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Social Impact : 17 year old Student is on Mission to Spread Awareness and End Stigma about Urinary Incontinence In women
India
healthysoch
New Delhi, October 24, 2023:
Anya Chaudhary, a 17 year old student residing in New Delhi. With a passion for equity and curiosity about healthcare spends time probing society for gaps within it, with a quest to bridge them.
Seeing female urinary incontinence occur within her family and be quietly and reluctantly discussed, She began raising questions about the issue, and why it is surrounded by stigma. Via research, she came to find that women were severely hesitant to seek well available treatment for an issue that was hampering their daily life, their social capacity, and their confidence. And this hesitance was caused by lack of awareness and stigma. While several studies on the topic had been conducted across the globe and in rural parts of India, there were no studies on the urban demographic of immediate community, despite the deep-rooted stigma I observed in it.
This led her to pursue further research and initiate an awareness campaign, “Our Health Matters” to bring light to the many female health issues that go unaddressed, and encourage people to discuss and seek treatment for them. She conducted workshops in neighborhood recreation centers and through online events, and had a deeply fulfilling experience of conversing with people in her community, and witnessing their joy as they came to believe in open discussion, even about problems they had always known to be taboo. Following these workshops, She came to hear that many participants of these events had gone on to seek treatment for urinary incontinence and other urogynecology related problems.
Furthermore, with all due ethical consideration, She collected data from these workshops and wrote a research paper on the trends of awareness and stigma surrounding female urinary incontinence, and effective methods to improve societal perception of women’s health issues. Her paper was published in SSRG International Journal of Medical Sciences, and received the British Science Association’s Crest Gold Award.
Anya Chaudhary says “ Through a deeply enriching and productive experience, not only did I developed a tighter bond with community, I also took first step towards my dream of global health equity. I hope to continue with this endeavor in the future and develop similar and more evolved projects as I further my education.”
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