direction.  Any guidance
>> would be much appreciate, thanks so much for your time,
>>
>> ~Kirsten
>>
>> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>> Kirsten Austad
>> MD Candidate, Harvard Medical School, Class of 2012
>> BS, Medical Microbiology & Immunology and English Literature, University of
>> Wisconsin-Madison, 2007
>> cell: 608-209-1001
>> e-mail: Kirsten_Austad at hms.harvard.edu or keaustad at gmail.com
>>
>> "We should not go to the people and say, 'Here we are. We come to give you
>> the charity of our presence, to teach you our science, to show you your
>> errors, your lack of culture, your ignorance of elementary things.' We
>> should go instead with an inquiring mind and a humble spirit to learn at
>> that great source of wisdom that is the people."   - Che Guevara
>>
>>
>> On Mon, Nov 17, 2008 at 7:29 PM, Samuel Klein <meta.sj at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>> Dear Kirsten  and Julia,
>>>
>>> There have been enough health related discussions and projects to
>>> warrant its own discussion list, and occasional meetings by phone and
>>> in person.  You should start with that list -- copied here.
>>>
>>> SJ
>>>
>>> On Mon, Nov 17, 2008 at 3:05 PM, Kirsten Austad <keaustad at gmail.com>
>>> wrote:
>>> > Hi Mika and SJ,
>>> >
>>> >     Ben, thanks so much for putting us in touch!  I am adding another
>>> > person
>>> > to the conversation, one of my classmates Julia who was extensive global
>>> > health experience and worked with the Partners in Health program in
>>> > Rwanda
>>> > and has lived in various places in the Americas.  We were talking about
>>> > the
>>> > possibilities today of utilizing OLPC for global health, and are both
>>> > very
>>> > excited.  We would love to meet with either or both of you--Mika and
>>> > SJ--to
>>> > discuss what you guys have thought about in the health applications of
>>> > OLPC,
>>> > what Julia and I have been brainstorming, and if there is someway for us
>>> > to
>>> > get invovled (both here in the U.S. or on-site).
>>> >
>>> >     We are at the Longwood Medical Campus near the Brigham, but can
>>> > travel
>>> > over to Cambridge if that is where both of you are based.  Our schedules
>>> > are
>>> > variable at this time due to Anatomy Lab, but if you two want to throw
>>> > some
>>> > days and times out there we can surely find one that works.  Looking
>>> > forward
>>> > to it!
>>> >
>>> > ~Kirsten
>>> >
>>> > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>>> > Kirsten Austad
>>> > MD Candidate, Harvard Medical School, Class of 2012
>>> > BS, Medical Microbiology & Immunology and English Literature, University
>>> > of
>>> > Wisconsin-Madison, 2007
>>> > cell: 608-209-1001
>>> > e-mail: Kirsten_Austad at hms.harvard.edu or keaustad at gmail.com
>>> >
>>> > "We should not go to the people and say, 'Here we are. We come to give
>>> > you
>>> > the charity of our presence, to teach you our science, to show you your
>>> > errors, your lack of culture, your ignorance of elementary things.' We
>>> > should go instead with an inquiring mind and a humble spirit to learn at
>>> > that great source of wisdom that is the people."   - Che Guevara
>>> >
>>> >
>>> > On Mon, Nov 17, 2008 at 2:19 PM, Benjamin M. Schwartz
>>> > <bmschwar at fas.harvard.edu> wrote:
>>> >>
>>> >> Kirsten,
>>> >>
>>> >> I am writing to introduce you to Mika and SJ.  Mika is an MPH (?)
>>> >> student
>>> >> at HSPH. SJ is OLPC's "Director of Content" or something.
>>> >>
>>> >> Kirsten is an MD student at HMS.  She has experience working in clinics
>>> >> and in education in Ghana and the Dominican Republic, and is interested
>>> >> in
>>> >> doing curriculum design and evaluation with OLPC.  She has a travel
>>> >> grant
>>> >> through HMS (?) that she could use to travel to a deployment,
>>> >> implement,
>>> >> and evaluate such a curriculum... and that's just the beginning.
>>> >>
>>> >> Mika wrote her MPH thesis on an ethical approach to determining which
>>> >> medicines are "essential" in developing countries.  She has become one
>>> >> of
>>> >> the organizing leaders of the OLPC health projects.
>>> >>
>>> >> SJ is OLPC's "Director of Content" or something like that.  He is
>>> >> responsible for OLPC's curriculum projects, and can definitely put you
>>> >> in
>>> >> touch with the right people in the right countries.
>>> >>
>>> >> Some resources to be aware of:
>>> >> As of today, it is possible to buy an XO in the US for $400, $200 of
>>> >> which
>>> >> is a tax-deductible charitable donation (not that grad students
>>> >> typically
>>> >> itemize deductions...).  Info about that program is available at
>>> >> http://www.amazon.com/xo
>>> >>
>>> >> If you think you need an XO for an OLPC-related project, but can't
>>> >> afford
>>> >> to buy one, you can apply to the Contributors program at
>>> >> http://projectdb.olpc.at/index.php?register=1.  (For curriculum
>>> >> development, you probably don't actually need an XO.)
>>> >>
>>> >> The OLPC Health wiki pages are at http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Health.
>>> >> There's a great deal of information there, but it is terribly
>>> >> disorganized, and since it's a public wiki its contents reflect the
>>> >> priorities of many different authors.
>>> >>
>>> >> There is a mailing list for OLPC health-related discussion at
>>> >> http://lists.laptop.org/listinfo/health.  That's a good place to ask
>>> >> questions, though you're also welcome to ask any of us directly.
>>> >>
>>> >> That's all for now, I think.  Welcome to OLPC!
>>> >>
>>> >> --Ben
>>> >>
>>> >>
>>> >
>>> >
>>
>>
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DancesWithCars
leave the wolves behind ;-)