What Makes Our Program Unique?
The coursework integrates science and nutrition by building a strong foundation in biology, physiology, and chemistry while also educating students in metabolism, pathophysiology, pharmacology, and complex diet and disease relationships. With guided mentoring, students can easily achieve all of the necessary prerequisite requirements for admission into medical, dental and other pre-professional schools and be prepared to take applicable entrance exams.
Nutrition and Medical Sciences majors interested in pursuing post-undergraduate programs work with a department advisor and the Center for Health Professions Studies to map their coursework and experiential learning for admission to medical, dental, pharmacy, PA, OT and PT schools.
For students whose goal is to attend Medical School should visit UD’s Pre-Med website for more information. Students on this path are evaluated by the Health Science Advisement and Evaluation Committee (HSAEC), which provides a University of Delaware recommendation to medical institutions of the student’s choosing.
The Nutrition and Medical Sciences major provides students with numerous opportunities to gain healthcare or clinically-related experiential learning and volunteer opportunities in a variety of settings.
Career Opportunities and Graduate Paths for Nutrition and Medical Sciences Major Graduates
The BS in Nutrition and Medical Sciences degree includes course offerings which include Nutrition and Gastroenterology, Medical Nutrition Therapy, and Culinary Medicine, which can be helpful preparation for those interested in pursuing medical specialties in gastroenterology & nutrition, lifestyle medicine, integrative health or Board Certification in Nutrition.
- Employment: upon graduation, students with a BS in Nutrition and Medical Sciences may find work immediately in related scientific and pharmaceutical fields, the food industry, academia, research, public health or public policy
- Continuing Graduate Education: students with a BS in Nutrition and Medical Sciences may decide to pursue additional higher education:
- Graduate school
- Medical school
- Physician Assistant Program
- Dental school
- PharmD program
- Occupational Therapy program
- Physical Therapy program
- Accelerated Nursing program
- Genetic counseling program
Curriculum
The Nutrition and Medical Sciences curriculum is designed to allow students to take all of the necessary prerequisite courses for admission into their chosen pre-health profession or graduate education pathway and prepare for entrance exams, while obtaining a strong background in nutrition science.
To earn a Bachelor of Science degree, students must complete a minimum of 120 credits and meet specific requirements as outlined in the University of Delaware Catalog. The average number of credits per semester ranges from 14-17 credits; winter and summer sessions can help to lighten the load of regular semesters.
In addition to working directly with their Advisor, students can access the Center for Health Profession Studies for further advice and peer mentorship.
Students considering careers in medicine may also be interested in the 4+4 Medical Scholars Program.
In an ideal world, everybody would get the nutrients they need from their diet, but it can be difficult to eat healthily all of the time.
Medical nutritionist Dr Naomi Newman-Beinart (PhD) said: "In a time where our diets are dominated by the convenience of fast foods and processed foods, it’s unlikely that everyone can easily meet their daily requirements of vitamins and minerals."
Yet, when it comes to supplementation, there are three "must-have" daily supplements Dr Newman-Beinart would recommend.
"Many of the UK’s population are deficient in Vitamin D, which is vital for bone health, mood and the immune system," said Dr Newman-Beinart.
"This is essential through autumn and winter especially, but can be helpful for some people to take all year round."
Those most vulnerable to a vitamin D deficiency include those who mostly stay indoors, the elderly, and those who have darker skin.
"I recommend the BetterYou D 1000 IU Oral Spray because BetterYou use science-backed intra-oral spray technology that delivers the active ingredient through the cheek."
Dr Newman-Beinart also recommended iodine supplementation, which is important for the production of thyroid hormones.
She elaborated: "This is especially important for women, because as they get older, they are more likely than men to struggle with low thyroid hormone levels.
"This often leads to problems such as low energy, constipation, and weight gain, to name a few.
"I love Doctor Seaweed’s vegan and organic ‘Weed and Wonderful’ Hebridean Ascophyllum seaweed capsules."
