Completing all of our surveys was an incredible feeling for our entire research team. We filled nearly 500 patient surveys and 100 practitioner surveys, which exceeded our goal. We completed our last surveys in the communities Manabao and Los Dajaos going house to house and in various community centers. We ended our last day of surveying at a community meeting in a beautiful eco-center in Los Dajaos, where we got to here some of the community members daily obstacles, accomplishments, and suggestions for bettering life in Jarabacoa.
Once all of the surveys were completed, we began the arduous task of data entry. We decided to use the REDcap server, and spend a day re-creating the survey online. This was by no means my favorite part of our study. Entering a lengthy survey question by question was certainly tedious, however the scoring was interesting and gave us our first insight into the outcome of our study. Entering into REDcap will ultimately make data analyses much easier for us, and hopefully expedite that process.
What we noticed while entering the surveys was a great deal of depression and depressive symptoms. There were certainly occurrences of other illnesses, and while no data has been analyzed yet, this definitely stood out to me. I hope that I will be able to continue partnering with our incredible team in Jarabacoa, and continue to help in their pursuits of more adequate mental healthcare for their community. Though again data has not been analyzed, it is already clear that the need is present, and better care for the incredible community I have come to love over the last month and a half, is a must.
