Abdur’s Story
Abdur is from Bangladesh. As a young boy, with navigating the health care system in Bangladesh and traveling to India to get care. After many years, he learns that his initial diagnosis was wrong. Traveling to India required him to get a visa, travel 500 km, contend with a language barrier, and pay money out of pocket to get treatment and for travel.
Transcript of the Animation is below.
Interviewer: Can you tell me about your experience traveling from Bangladesh, where you live, to India for medical treatment?
Abdur: I had the wrong diagnosis, at first, when I was a young boy.
For 12 years, I continued to see physicians for this incorrect diagnosis.
And then, after traveling 500 kilometers to India, a physician there discovered that it was congenital heart disease and my management plans changed.
Once a year, for three years, I traveled back to India from Bangladesh.
Each 500 km trip, I had to change modes of transportation from cars, to buses, to rickshaws.
Finally, I had an operation in India.
But, I still have to make this very long trip there for checkups.
Location:
Bangladesh & India
Date:
2022
Barriers to Public Health: Location of Facilities, Incorrect Diagnosis. Health Professional Shortage
Relevant Research
The Impact of Neighborhood Socioeconomic Status, Race and Ethnicity, and Language on Prenatal Diagnosis of CHD Gianelle, M., Turan, S., Mech, J. et al. The Impact of Neighborhood Socioeconomic Status, Race and Ethnicity, and Language on Prenatal Diagnosis of CHD. Pediatr Cardiol (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00246-023-03095-z
USA Today Article: Heart defect diagnosis often comes too late – or not at all – for Latino infants, study finds. By Nada Hassanein
HEALTH CONVERSATIONS: When Aware We Care 