Lindy Reynolds, MS, PhD(c)
Nominated From: University of Alabama
Research Site: Dhulikhel Hospital, Kathmandu University School of Medical Sciences
Research Area:Prehospital transportation & care / EMS of patients with injuries or CVD
Primary Mentors: Dr. Sadeep Shrestha, Dr. Archana Shrestha,
Research Project
Geospatial Analysis of Cardiovascular Disease & Pre-hospital care trends in Central Nepal
While in Nepal, I will be working on 2 separate projects that utilize geospatial analysis software. The first project is a secondary data analysis of the household location data for people enrolled in the Dhulikhel Heart Study, which is an ongoing prospective cohort study on the treatment and control of hypertension. The second project is on the prehospital transportation and care of people with injuries. Data on mode of transport, delay in seeking care, whether they received care prior to hospital arrival, injury mechanism, location and severity will be collected. The goal of both analyses is to first map the issues [1) where hypertension is controlled or not & other CVD-related morbidities 2) injury locations/mode of transport/delays in seeking care] to see where they are occurring. Next, we will assess whether there are hotspots of either issue, and, if so, are there particular social or environmental factors that might explain the existence of such hotspots which will be assessed using regression methods.
Research Significance
Severe CVD events and injuries are medical emergencies that require timely access to medical care, and of critical importance is quality pre-hospital care or emergency medical services (EMS). Early intervention for both of these conditions is critical and has been linked with reduced mortality and improved patient outcomes. In the absence of a cohesive & well-established EMS system, understanding where these medical emergencies or injuries are occurring could aid local stakeholders in making decisions that help the current EMS system operate more efficiently or in injury prevention efforts. Using GIS software will help us understand where things are occurring which might help us understand why things happened. Knowing where and why things happened is important because this knowledge could help in both prevention of such emergencies and the mitigation of the effects of these emergencies through access to timely & quality pre-hospital care.
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