Goals of Research

Attention: open in a new window. PDFPrintE-mail

Evidence based medicine means knowing your patients. PODEMOS strives to understand the complex intersection of culture, environment and individuality that characterizes the medical need of the patients we serve. By collecting data on health perceptions, epidemiology and demographics of the communities we serve, we hope to achieve a higher standard of care and constantly improve the way we provide it. In this section you will find information about our original needs assessment and ways we hope to translate data into better health. 

Our initial data collection was based on four standardized survey tools. The surveys were done in the communities within the privacy of the interviewees home. The thematic content of the surveys was divided between:

  • Epidemiology: systems-based questions, preventative health
  • Ethnographic: barriers to healthcare, resources available, potential solutions
  • Women’s Health: pregnancies, perinatal health, preventive health
  • Biometric screening: Heights and weights of children, and plasma blood sugar and blood pressure of adults.