Ghana Platform
Dr. Andy Haig (left) receives a Kente cloth, commemorating the 50th anniversary of Ghana’s independence, from Samuel Cophie, perhaps the best Kente artist in the world. Kente cloth is a national art form in Ghana. Photo credit (both photos): Susio Ho, MD
(Above) A young boy at the Orthopedic Training Institute in Nsawam, one of the few rehabilitations facilities in the country when Dr. Haig began his tour of rehabilative services in Ghana several years ago. The Institute is run by an 80+ year old Catholic Brother, with most therapy and devices made by local people informally trained in their crafts.
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Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation Approximately ten years ago, Dr. Andy Haig and colleagues took an exploratory trip to Ghana that led to the creation of the Ghana Medical Rehabilitation Group. At the time, there were only six rehabiliation doctors in SubSaharan Africa and the use of more than 50 languages made it difficult to measure disability. The group developed scholarships to train physical therapists and created the Language Independent Functional Assessment (LIFE), which has now been validated on four continents and has shown that the prevalence of disability exceeds previous estimates. They have recently developed a proposal with Ghanaian policy makers to have a rehabilitation facility added to the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH). Two Ghanaian/American medical students, who have been mentored through their residencies in PM&R, will be taking the lead in Ghana.
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Access to Family Planning Services Sarah Rominski, MPH, Senior Research Associate at Global REACH, is working with colleagues in Ghana to explore the issues surrounding access to abortion care. With a small grant from the African Studies Center, she is conducting qualitative interviews with women seeking comprehensive abortion care or care for post-abortion complications, as well as healthcare providers and community members in and around Kumasi, Ghana. The goal is to investigate the reasons women choose to bypass the formal healthcare system and seek abortion services from untrained providers in unsafe locations, causing unnecessary death and disability.
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Ethnic Differences in Triple Negative Breast Cancer Dr. Lisa A. Newman, Professor of Surgery and Director, University of Michigan Breast Care Center, has focused much of her career on understanding the relationship between African ancestry and triple negative breast cancer. Dr. Newman was recognized for this work when she was chosen as one of The Detroit News’ Michiganians of the Year for 2012. (See Page 10 for more information.)
globalreach.med.umich.edu
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