Dr Newman-Beinart is also a fan of magnesium supplementation, as the mineral could help with mood, anxiety, sleep, and bone health.
"You can get magnesium from foods including leafy greens, seeds, beans, fish, avocados and bananas, but as we all know, it’s not always easy to have the perfect diet," said Dr Newman-Beinart.
"Luckily, BetterYou has a fantastic range of transdermal magnesium, which science has shown to be more effective than oral supplements."
Dr Newman-Beinart suggested trying BetterYou’s Magnesium Bath Flakes, which are a highly concentrated form of magnesium.
If you are taking medication, do speak to your local pharmacist or doctor before taking supplements.
Dr Naomi Newman-Beinart is a Nutritionist (BSc) and a Specialist in Health Psychology (PhD).
How do I make an appointment to see the registered dietitian?
What should I expect at my first appointment?
Expect to spend about an hour with the registered dietitian during your first visit, and please arrive 15 minutes early to fill out some paperwork. The dietitian will spend some time getting to know you and learning about your current eating habits and health goals. Together, you will create and implement a concrete plan to enhance your diet and Excellerate your nutrition status. After all, we all know a lot about nutrition but it can be harder to follow through and make healthy dining choices, especially when you are a busy student. Your nutrition action plan will be tailored to your life and your needs.
How can I best prepare for my appointment?
Prepare to have your nutrition questions answered! Think about your nutrition questions and concerns ahead of time. Go ahead and write them down. provide some thought as to how you would like to feel physically, and how your dietary choices might need to be fine-tuned.
What should I bring to the appointment?
If possible, track everything you eat and drink over 2 weekdays and 1 weekend day. Feel free to bring any food packages, nutrition or supplement labels, or website resources that you have questions about.
What’s the difference between a registered dietitian and a nutritionist?
Anyone can call themselves a nutritionist, even if they have no training or experience. A registered dietitian, on the other hand, is a true nutrition expert who has at least a 4-year degree in nutrition or dietetics, has at least 1200 hours of supervised practice from an accredited internship, has passed the Registration Examination for Dietitians, and completes annual continuing education. All registered dietitians are nutritionists, but not all nutritionists are registered dietitians! A registered dietitian is uniquely qualified to practice medical nutrition therapy for those students with medical diagnoses and eating struggles.
The Cowell Center’s Student Health Services registered dietitian translates nutrition science into practical, evidence-based dietary strategies. Cowell's registered dietitian will work with your medical provider or therapist to ensure that you are receiving comprehensive care.
Doctor explains how magnesium can aid sleep
In terms of poor sleep and low mood, Dr Newman-Beinart recognised that diet, exercise and self-care can really help Excellerate matters.
But she empathised it can be difficult to stay on top of all of this whilst not feeling quite yourself.
Thus, a quick way to help yourself is to take a magnesium supplement, Dr Newman-Beinart revealed.
She said: "Magnesium is needed for every cell in your body to function at its best.
"The science shows that magnesium can support mood, anxiety, sleep, hormone levels and bone health, to name just a few of the benefits."
Delving into the essential human need for sleep, Dr Newman-Beinart stated: "Magnesium may support better sleep by regulating your circadian rhythm.
"Plus, it can support muscle relaxation, which can help your body and mind feel ready for sleep.
"The benefits of magnesium for sleep have been supported by science, where researchers have found that people with low magnesium intake tend to sleep less and have poorer quality sleep."
Dr Newman-Beinart moved on to mood, with research showing that people low in magnesium had a higher rate of depression.
Dr Newman-Beinart said: "One study found that over 80 percent of postmenopausal women had low blood levels of magnesium, and those women were more likely to report that they were depressed.”
"Magnesium is necessary for regulating mood," said Dr Newman-Beinart, who also advises those struggling with their mood to cut out alcohol.
"Another fantastic benefit of supplementing with magnesium is that it helps to control heart muscle contractions, supporting a healthy heart," she stated.
