Site Selection Trip to Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province

From 15-21 August 2018, CCOUC gathered a team of seven members to various counties (Chenduo, Nangqian and Yushu) in Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Qinghai Province, China. The aim of the trip was to select potential sites and explore the feasibility of mobile communication technology assisting health education interventions in the community. To understand the context of the various villages, stakeholder interviews were conducted with clinic/village doctors, school headmasters and local non-governmental organisations. Specific topics asked include local demographic information, personal and household Internet and mobile device coverage, specific health education needs and the best months for potential future health educations. Field observations of three village households and two school clinics were also conducted to examine electricity supply and water, sanitation and hygiene infrastructure, as well as any local Tibetan context to be taken into account for future trips. In particular, the nomadic tradition and the high-altitude environment were noted for considering the timing for deploying future interventions.

In addition to the village site visits, the CCOUC team also visited two community-level clinics to get a further understanding on the healthcare system level and how various healthcare workers were trained. Furthermore, the team also met community health workers to further reinforce relationships for partnerships and site selection. Local health concerns that were raised from this trip include puberty management (especially for girls), the burden of infectious and non-communicable diseases and over-consumption of processed foods.