Finkelstein, Alan Lewis
(2024)
Is Our Water Safe to Drink? A View from Rural Honduras.
Master Essay, University of Pittsburgh.
Abstract
Testing the public water supply for the presence of coliform bacteria was requested in February 2023 in the villages of San Antonio, San Francisco, and San Jeronimo in the San Jose del Negrito service area in rural Honduras by the local Health Committee to address perceptions of a higher than usual incidence of diarrheal disease in those communities. Without collection of epidemiologic data to inform health concerns, these perceptions were subjective, and testing did not reveal pathogens in the water. This essay explores how Honduras, one of the world’s poorest nations, works with the international nongovernmental organization Water For People to deliver water to its most remote communities in the face of a worldwide water crisis and how one small nonprofit, Shoulder to Shoulder-Pittsburgh, has partnered with community members in San Jose del Negrito over time, using the Community Oriented Primary Care model, to address the health care needs of the region. The project reveals how outside health workers can engage with a community to improve health and how health workers can use basic public health strategies, such as community education, to enhance health status even in remote areas where health services are limited. Most importantly, this project highlights the use of epidemiologic data to characterize health concerns and calls for a dedicated effort to incorporate surveillance of basic indicator data into community healthcare in San Jose del Negrito to alert health workers when a worrisome trend emerges. Strategies are offered on how to begin this effort.
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Details
| Item Type: |
Other Thesis, Dissertation, or Long Paper
(Master Essay)
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| Status: |
Unpublished |
| Creators/Authors: |
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| Contributors: |
| Contribution | Contributors Name | Email | Pitt Username | ORCID  |
|---|
| Thesis advisor | Salter, Cyndy | CYS6@pitt.edu | CYS6 | UNSPECIFIED | | Committee Member | Douglas, Gerald | geraldpdouglas@gmail.com | UNSPECIFIED | UNSPECIFIED |
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| Date: |
14 May 2024 |
| Date Type: |
Completion |
| Number of Pages: |
48 |
| Institution: |
University of Pittsburgh |
| Schools and Programs: |
School of Public Health > Multidisciplinary MPH |
| Degree: |
MPH - Master of Public Health |
| Thesis Type: |
Master Essay |
| Refereed: |
Yes |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: |
Global Health, Epidemiology |
| Date Deposited: |
14 May 2024 19:52 |
| Last Modified: |
14 May 2024 19:52 |
| URI: |
http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/id/eprint/46199 |
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