Description:

Join the Program of African Studies for our weekly lunch and lecture.

Shannon Galvin and Dan Yi-Ze Liu, Center for Global Health, Northwestern University

Title: Access to Health

Abstract: Access to Health is an interdisciplinary global health partnership that works directly with local communities to develop tailored and sustainable community improvement projects. Our project in Lagos aims to identify and address local healthcare needs through a Community Health Education (CHE) program. CHE programs utilize the local expertise of community members and trains them to become health liaisons for their friends and families. The goal of our CHE program is to promote health literacy, improve health outcomes, and advocate for health-related legal rights in slum communities within Lagos. We implemented an initial needs assessment survey to identify the pressing issues within a set of 16 informal settlements located around Lagos that will be the future sites of CHE trainings. Once this was complete we also administered a community baseline survey to determine health literacy, behavioral practices, and accessibility to resources in these areas. A revised CHE training curriculum will incorporate these findings to address the reality of limited health access.