Study Sites-Ong'ielo

So this is the second of the three sites, Ong'ielo. It is the second largest site we have and sees about 25% of the total patients daily. It has a long history of research as there is already a HIV CDC study on the ground and a GEM study (diarrhea). It is also a Ministry of Health run facility and like others very poorly understaffed. Surprisingly there is a lot of construction being done. A new maternal and child inpatient ward is being built along with offices. This is huge as Ong'ielo currently does not have any inpatient support.

Like Lwak, Ong'ielo is also a site for the seasonal influenza vaccine effectiveness study. Two nurses and one health facility recorder see approximately 20 kids a day ages 6 months to 10 years. The clinic has seen numbers as low as 10 and as high as 90.

Currently I am trying to get surveillance for respiratory illness off the ground here. It has proved challenging for many reasons. One it is hard to find participants as there are so many projects already on the ground. Two there is no free care. So if for instance a nurse says yes your child is ill and I recommend you get medication for him/her the parents must then pay for it at the dispensary (that is if they have the medication in stock). At Lwak this care is free. Lastly my staff....oh my staff. In general I love them. They are great people, very friendly, and open. I just don't know what it is with this site but its just chaotic, in general. So thus my surveillance tends to take a back burner. Maybe this week it'll turn around?

The pictures are of Ronald the health facility recorder at the site. He logs in the patients and takes their temperature. The second is of a group of kids who just thought my white skin was the coolest thing, that was until I took their picture.