Preparations

Read about the Hospital de Cancer de Barretos and Brazil? Check. Take a Google Maps “street view” tour of Barretos? Check. Become fluent in Portuguese? …… not quite.

For the past month, Shravya and I have been working at the OEDK (Oshman Engineering Design Kitchen) preparing the devices we will present to the Hospital de Cancer de Barretos this coming week. To give you a general idea, we will be bringing:

• Retinopathy glasses– Glasses for diabetic patients so that they can visualize how their eyesight will be affected by diabetic retinopathy.
• Breast cancer education model– A comparatively low cost model that teaches nurses and patients how to identify breast cancer.
• Insulin dosing device– Variously sized clips that are inserted onto a syringe and administer accurate insulin doses for illiterate diabetic patients.
• Ostomy bags– Low cost ostomy bags for patients who have had a colostomy.
• Ostomy self-care training model– A model for colostomy patients to practice taking care of their stoma.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A little background

During my first two semesters at Rice, I had the fortune of discovering the Global Health Institute along with its fantastic faculty and projects. In the Spring, I had the opportunity to work on one of these projects, creating a training model for colostomy patients, with my classmates Jenni, Christine, and Andy. Working on this project not only introduced me to the design process, but also challenged me to view technology in a different way by making me understand its criteria and constraints. For example, colostomy patients often deal with psychological problems and face stigmas and sometimes isolation. It is problems like these that are hidden to those of us who are lucky enough not to live without these obstacles, yet, they are crucial for understanding the need of patients and creating appropriate technology to resolve or ameliorate their condition.

One of our tasks here in Barretos will be to conduct needs finding and determine potential ideas for new projects to take back to Rice. Although I have learned a bit about this process through my classes and research, I think this will be the greatest struggle for these next two months. Nevertheless, I think it will be a great learning opportunity and I am confident that as I begin to get a hang of the Hospital and Barretos, my skills will grow stronger.

 

Our first conversation

Shravya and I arrived in Brazil on Saturday and it’s already clear that the US has a lot of catching up to do. We’ve already seen a man cleaning a floor on roller skates and tasted the famous pão de queijo (cheese bread). I’m ready to consider our trip a success.

Since we arrived Saturday afternoon, we had some time to settle down and begin to familiarize ourselves. Our apartment is beautiful and has a great view of the city from the rooftop. It’s located on the outskirts of the town and is just a short five-minute walk from the hospital.

After coming back from one of our excursions yesterday, we received an unexpected visit from Luis, a radiologist at the hospital. Luis took us out for lunch and we chatted for hours about the hospital and Barretos. One of the most surprising things he told us was regarding the hospital’s system for supporting itself. Although the hospital’s yearly cost is around 36 million Reais (~10.9 million dollars), the government only gives the hospital 16 million Reais (~3.6 million dollars), less than half of the hospital’s fees. The remaining cost is covered by donations. Luis explained that famous artist often come to Barretos and perform charity concerts or donate to the hospital to have their name on a wall or have a wing named after them. From our limited time here, we’ve also had the chance to see how supportive the city is of the hospital. For instance, in all the stores we visited, there are small donation cans at the register. I think it’s incredible how the hospital has found the way to sustain itself, engage the community, and be considered one of the best public hospital in all of Brazil and Latin America.

 

A first time for everything

Being here in Brazil and working in the hospital is a very new experience for me in several ways. Although Barretos reminds me a lot of my father’s hometown in Argentina, the language and culture are unknown to me and it will also be the first time I am immersed in a hospital setting. I’ve already learned so much in these past two days and look forward to better understanding how a how a hospital runs, practicing needs finding, becoming more knowledgeable about cancer and global health issues and solutions, and getting to know Brazilian culture. It’s obvious that this summer will be on with many “firsts”, but I couldn’t be more excited to take on the challenge, and all the experiences and pão de queijo that come with it.