Sarah Hamid - American Somoa

Internship location: Faga’alu, American Samoa
Career goal: To work in global public health to improve the health of underserved populations through evidence-based interventions
Internship summary:
I traveled to American Samoa on a Downs Fellowship and collaborated with a research team from Brown University on a community health worker diabetes control and management intervention. My primary goal was to determine whether the community health worker model was associated with a reduction in costly hospital encounters. Every day, I took the brightly colored island bus to the LBJ Tropical Medical Center, where I abstracted hospital utilization data from the medical record system.
Value of experience:
My internship gave me the opportunity to address a pressing public health problem and to apply my classroom learning of epidemiologic research methods. Carrying out an independent research project also enhanced my awareness of the challenges and limitations of public health research, especially in a low-resource setting. Furthermore, my internship provided both a practical and a cultural experience, offering insight into the health care system in American Samoa and the ways in which cultural beliefs influence perceptions of health and illness.
Best moment:
I had a rich cultural experience in American Samoa. I ate Samoan food prepared in an umu (earth oven), hiked through the jungle, spotted whales off the coast and participated in National Health Center Week.
Sarah Hamid
Field director Jesse Damon and community health workers for “Diabetes Care in American Samoa” set up for National Health Center Week at the Tafuna Family Health Center.
Sarah Hamid
Principal investigator Dr. Stephen McGarvey and field director Jesse Damon prepare lab samples for shipment to Rhode Island.
Sarah Hamid
A community health worker discusses patient care with a physician at Tafuna Family Health Center.
Sarah Hamid
Working to abstract data at my workstation in Lyndon B. Johnson Tropical Medical Center‘s primary care clinic.
Sarah Hamid
The fruit stand next to my bus stop was a convenient place to buy papayas and red bananas.
Sarah Hamid
A typical Samoan dish: umu (roasted breadfruit, fried reef fish and roast chicken); palusami (taro leaves cooked in coconut cream with onions); pisupo (canned corned beef); and breadfruit salad.