Numbers

I’ve been taking notes on some statistics since my arrival. 80% of the population in the district of La Esperanza are living under the classification of “extreme poverty.” Recent studies indicate that 45% of children in my district have some sort of stomach parasite, and many cases appear to be resistant to first-line drug treatment. 75% of people in La Esperanza do not have medical insurance.

Interestingly, the rate of anemia is high here for both adults and children. Anecdotally I’ve also had an overwhelming amount of middle-aged patients with the diagnosis of osteoporosis- not surprising, I’ve also seen a large number of fractures. Facial paralysis and lower extremity amputations secondary to diabetes are also emerging as common pathologies in the clinic and hospital.

However, it’s suspected that due to financial and access/transportation barriers, many people with disabilities in my district rarely leave their homes or seek medical care. So, it’s very possible that we have no idea what is truly going on in this area in terms of the numbers. And it’s not just my neighborhood- as a whole, Perú lacks detailed information regarding persons who have disabilities.

While I’ve made several personal observations on the types of conditions I’ve encountered in various blog posts, my district of La Esperanza lacks data about the specifics. Which types of disabilities are most common? How many people are affected? What are the needs and resources desired of the persons who have disabilities? ETC!

The good news is, in about 5 months I will have a whole bunch of concrete answers to these questions! Part of my public health project includes the creation of a door-to-door survey for persons with disabilities (and their families) that will cover all 40,000+ homes in my district! It’s a “pilot” study with the potential to be applied around the country. Based on the data from the survey, I’ll be putting together a plan of action that will likely incorporate a combination of treatment and prevention-based components.

Math is definitely not my favorite subject, and I never thought I’d get this pumped about a bunch of numbers. But I’m really excited that I get to be a part of this and can’t wait until the results are in! So stay tuned for more numbers…