Holly Bullock                2009 Fellowship Recipient

Holly will be consulting with a small cohort of Swazi traditional healers to describe the knowledge that they want visiting western doctors to have regarding Swazi traditional health beliefs and the role of traditional healers in the culture. Her goal is to produce a descriptive paper of her findings, which can later be adapted into an informative pamphlet to be issued with orientation materials to future visiting physicians, residents, and medical students at the Baylor-Bristol- Meyers-Squib Children’s Center of Excellence.  Sharing of information in such a way will help the visiting physicians better understand patients’ health seeking experiences prior to presentation and allow them to establish greater rapport and communication.

 “Coping with Sickle Cell Disease as a Ghanaian Adolescent”

 

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a chronic illness that affects approximately 1 in 5,000 African Americans in the U.S.  About two percent of Ghanaians suffer from the disease.  Complications stemming from SCD not only have significant long term physical implications, but are also associated with a number of psychosocial problems.  In adolescents with SCD, it has been shown that an increase in the number of crises correlates with an increase in school absences, difficulty in social adjustment, and an increase in symptoms of depression and anxiety.  However, many of these psychosocial symptoms have been shown to be well managed through various coping mechanisms such as cognitive behavioral therapy and familial and peer support.  Deidra’s goal with the Medical Humanities Summer Fellowship is to understand how the physical complications associated with SCD affect the psychosocial environments of adolescents in Accra, Ghana.  In addition, she will evaluate what coping mechanisms Ghanaian children employ in managing the psychosocial complications they may be experiencing.