"In support of this, a large study of over 3,700 postmenopausal women found that women with higher magnesium levels showed less inflammatory markers relating to heart disease, suggesting that they had better heart health."
Before taking any type of supplement, it's best to check with your doctor or local pharmacist that it is safe for you to do so, based on your medical history.
For those who have been given the go-ahead by their doctor or local pharmacist to take magnesium supplementation may also benefit in other ways.
Dr Newman-Beinart added that magnesium could help with symptoms of pre-menstrual syndrome and Excellerate bone health.
Foods sources of magnesium include:
- Nuts
- Legumes
- Avocados
- Seeds
- Wholegrains.
RDN Education and Professional Requirements
- Complete a bachelor’s degree* granted by a university accredited by a USDE-recognized accrediting agency (or foreign equivalent)
- Complete coursework accredited or approved by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND) of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Our program type is a Didactic Program in Dietetics (DPD). Upon successful completion of DPD coursework, individuals will be provided a copy of the DPD Verification Statement.
- Complete supervised practice (Dietetic Internship) in an accredited dietetics program at a health-care facility, community agency, or a foodservice corporation or combined with undergraduate studies. Typically, a supervised practice program will run six to twelve months in length.
- Pass the national registration exam for dietetics administered by the Commission on Dietetic Registration. For a full list of other options to be eligible to sit in the registration exam, visit the Commission on Dietetic Registration’s (CDR) website.
- Complete continuing professional educational requirements to maintain registration.
* Effective January 1, 2024, the Commission on Dietetic Registration will require a minimum of a master’s degree to be eligible for the credentialing exam to become a registered dietitian nutritionist.
Some RDNs hold additional certifications in their specialized areas of practice. The Commission on Dietetic Registration offers Board Certification as a Specialist in Pediatric, Renal, Gerontological, Pediatric Critical Care, and Oncology Nutrition, as well as Sports Dietetics and Obesity and Weight Management. Board Certification is granted in recognition of an applicant's documented practice experience and successful completion of an examination in the specialty area.
Pathways to be an RDN
Several options exist to meet the RDN Registration Eligibility. Find more information at the Academy Find accredited programs here. Some options are listed below:
Option: Didactic Programs in Dietetics (DPD) + Dietetic Internships (DI)
This pathway requires completion of 2 programs. First, completion of accredited Didactic Program in Dietetics (classroom coursework) and then completion of accredited dietetic internship (supervised practice).
Accredited DPD programs can include undergraduate, graduate, or postgraduate coursework. Sacramento State DPD is at the undergraduate (Dietetics Concentration) and postbaccalaureate level. DPD Verification Statement is received after program completion.
Option: Coordinated Program in Dietetics (CP)
This path involves undergraduate or graduate level coursework and 1000 hours of dietetic internship that makes one eligible for RDN exam. Also known as combined program.
Option: Graduate Program in Nutrition and Dietetics (GP)
This path involves graduate level coursework and 1000 hours of dietetic internship that makes one eligible for the RDN exam.
DPD Verification Statement is generally not required for admission. However, common prerequisites include courses that one would take for their DPD coursework. Examples include Nutrition and Metabolism; General Bio; 1 year of General Chem with lab; Organic Chem with lab; Biochemistry; Physiology with lab; Microbiology with lab; Psychology; Statistics OR DPD Verification Statement in lieu of these courses. Programs might require GPA to be at least 3.0.
RDN Licensure Requirement
The state of California does not require licensure to practice. However, in most states, graduates must also obtain licensure or certification to practice. Visit the CDR webpage on licensure for more information.
Computer Matching Process
Most applicants for supervised practice complete a web-based application service, Dietetics Inclusive Centralized Application Services (DICAS) to apply to multiple programs by completing a single online application.
D&D Digital is a web-based service that matches supervised practice applicants to dietetic internships each spring and fall based on both the applicants’ and programs’ ranked order of preference.
