Need for agents of change
As an African-dentist who has immigrated to Europe, I have experienced two extremes in term of access to healthcare services. I grew up in a country where healthcare services were not readily available, and when available, often sub-standard. Interestingly, even the available healthcare services majorly clustered in the urban areas leaving the people like me that grew up in the village underprivileged and marginalized. I remember when I was seriously ill, how we had to travel to the city to get healthcare services which was rather expensive. Consequently, regular medical check-up was seen as a luxury, hence, people never visited the hospital until they were critically ill.
In Europe, however, healthcare services are readily available to all regardless of the region of residence or socio-economic status of an individual suggesting equality without any bias in term of access to basic services. Seeing people and friends dying of malaria in my local community informed my decision to go to medical school. However, my eyes were not opened to the inherent bias in term of access to quality healthcare services until when I moved to Europe, where people visit the hospital even with common cold. Clearly, healthcare service back home is a far cry from what is obtainable in Europe, hence, the need for agents of change to advocate and educate people living in remote areas and villages in Africa.
The clinical years in my undergraduate program was an eye-opener for me, as it birthed in me a passion for and interest in the fascinating field of public health and community health. Particularly, during my community health posting, I had the opportunity to visit rural areas and schools, and educate the marginalized population on (dental) health. During these visits, I remember seeing several people presenting with health conditions and scenarios leading to premature loss of teeth like those seen in the clinic. As these people were rather marginalized and would not have access to medical and dental facilities, I became interested in becoming an agent of change. Through this, I have developed a passion for advocating for better accessibility to dental and medical healthcare services, preventive dental health and empowering the underprivileged with accurate and reliable dental and medical information. Without any doubt, my decision to pursue public health program was influenced by the fact that I wanted to be an agent of change by pursuing my passions in the field of oral medicine and community health as well as serving under-represented and under-privileged communities, be it in a rural or urban setting.
The problem of bias in term of access to healthcare services in my home country is deeply rooted and calls for not only local interventions but nation-wide interventions, hence, the need for health professionals to make policies that will change the status-quo. Although I have some background knowledge in the field, I have come to realize that I need to widen my horizon, heighten my understanding of the field, and to develop specialized skills that will benefit my ability to work effectively in the field of oral medicine and community health which has been my passion. This will enable me to continue doing the work I love — investigating dental public health issues, advocating for the marginalized, early intervention through community engagement, addressing dental health inequalities, and coming up with real solutions to resolve the problems.
