Evaluating ASANTE

Anne so eloquently recapped a lovely weekend... And so briefly, the first installment of a topic that I really hope will have many future installments. Months ago while wandering around Boston, Anne & I first tackled the subject of a research project here in Eldoret. Fewer months ago, my friend Philip Owiti & I kicked off an email correspondence regarding the same. I first met Philip on one of my very first days on the wards here in Eldoret two years ago, and then again when he did an overseas rotation of his own at Brown last spring.

Shortly before leaving Providence, we received the go-ahead from the IRB at Brown to begin a study interviewing Kenyan medical students, asking them to reflect on their experiences with visiting American students and physicians & soliciting suggestions for improvements to the IU-Kenya Partnership... today also known as the ASANTE Consortium. Philip had done a great deal of heavy lifting to keep things moving over here in the meantime. The IREC (the IRB on the Kenyan side) has yet to give us the green light... and realistically, may prove to be an obstacle we just can't get around. Nonetheless, Anne, Philip & I took part in an excellent discussion with a "focus group" of Moi medical students today. They dissected our goals, plans and questions. They provided an enormous amount of very thoughtful feedback. They delicately pointed out those areas where I remain entirely clueless.

We will again submit our IREC application tomorrow. Until we hear back and while we check in at the IREC office each day, I will look forward to posting something other than waiting to hear and continuing to check in. Halafu, tutafurahi... And, one more Sunrise photo,

Joe