Intro

In June of 2007, we traveled to the Dominican Republic to investigate the opportunity for implementation of needle-free jet injectors (NFI) in the immunization program.

NFI delivers immunizations via a thin, high-speed liquid stream and eliminates many negative consequences incurred from using needles including biohazard sharps waste, inadvertent needle sticks, and needle reuse. We used individual interviews of health care workers, administrators, public policy makers, and international organization workers to gather feedback on the usability, cost saving potential, and adoptability of NFI technology for immunizations.

-Mike, Azucena, Sapun, and Rich

Monday, June 18, 2007

Day 9: June 18, 2007. Hot, hot, so very, very warm.


The sun was hot and the air was humid as we stepped outside our apart-hotel this morning at 7:30 AM. Today we were off to Area I, the easternmost district of Santo Domingo. Our team is starting to get in the groove of the interviews. Azucena and I met two women who coordinate vaccines in the area and were able to get a lot of useful information about the structure of the administration as well as good feedback on the needle-free injection. After our morning meetings, the four of us piled into the back seat of a truck Dominican style (Dominicans have an entirely different answer to the question “How many people can fit into a car?”) and headed to lunch at a local “asian fusion” restaurant, a Chinese/Creole cafeteria style joint. After lunch, we headed to a local hospital to talk with the vaccine nurse, before heading back home to catch up with our interview write-ups. Tonight – Italian food on the water!

-Mike

caption: Rich, Mike, and Sapun cruising the Malecón on the way to dinner.

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