January–December 2005
Over the next decade, 50 million people will die from HIV/ AIDS, while the number of people requiring medical care will become even larger. Sub-Saharan African agencies are already overwhelmed, as they attempt to cope with the enormous burdens placed on healthcare, which has created increasing demand for home-based care models. To facilitate in-home care, outdated paper-based data tracking is being replaced by more powerful computerbased record keeping, which allows for more accurate, timely reporting on patient populations. Working with the 60 Community Home-Based Care (CHBC) programs of the Catholic Archdiocese in Lusaka, Zambia, the OpenHealth project helped digitize records in the form of a database with a Web-based front end allowing data entry and record analysis. The combined efforts of U.S.-based nonprofits and local community healthcare have enhanced the care of over 20,000 patients.
Student Participants: Will DelHagen, Chris Emig, Joaquin Blaya, Carter Powers, Rohit Gupta, Aye Moah, Christy Eng, Jon Jackson, Zach Malchano, Tim Heidel, Christina DeFelippo, Samatha Goldstein, Nadya Oertelt, Alisa Rhee, Raja Bobilli