Browsing by Author "Pham, Diana"
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Item The Effectiveness and Cultural Practicality of Ceramic Water Filters in the Kiwcha Community of Ecuador(2014-02-04) Pham, Diana; Duchicela, Jorge; Navarrete, Maritza YanezINTRODUCTION: Does the ceramic water filters reduce the number of people with water borne parasites, reduce the incidence of diarrhea and improve water drinking habits compared to a community without water filters? Qualitative Data- I went to two different communities, Pukara Quinche (with water filters) and Huashig (without water filters) and collected their fecal samples to analyze any presence of parasites. I compared each community to see if the percentage of people with one or more parasites in their feces was less in Pukara Quinche than Hua Shig. I also compared whether the water filters have maintained its effectiveness since its implementation in 2011 by comparing previous years' data. Quantitative Data: For 2013, I interviewed the two communities about their opinions of the water filters (but if they have no water filters, how they clean their water), the frequency of using water filters, their drinking water practices and any abdominal-related illnesses in the past year. There are several important variables that I failed to take into account. RESULTS: In general, the results show that water filters have a positive impact on creating awareness for clean water, but more should be done to improve overall hygienic habits as well as maintain the sustainability of the use of water filters. Although the results show that the effects of water filters is culturally specific for the Kichwa community, the issue of sustainability and improvement in overall hygienic habits (in addition to the implementation of water filters) can be universally applied to many other low-income and low health literacy people with no access to clean water because it is easy to use and easy to store. While the water filters were shown to lower the incidence of health problems, however, it seemed to not significantly reduce the overall percentage of people with parasites. This discrepancy further shows that while the water filters provide a good temporary point of source clean water, but it should not be a permanent solution on delivering accessible clean water to the entire communities. It neglects the fact that the government will have less incentive to improve the water system to the poor community, if they feel the water filters is sufficient enough to deliver free water.Item The Prevalence of Postpartum Depressive Symptoms in Women from a Public Maternity Hospital in Tucumán, Argentina at 4 Weeks Postpartum(2017-03-31) Pham, Diana; Doty, Meitra; Chi, Benjamin; Johnson, AndreaOBJECTIVE: The primary objective of our study is to investigate the prevalence of postpartum depression at 4 weeks postpartum in women from a public hospital in Tucuman, Argentina. Our secondary objective is to determine a relationship between postpartum depression and the associated sociodemographic, medical and obstetric factors. METHODS: We conducted an observational cross-sectional study that was carried out from March 17, 2016 to May 30, 2016 and from June 28, 2016 to July 29, 2016. There were 539 participants. Women were excluded if they: Were less than 18 years old, were located in the intensive care unit (ICU), gave birth to a stillborn or recent newborn that died during delivery, with a multiple gestation, had a recent newborn in the neonatal ICU, had a recent newborn with congenital abnormalities, or gave birth at gestational age less than 28 weeks old. RESULTS: Of the 539 participants, 167 (31.0%) had depressive symptoms. Important risk factors for developing PPD included employment status, education level, positive personal and family history of psychiatric illnesses, perceived social stresses such as poor patient-physician relationship or lack of childcare help, and giving birth to a female newborn. CONCLUSION: The high prevalence of postpartum depression (31.97%) in Tucuman demonstrates that the public sector is twice that of the private sector in Buenos Aires. This study results shows that postpartum depression is a serious public health issue and further study is needed about the cultural acceptance of mental health and how to provide adequate follow-up or treatment in a low-resource setting.