Julia Moore Reflection – Implementing sustainable adapted feeding devices in Uganda

Julia Moore is a College of Health Professions student at MUSC. She was awarded a Center for Global Health Student & Trainee Travel Grant in early 2024 to pursue a project in Masindi, Uganda. View more photos of her time in Uganda in this Flickr photo gallery.

The week I spent in Uganda had a profound impact on my personal and professional life and I hope to even scratch the surface with this post. Our week began with a tour of the Masindi-Kitara Hospital which is the facility that OneWorld Health partners with. My perspective and expectations were opened when we got to see the incredible growth in size, resources, technology, and manpower staffing the hospital. A team of Ugandan doctors and other medical professionals from Masindi-Kitara joined our team of 26 throughout our week of clinical outreach. The OneWorld Health team comprised of physicians, nurses, physician assistants, pharmacists, occupational therapy, and physical therapy, as well as us students.

The mission of OneWorld Health is to provide sustainable healthcare to those in need and to see communities empowered to bring about long-term improvements in healthcare and quality of life. It is incredible to see these values shining in Uganda. The love, passion, and dedication that the Masindi-Kitara providers have is evident in their pursuit of education and collaboration with our team from the states. The work they put in behind the scenes to spread the word of our clinical pop-ups, organize and set up the schools we worked in, transport materials and resources from the hospital, and organize the long lines of people waiting for care was proof of their drive towards this mission.

We drove out to three different rural towns across Uganda during the week. Upon arrival, you would see long lines of people waiting; many of whom slept in line over night to ensure they would receive care from our team. Over the course of the week, we treated over 1,000 patients ranging from newborns to some over 80 years old, but unfortunately still had to turn people away each day. The flow of clinic began in triage with nurses, moved into the physicians room where they recorded chief complaints and referred out to therapy, pharmacy, family planning, or a combination of these three.

In the therapy room we saw diagnoses ranging from machete wounds, cerebral palsy, hydrocephalus, seizure disorders, healed non-union fractures, elephantiasis, and joint pain. We held many back pain clinics to educate individuals on proper body mechanics while working in the fields, as it is the norm for Ugandans to bend at the hips with straight knees, to carry heavy baskets on top of their heads, to carry children on their backs, and to work from sunrise to sunset. Each morning on the way to clinic, we were educated by a local Ugandan on the culture, language, values, and daily lives of the villagers. We were able to use this information to meet the needs of our patients and provide them culturally relevant treatments and therapy techniques to continue to work on at home. We were able to provide proper footwear, wheelchairs, walkers, crutches, and wound care kits to help individuals integrate back into the community after forced estrangement due to varying diagnoses.

My project comprised of making sustainable adapted feeding utensils for children with cerebral palsy and further education to the Ugandan occupational therapist staffed at Masindi-Kitara Hospital, David. We were able to work with six children and their families to provide these devices and help the children gain independence in self-feeding. Over the course of the week, I was able to equip these children with the tools to be able to feed themselves independently for the first time in their lives. I will never forget the smiles on the faces of the children and their parents after witnessing this incredible milestone that they never imagined possible.

Our days ended in prayer with families and individuals seeking us out for care, playing with the young children that stayed at clinic all day, and hearing stories from people of all ages. I will never forget the smiles that light up their kind faces or the gratitude that these individuals felt for our care. I cherish the relationships I built with the local Ugandans and the rest of my team from the states. I have been empowered to continue to participate in medical mission trips throughout my career and to help sponsor others to as well. The love, warmth, and compassion I felt during that week left a giant mark on my heart and I feel incredibly lucky to have been given the opportunity for this trip by MUSC.