More information about DICAS and D&D Digital can be found here.
CDR RDN Credentialing Examination
After successfully completing the eligibility requirements and being validated by CDR, individuals are eligible to take the registration examination for dietitians. Information about the RDN exam process, including frequently asked questions, can be found here. To know more about the RDN test specifications, study outline, exam handbook for candidates, exam preparation, and to purchase a study guide ($ 50) click here.
NDTR Education and Professional Requirements
- Earn an associate degree and specific curriculum requirements OR complete a bachelor's degree from an accredited dietetics program such as California State University, Sacramento Didactic Program in Dietetics
- Pass a national exam for NDTRs
NDTR Credential and Career Options
DPD graduates who earn the NDTR credential can obtain positions in food service management, clinical nutrition care in hospitals, long-term care, community nutrition, supermarket/retail, school nutrition, wellness and other settings and gain valuable work experience. NDTRs provide quality clinical nutrition care under the supervision of an RDN and are versatile employees who have been trained in food service and clinical aspects of nutrition management and care.
Click the links below for more information.
Careers in Dietetics
Dietetics is the science and art of applying the principles of food and nutrition to health. It is a vital, growing profession with many career possibilities. Whichever option you choose, you will share your knowledge of food and nutrition to help people make healthful food choices.
Registered dietitian nutritionists work in a wide variety of employment settings, including health care, business and industry, community/public health, education, research, government agencies and private practice.
Many work environments, particularly those in medical and health-care settings, require that an individual be credentialed as an RDN. RDNs work in:
- Hospitals, HMO's or other health-care facilities, educating patients about nutrition and administering medical nutrition therapy as part of the health-care team. They may also manage the foodservice operations in these settings, as well as in schools, day-care centers and correctional facilities, over-seeing everything from food purchasing and preparation to managing staff.
- Sports nutrition and corporate wellness programs, educating clients about the connection between food, fitness and health.
- Food and nutrition-related business and industries, working in communications, consumer affairs, public relations, marketing, product development or consulting with chefs in restaurants and culinary schools.
- Private practice,working under contract with health-care or food companies, or in their own business. RDNs may provide services to foodservice or restaurant managers, food vendors and distributors or athletes, nursing home residents or company employees.
- Community and public health settings,teaching, monitoring and advising the public and helping Excellerate their quality of life through healthy eating habits.
- Universities and medical centers,teaching physician’s assistants, nurses, dietetics students, dentists and others the sophisticated science of foods and nutrition.
- Research areas in food and pharmaceutical companies, universities and hospitals directing or conducting experiments to answer critical nutrition questions and find alternative foods or nutrition recommendations for the public.
Job Compensation & Outlook
RDN Job Compensation & Outlook
According to the 2021 Compensation & Benefits Survey of the Dietetics Profession, among all practicing RDNs in all positions, the national median full-time salary of RDNs is $72,000 per year.
Median salary in the Pacific region is $83,000 per year. RDN salaries and fees vary by the level of education or degree earned, region of the country, area of employment, additional Certifications, scope of responsibility. Salaries increase with years of experience and many RDNs, particularly those in the management and executive leadership, consultation and business, and education and research, can earn incomes of $100,000 or higher.
Specific work settings for which median hourly wages are highest include pharmaceutical or nutrition products manufacturer, distributor, or retailer ($45.67); food or equipment manufacturer, distributor, or retailer ($44.71); contract food management company ($41.66); college, university, or academic medical center ($40.97).
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment of dietitians and nutritionists is projected to grow 7% from 2021-2031, as fast as the average for all occupations. In accurate years, interest in the role of food and nutrition in promoting health and wellness has increased, particularly as a part of preventative healthcare in medical settings and a growing and aging population and public interest in nutrition.
NDTR Job Compensation
The 2021 Compensation & Benefits Survey of the Dietetics Profession indicates that the median total cash compensation for NDTRs employed in the position full time for at least one year is $49,900. Years of work experience, responsibility level, education level and highest degree earned, specialty certifications including Certified Dietary Manager, Certified Food Protection Professional, increase job compensation.
