Alyson Kim
Global Health Scholar Class of 2024
An estimated 3,000 Kenyan women and girls suffer from obstetric fistulas each year, a condition that carries dire physical, social and economic consequences for those affected. A dedicated fistula hospital — the Gynocare Fistula Centre — provides free reconstructive fistula surgeries, eradicating the financial barriers of receiving care. However, a plethora of non-financial considerations continue to hinder the women and girls’ access to Gynocare’s services. My research explores how socioeconomic, cultural and educational circumstances affect patient access to free reconstructive surgery at this hospital in urban Kenya. Another item I will explore is an evaluation instrument to accommodate the linguistic and cultural understanding of the participants of this study.
Alyson presented her work at Discovery Day 2021. View her poster: A Qualitative Analysis of Factors Affecting Women's Access to Genital Fistula Surgery in Western Kenya