1.

I joined the Impact Fellowship program because my given project choice combined both of my areas of interest; health and technology. The AI Strengthening Healthcare Access, or AISHA, project gave me the prospect of expanding my knowledge on AI technology as well as how it can be used to further healthcare systems in developing nations. My major is in Population Health, and I have a minor in Data Science, so I saw this as the perfect opportunity to combine both of these things. Furthermore, the opportunity to gain real world experience through fieldwork over the summer is something that is only attainable within this setting. I have never gained research experience in this closely worked setting, and it is something that is very useful for the future when I enter the workforce, since working in teams is a big part of every job. Learning in this way, and being with a team motivated me to join the Impact Fellowship, as it seemed like a truly unique experience to gain during my college experience.

2.

Population health is a convergent science, meaning that it combines many aspects from many different fields. There are areas of research ranging from health policy to disease forecasting to program planning. Since there are multiple niches one can go into with this major, I believe that the Impact Fellowship will help in developing this. For instance, in my case it would be seeing how much an impact technology can make in the healthcare sphere. In addition, population health involves coming up with creative solutions to complex problems. This is a very similar premise to what the Impact Fellowship tries to do in developing nations with these problems we are trying to help solve. I believe that through this fellowship, I will gain the knowledge to tackle different issues and come up with creative solutions as also needed as a population health student.

3.

This is a very complex problem, so I I think there should be a division on the section of the major philanthropic and non-governmental organizations specifically for this issue. For example, these could include the World Health Organization, the Gates Foundation, the World Bank, and so on. First, you would need to find the major rural areas where the minimal access to eyeglasses are, potentially through data collection, and then use these areas to start with. By starting in these extremely rural areas, you know that it would work from bottom up as opposed to top down. Trying to implement something in an area with more resources to moving to a more remote area would make the job very difficult. Therefore, going from most in need/rural to less would seem to make the most sense. You would use these areas as a playing ground or map, and then, if done successfully, implement it in other areas as well. As a test run, these organizations could deploy teams of doctors and create pop-up free clinics. At these clinics free healthcare services would be provided and the needed resources would be given. In addition to the basic resources, back-up resources could be given such as multiple glasses in case one breaks or gets lost. These clinics would have to run every 6 months or so as a check-up precaution to make sure the given glasses or other resources are working well as intended. If the first phase of regions seem to be doing well, then the next phase can be implemented until all or at least most of the regions’ programs are fully running. Based on the program, accommodations or adjustments can be made to support the areas need.