MRes student Mihika tells us about her time on the TraPCAf project

What was your project title?

My project was “The non-motor characteristics of patients with idiopathic Parkinson's disease in the Hai district of northern Tanzania, focussing on mood and cognition”.  

Can you tell us about your time on the project? What did you enjoy? What did you learn?

I spent 3 months collecting data on non-motor Parkinson’s disease symptoms in the rural Hai district of northern Tanzania. We met and diagnosed people with Parkinson’s who graciously helped us with our research project.  

My favourite part was meeting and working with the entire TraPCAf team in Moshi, especially my fellow research students who made every day on the project an adventure!  

I learnt a lot about the Tanzanian healthcare system during my research degree. The drastic impact socioeconomic factors have on medicine is much larger than anything I have experienced within the context of the NHS. This added many considerations for us whilst organising clinics and putting sustainable long-term measures in place for patients with a chronic disease.                                                                                                                          

Do you have any advice for MRes students interested in the TraPCAf project?

Try to learn Swahili to the best of your ability - it will probably be your most useful skill when in the field!

Last modified: Fri, 04 Oct 2024 12:23:51 BST