We choose ... to improve health access in rural communities
When Diana Silimperi, M.D., settled in North Carolina’s Pamlico County in 2018, she saw some of the same challenges she’d observed over her career in global health. The rural county, which is home to around 12,000 residents in eastern North Carolina, has no hospital or specialized services, and many residents struggle to access care.
Silimperi, a pediatrician and a DGHI adjunct professor, saw an opportunity to bring new resources and energy to the county. With DGHI colleague Sumi Ariely, Ph.D., she launched a summer research program that pairs Duke undergraduate students with county health leaders to help them explore ways to improve services and expand access for remote and vulnerable populations. Now in its fourth year, the program has produced research and data that have helped the county evaluate interventions such as telehealth and traveling mobile health clinics. Students have also led campaigns to improve county residents’ preparations for natural disasters and raised awareness about health risks such as heart disease.
The project has opened doors to other Duke collaborations in Pamlico, including rotations of nursing students and possibly medical residents in the county health department. Silimperi and Ariely are now exploring ways to expand the model to other rural North Carolina counties that face similar health access challenges.
“It’s gratifying to have the chance to really embody service learning, which is what global health is about, and what Duke is all about — knowledge in the service of society,” Ariely says. “We do this in all our sites and it’s lovely to be able to do it here in our own state.”
Here’s our story about the most recent group of Duke students to spend the summer in Pamlico, and how they are continuing to build a mutually beneficial partnership with leaders in the county.