Vitamins and minerals can support a person's health, as can antioxidants. Antioxidants are natural or human-made substances that play a role in some cases of cell damage prevention or delay. Read on to learn more.
Stephen Lux / Getty Images
Antioxidants are molecules present in the body and found in plant-based foods that counteract oxidative stress. Oxidative stress happens when there are more free radicals in the body but fewer antioxidants available to remove them.
The oxidative stress triggered by free radicals damages healthy cells and is thought to play a role in a variety of diseases, including:
Antioxidants work to protect healthy cells from free radical attacks. By doing so, they help maintain proper physiological function and guard your health.
There are two major types of antioxidants: endogenous and exogenous.
Endogenous Antioxidants
Endogenous antioxidants are ones that the body can produce. They can exist as enzymes, such as catalase (CAT), or in non-enzyme forms like bilirubin or uric acid.
Exogenous Antioxidants
Antioxidants considered to be exogenous are ones that the body can't produce. These are the antioxidants most people may be familiar with, as they have to come from food. Examples of exogenous antioxidants include:
- Phytochemicals, such as polyphenols or flavonoids
- Trace elements, including selenium, copper, zinc, and manganese
- Vitamins C and E
Many plant-based foods provide antioxidants, so they're easy to come by. Some of the top sources include:
How To Boost Your Intake
To take in a broader spectrum of antioxidants—as well as vitamins, minerals, and fiber—aim for various plant-based food groups of different colors. Another way to increase your antioxidant intake is to replace processed foods with whole, plant-based foods.
Also, consider the following ideas and tips for increasing antioxidant consumption:
- Trade a breakfast pastry for a bowl of 'zoats' (zucchini oatmeal) topped with fruit and nuts.
- Go for a bowl with a generous base of greens topped with beans, brown rice, and seasoned guacamole.
- Snack on fruit with nuts or seeds or veggies with hummus.
- Satisfy your sweet tooth with dark chocolate.
- Sprinkle cinnamon into your morning coffee, and infuse water or tea with antioxidant-rich herbs and bits of fruit.
Antioxidant supplements are dietary supplements based on antioxidants that you can get from food like selenium, vitamin C, and beta-carotene. Just like natural antioxidants, the supplements are intended to eliminate free radicals.
However, scientists have concluded that getting antioxidants from foods is better than supplements. Antioxidant supplements tend to come in high doses. Too much of any antioxidant can be more harmful than helpful.
Also, research regarding the effectiveness of antioxidant supplements has been mixed, or the supplements have not resulted in significant benefits to individuals' health in the studies.
What Are the Risks?
Some research has linked high-dose beta-carotene supplement use with an increased risk of lung cancer in smokers. Taking high-dose supplements of vitamin E has been associated with an increased risk of both hemorrhagic stroke—a type of stroke caused by bleeding in the brain—and prostate cancer.
Also, drug interactions can occur between antioxidant supplements and any medications you may be prescribed. For example, a person taking blood thinners can be at increased risk of bleeding if they also take vitamin E supplements.
Dietary supplements are minimally regulated by the FDA and may or may not be suitable for you. The effects of supplements vary from person to person and depend on many variables, including type, dosage, frequency of use, and interactions with current medications. Please speak with a healthcare provider or pharmacist before starting any supplements.
Antioxidants are an essential aspect of proactive nutrition and may help to fend off aging and chronic disease. However, know that antioxidants aren't a cure-all, and they shouldn't be used in supplement form to treat a medical condition without the supervision of a healthcare provider.
To best reap the benefits of antioxidants, source them from whole foods or products made from whole food ingredients. It's also the most delicious and satisfying way to get your daily dose.
In a accurate article posted to the medRxiv* server, researchers used a digital (completely remote) cohort to implement a personalized nutrition study.
