By Jessica Murray
I came to Belize as part of my field placement experience for my Masters of Public Health program. As an epidemiology student, I am interested in who has disease and why. Currently, there is an epidemic of chronic kidney disease of unknown origin in the Mesoamerican region. Chronic kidney disease of unknown origin or Mesoamerican nephropathy has been seen in countries like El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica; however, we do not quite know if it has made its way to Belize as there is no published data on this disease here. I came with a surgery resident and her attending physician to Belize to work at La Loma Luz Hospital to do research (chart reviews and patient interviews) on this topic. There has been a lot of difficulty in getting my research project approved with the hospital and the Ministry of Health in Belize; however, I was successful and have finally been able to start my project. So far it’s been a great experience to do international research, as well getting to know people in Belize, about how they live, and the problems they face regarding healthcare.
I came to Belize as part of my field placement experience for my Masters of Public Health program. As an epidemiology student, I am interested in who has disease and why. Currently, there is an epidemic of chronic kidney disease of unknown origin in the Mesoamerican region. Chronic kidney disease of unknown origin or Mesoamerican nephropathy has been seen in countries like El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica; however, we do not quite know if it has made its way to Belize as there is no published data on this disease here. I came with a surgery resident and her attending physician to Belize to work at La Loma Luz Hospital to do research (chart reviews and patient interviews) on this topic. There has been a lot of difficulty in getting my research project approved with the hospital and the Ministry of Health in Belize; however, I was successful and have finally been able to start my project. So far it’s been a great experience to do international research, as well getting to know people in Belize, about how they live, and the problems they face regarding healthcare.