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Sara.Till

The majority of information in the report comes from interviews performed by Dr. Good himself while on a medical trip in the Middle East. The article also includes stories and tales from other professionals as well; as such, the report encompasses not just experiences with epilepsy in the Middle East, but a multitude of diseases among unique cultural settings. 

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tamar.rogoszinski

The article is published in the Japanese Journal of Clinical Oncology. It is meant for clinical oncologists and publishes articles on medical oncology, clinical trials, radiology, surgery, basic research, epidemiology, and palliative care. It was established in 1971 and is the first journal from Japan to publish clinical research on cancer in English. Since 1977, JJCO is a sister-journal to the Journal of the National Cancer Institute and is linked through Oxford Journals. 

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tamar.rogoszinski

This PDF does not include the bibliography, but it is clear that a lot of the work is original due to his traveling and conducting of research. His citatiosn throughout the chapter indicate that he did reference other knowledgable and notable anthropologists and their work helped frame his argument. 

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Sara.Till

The article appears to be a compilation of ethnographic work from various humanitarian organizations in the US, France, and Morocco. The author had first-hand experience working on projects with these organizations at these locations, and thus utilizes this perspective for the majority of the work. She supplements her assertions with data from other recent publications from these organizations, studies by independent researchers, and media analysis. 

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tamar.rogoszinski
    1. “…large­-scale social forces—racism, gender inequality, poverty, political violence and war, and sometimes the very policies that address them—often determine who falls ill and who has access to care.”
    2. "the holy grail of modern medicine remains the search for the molecular basis of disease."
    3. "In some senses, the model is simple: clinical and community barriers to care are removed as diagnosis and treatment are declared a public good and made available free of charge to patients living in poverty."
    4. "The poor are the natural constituents of public health, and physicians ... are the natural attourneys of the poor."

     

     

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    Sara.Till

    Information provided by the AWSD (Aid Worker Security Database), there were 251 individual attacks in 2013. This, and the subsequent 460 workers involved or affected, is in no way separated according to the aid work the individuals participated in. Thus, all 251 attacks may have been aimed at health care clinics, but only 50 of those injured may have been health care workers; the rest may have been members of peacekeeping forces. Further more, which members of the health care system are being harmed is extremely useful in future aid endeavors. Knowing who is targeted or particularly vulnerable could make the difference in the next incident.

    Moreover, any data that is available can be difficult or complicated to obtain. Outside of the nuances of procuring data from different corporations or foundations, many organizations have individual categories for reporting incidents. They may even have different definitions of attacks and incidents-- eerily similar to how German and US officials view sexual assault in different lenses (German officials may often be disinclined to act unless penetration occurs, while US officials have been known to prosecute or bring charges for offenses such as groping).

    These definition differences may also lead to an under reporting of incidents. While most available data contains information about abductions or fatalities, very little data can be accessed pertaining to threats or obstructions. This may also color how and what aid workers report; knowing that an incident did not culminate in a kidnapping or death may lead workers to be less inclined to report these issues, for fear of not being taken seriously. Aid workers may also feel that, during some stressful circumstances, reporting something that could be constituted as "mild" would only be a waste of time and resource. 

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    tamar.rogoszinski
    1. I first looked up travel to and from Liberia during the Ebola outbreak, since it had been seized. There was a ban, which has since been lifted after, but people coming to and from West Africa are still screened and recommended to visit physicians. As of mid-2015 there wa still a 21 day monitoring period needed. http://www.infectioncontroltoday.com/news/2015/05/cdc-downgrades-travel…'
    2. I was interested if there had been any progress on treatment for Ebola, but found that the main form of treatment is supportive care. Doctors are informed to provide IV fluid and ensure that the patient's immune response and other bodily functions are functioning properly. A vaccine is being worked on but has not gone through a trial to prove safety and effectiveness. https://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/treatment/index.html
    3. I looked further into the vaccine being produced for Ebola. Currently, there is a combined phase 2 and phase 3 trial occurring in Sierra Leone called STRIVE (Sierra Leone Trial to Introduce a Vaccine against Ebola). The study is unblinded, so patients know whether or not they have received the vaccine. The vaccine is a rVSV-ZEBOV, or recombinant Vesicular Stomatitis Virus Zaire ebolavirus vaccine. This vaccine is also being used in phase 2 and phase 3 trials in Guinea and Liberia http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/strive/qa.html