*Important notice: medRxiv publishes preliminary scientific reports that are not peer-reviewed and, therefore, should not be regarded as conclusive, guide clinical practice/health-related behavior, or treated as established information.
They gathered high-resolution data on demography, dietary intake, gut microbiota, physical activity, and blood glucose levels of over 1000 participants for two to four weeks between October 2018 and March 2023 in Switzerland and the Netherlands.
It allowed study participants to collect in situ data daily using a mobile application and wearable sensors. However, to rule out all concerns related to data quality, the researchers focused on assessing data quality and reliability.
Background
Most nutritional epidemiology studies studied the effects of nutrition and a healthy diet at the population level, which informed dietary recommendations and guidelines. More recently, some scientific studies have found the link between microbiota composition and the health benefits of a nutritious diet, thus, raising the potential of personalized nutrition.
So far, all studies demonstrating the effectiveness of personalized dietary recommendations have examined personal features, for example, gut microbiota compositions, in isolation.
However, there is a need for a more holistic approach to nutritional epidemiology that covers all the factors influencing the ability of the human body to derive maximum benefit from diet, for example, lifestyle factors.
For example, in patients with diabetes, sedentary behavior is an established risk factor similar to a carbohydrate-rich diet. In addition, the gut microbiome of these patients might be modulating their blood glucose response to food intake.
Thus, nutritional studies examining the association of blood glucose response, specifically postprandial glucose response (PPGR) and insulin resistance (IR) that characterize type 2 diabetes, need data on all relevant factors, preferably in situ and continuously.
Thus, digital cohorts mark the beginning of a major development in the context of nutritional epidemiological and clinical studies. Since digital cohorts are a accurate development, there is an urgent need to address questions regarding selection bias, study adherence, and data quality of digitally implemented studies.
Another challenge to address is the time burden due to digital cohorts. They fatigue some participants, translating to lower adherence to study protocol or poor data quality.
About the study
The researchers attempted to address such questions and challenges by describing the protocol of the “Food and You” digital study and reporting study engagement data from enrollment to completion. They examined the study response and its completion rate. Furthermore, they assessed data quality by comparing nutritional and microbiota data of “Food and You” with data from traditional (on-site) studies.
This study had enrolment, preparatory, tracking, and follow-up phases. Following screening via a short questionnaire in the enrolment phase, a research team member enrolled an eligible participant into this study and instructed them to fill out a series of questionnaires on the “Food & You” website.
Next, they asked them to download MyFoodRepo mobile app, an artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted nutrition tracking app specifically designed for this study, to monitor their food intake for at least three days (trial period).
All participants who completed the trial entered the study. The researchers provided them with the study material, which included a continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) sensor and material for stool collection.
During the tracking phase, all participants wore the CGM sensor and logged their food/beverage intake via the MyFoodRepo app.
Participants were divided into two sub-cohorts digitally: sub-cohort “Basic” cohort B) and sub-cohort “Cycle” (cohort C). These cohorts consisted of non-diabetic participants and non-diabetic women of reproductive age not on hormonal medication or contraceptives, respectively.
Study cohorts B and C answered two daily surveys for 14 and 28 days, respectively.
Per the study protocol, all participants consumed standardized breakfasts from days 2 to day 7 during the first week and refrained from physical activity for the next two hours.
Cohort B participants performed an oral glucose tolerance test on days 6 and 7, while Cohort C participants performed it on days 6 and 7 and days 21 and 22. Participants provided one stool trial during the tracking days. Eventually, participants uploaded their CGM data and physical activity levels on the study website. During the follow-up, all participants filled out a feedback questionnaire to log their overall experience.
Results and conclusion
This study had a high completion rate, with over 60% of enrolled participants completing it. In both cohorts, the completion rates of subjects with dietary restrictions were above 80%. Compared to other digital health studies, the retention rate for 14 and 28 days was also high in this study.
