Uganda Plan

Hello Everyone!

This is our first official blog post. It is a month and a bit until we leave for Uganda.

Woohoo! Below you will find the proposal for our trip.

Hopefully it will give you a better understanding of what we plan to accomplish while we are in Uganda.

Talk to you later,

Jo-Anna and Sarah

Research Proposal:

Nutritional evaluation of children with and without angulatory bone deformity in two regions of Uganda

Hypothesis:

Angulatory bone deformity is caused by nutritional calcium deficiency.

Research has shown that angulatory bone deformities can be traced to insufficient micronutrient consumption. Given that dietary micronutrient deficiencies are a major source of morbidity worldwide, we postulate that malnutrition might be important in the incidence of angular deformities and intend to perform research in the form of a survey at a community level in Uganda.

Research Plan:

We plan to survey the nutritional habits of children ages ten and below in two Ugandan districts, Mbarara and Kumi. In Mbarara, a district with both urban and rural centres, an important food staple is matoke. Contrastingly, in Kumi, a primarily rural district, sorghum and millet serve as dietary staples. We will look at children with and without angulatory bone deformities to determine whether children in these two districts have different or prejudiced dietary characteristics.

We will further review typical households in each of the districts to ascertain dietary characteristics, caloric intake, and micronutrient intake of children under age ten. Specific reference will be made to vitamins A and D and calcium. Further evaluation of children under age ten with angulatory bone deformities with regards to dietary characteristics will be conducted.

We plan to spend two months in each location. While in Uganda, we will hire community based rehabilitation (CBR) workers as translators and presume the research will be undertaken within existing CBR projects. We will be self financed and will cover any local costs, including translators.

Goal:

Based on our results, we hope to submit a scientific paper for publication providing evidence for the role of micronutrient deficiency in angulatory bone deformity. Within the publication, we will make feasible suggestions for the dietary needs of children in order that they might obtain proper nutrients in a socio-culturally acceptable and geographically viable manner. We will also prepare nutritional pamphlets and a thorough diet proposal for distribution to physicians, medical workers, and caregivers in Uganda. Our aim would be to educate and increase caregiver awareness of the relationship between angulatory bone deformity and malnutrition.