Global Medicine at RVU: Family Planning Survey and Atrial Fibrillation Research

Written by Catherine Lewis Saenz, Communications Coordinator

Family Planning Survey

Third-year students Mackenzie Ryan, Jordan McGee, and Macarena Basanes—in addition to Dr. Camille Bentley and Isain Zapata, PhD, Assistant Professor of Research and Statistics—conducted a short survey related to the understanding and use of family planning and contraception in the Masai women of Kajiado County, Kenya. The survey included questions about the Masai women’s definition of family planning, forms of contraception, and community perceptions of family planning and contraception. “The intention of the survey is to both add to the literature and to have a better understanding of the perceptions and need for family planning on future global medicine trips,” said SD Ryan. Currently, the group is analyzing the data from the survey with an intent to publish their findings and present at future conferences.

Atrial Fibrillation Research

In January, Vickie Roettger, PhD, Associate Professor of Physiology, and a team of RVU faculty and students partnered with the nonprofit organization, Hands for Health Foundation, for a medical outreach trip to Southern Kenya. During the trip, Dr. Roettger, along with Drs. Bentley and Zapata, Rachael Zehnder, OMS II, and Morgan Zueger, OMS II, researched the prevalence of Atrial Fibrillation (AF) in the Maasai people of Southern Kenya. They hope this research will provide more insights into AF in indigenous populations in general.

The team conducted their research at outdoor clinical sites with a tablet, a portable electrocardiogram, and a mobile hotspot. “Patients with suspected AF were referred to the hospital for a follow-up,” said Dr. Roettger. Their research, entitled “Prevalence of Atrial Fibrillation and Its Correlation with Blood Pressure, Gender, and Age in an Indigenous Population Living in Kenya,” is currently in the data analysis phase.