In both cohorts, except for physical activity and sleep, data availability was high for most indicators, e.g., diet, implying good adherence to the study. Besides response fatigue, technical issues with sensor devices or Apps might have impacted adherence to the study.
A study annotator reviewed every submitted data point on nutrition, implying data quality was good. The researchers found that all participants appropriately and timely logged their food intake, and missing inputs were low. The authors noted expected patterns concerning the time of food intake, glucose curves, etc., on weekdays and weekends.
Encouragingly, the MyFoodRepo App received overall positive feedback. It fetched dietary data with a high resolution of 315,126 food dishes constituting more than 46 million kcal, giving a reliable representation of the dietary patterns of over 1000 participants for at least two weeks. The researchers also had high-resolution data from 49,110 survey responses, 23,335 participant days, and 1,470,030 blood glucose measurements for analysis.
Furthermore, the authors collected 1,024 stool samples for gut microbiota analysis. They attributed the observed variations in gut microbiota across two study cohorts, originating from Switzerland and the Netherlands to geographical differences. They used 16S ribosomal ribonucleic acid (rRNA) sequencing to analyze self-collected stool trial data. Further analyses of the microbiome and its link to other data are ongoing.
To summarize, it is likely that digital nutrition cohorts might become the preferred study design for large-scale personalized nutritional studies as they have the potential to help collect a large amount of high-quality data with temporal resolution.
*Important notice: medRxiv publishes preliminary scientific reports that are not peer-reviewed and, therefore, should not be regarded as conclusive, guide clinical practice/health-related behavior, or treated as established information.
Hundreds of residents turned up for medical checkups and treatment during a free medical camp at Ndhiwa Primary School in Ndhiwa constituency.
The treatments provided covered chronic diseases and neglected tropical diseases.
The medical camp was organized by the Ndhiwa Constituency Office in collaboration with health organizations such as Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH), Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH), and Kenya Medical and Research Institute (KEMRI), among other partners.
The services were provided under a program called 'Ndhiwa Healthy Day Medical Camp.'
Residents received care for various health issues, including jigger infestations, high blood pressure (diabetes and hypertension), cervical cancer screening, Eye Nose and Throat (ENT) checkups, HIV tests, among others.
Ndhiwa MP Martin Owino explained that the camp aimed to Excellerate residents' health by providing services for various ailments.
“Patients with complicated infections were referred to Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret and Kisii County Referral Hospital in Kisii town,” Owino said.
Owino on Saturday mentioned that the free medical camp has become an annual event, taking place in the third week of August each year.
According to Owino, more than 5000 people turned up for the free medical camp.
The camp's objective is to make medication accessible to residents and combat poverty in Ndhiwa.
Owino emphasized that illnesses hinder economic growth and by addressing health issues, they contribute to the overall development of the society.
“We’re also helping Homa Bay government to have accurate data on various diseases so they can know where to put their priority. It’s true that sick persons can't contribute to economic growth,” he said.
Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital's Health Administrative Officer Silus Tarus, shared that they participated in the camp to offer services to those facing financial challenges and geographical constraints.
Many individuals cannot afford the travel costs to the Eldoret facility.
“MTRH has brought its services closer to the people to prevent them from expenditure on transportation. But we're doing referrals to patients with complicated diseases,” Tarus said.
Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) clinical research scientist Stephen Koskey, mentioned that they conducted screening for chronic diseases like cancer and Hepatitis B.
He highlighted that suspected cases of cervical cancer were identified in around 10 per cent of women tested.
“The women are going to be subjected to further screening to reveal if they are infected or not. We have to deal with cervical cancer at an early stage because the disease is a leading cause of death,” Koskey said.
Kana Suzuki who deals in neglected tropical diseases said they also treated people with jiggers.
“We have treated a number of patients with jiggers and we are going to eradicate the disease,” Suzuki said.
Nutrition specialist Gordon Nguka also sensitized residents on nutrition.
"The food we eat matters a lot in our health. Nutrition is as important as medication,” Nguka said.
