Women’s and children’s health is the foundation of public health and an important indicator of a country’s overall health level. Maternal and child care has always been a priority and supported by the state in the field of public health. However, due to disparities in regional development, access to information, health awareness, and medical service levels, some rural areas in China still exhibit significant gaps in the focus on the physiological and psychological health of women and children. A lack of personal knowledge and limited local medical resources further exacerbate the socioeconomic pressures they face and increase the risk of maternal and child diseases.
DKU Innovation Incubator Project: Rural Maternal and Child Physiological Health Information Website is established to address the existing issues mentioned above. It aims to build an online health service platform focused on improving the health conditions of rural women, children, and adolescents. The platform will provide reliable health knowledge, integrate medical resources, and offer an open question-and-answer platform to share medical information and assist in health education. The project team actively seeks cooperation with public welfare organizations to promote the use of the website and continuously optimizes the user experience. The goal is to achieve the target of popularizing scientific information, enhance the health awareness and self-care ability of rural women and adolescents, and create an open and inclusive health education environment.
In the early stages of the project, to better understand the state of health knowledge among adolescents in rural areas, the team designed an online survey about puberty and hygiene, recruiting participants from across the country, including over 160 youths from rural areas in the west of China. The results confirmed the initial assessment that there is a relative lack of health knowledge and limited resources in rural areas. According to the survey data, more than thirty percent of respondents had not received formal education on maternal health and puberty hygiene, and in the face of personal issues, they chose not to seek help. Conversely, over ninety percent expressed a need and willingness to use a platform that consolidated information on maternal and child health, and nearly eighty percent were willing to participate anonymously in online puberty health education activities. The survey helped the project team understand the needs for maternal and child health knowledge and potential help channels in rural areas
During the midpoint of the project, the team conducted a field investigation in Artux, Xinjiang, disseminating knowledge on physiological hygiene and health to students and teachers across four schools through discussions and unstructured interviews. The team members discovered that the students’ needs for health knowledge were not merely due to a lack of information; more significantly, they struggled to find appropriate channels for help when facing issues. Not only did students lack understanding, but their parents also often lacked basic health knowledge. This resulted in some students seeking help from peers or elders, only to be met with advice lacking in scientific accuracy. Through these interactions, the local students established a deep connection and trust with team members, with many volunteering to assist with information collection and website promotion. The sincerity of the students was touching and provided new insights for the operation and design of the website. Inspired by local students, a volunteer module was included on the site.
With concerted efforts and based on research findings, the team members have prioritized knowledge dissemination, direct information retrieval, and professional information services in their design, planning video courses, document libraries, and resource links as the core content sections of the website. The website’s functionality has been thoughtfully considered to meet user needs, such as the establishment of an anonymous question box based on respondents’ concerns about privacy. After users post questions anonymously, in addition to peer interaction, the team will recruit volunteers with professional knowledge to regularly review and discuss questions, ensuring scientifically sound responses. Anonymous questioning allows users to comfortably seek professional advice and receive targeted answers.
Throughout the project, members from different disciplinary backgrounds have demonstrated their strengths, engaging in clear division of labor and collaborative efforts. Global Health members are responsible for the professional accuracy and content planning of health knowledge, while Data Science members handle data collection, analysis, and technical support. Their expertise and skills have provided multidimensional support for the project. As they advance, team members continue to refine their application of existing design knowledge in UI/UX while learning new skills like front-end development and MySQL database design. They tailor navigation bars and improve web design based on user experience and feedback, enhancing the website’s construction.
Liqi Ren, Ph.D., the project mentor, stated, “Watching this project grow step by step is truly moving. Their enthusiasm, curiosity, and thirst for knowledge have not only taught them how to help others but are also transforming lives. This goes beyond just a project; it’s about changing the health future for every rural woman and child. I sincerely hope that more initiatives like this will join in making a difference in the world.”
For future plans after the site launch, the project team hopes to gradually expand the website’s reach to benefit more rural women and teenagers. The team will also consistently update the site with new health knowledge videos and articles. Additionally, they will continuously improve the site’s user experience and content relevance based on feedback, ensuring that it meets user needs. Through these ongoing efforts, the project aims to effectively raise the level of maternal and child health knowledge in rural areas, improve the overall health of these communities, and contribution to the broader public health sector.
Project Experiences
Ketong Han DKU’2024
As a student specializing in Global Health, maternal and child health care has always been the core public health issue of my concern. I initially proposed this project and discussed its feasibility with classmates who were also interested in this field. Eventually, we jointly started this project. This was my first time participating in complete project management as the project leader. In addition to researching maternal and child health, I also coordinated team members to ensure tasks were completed efficiently. Acting as a bridge between the guiding teachers and project team members, I honed my ability to present and plan project progress and outcomes from multiple perspectives. This experience not only allowed me to apply academic knowledge in practice but also developed my ability to lead a team and advance projects with a plan. In the future, I will continue to conduct research in the field of maternal and child health. Based on the experience of this project, I believe I can develop and plan more maturely in this field, equipping myself with the capacity to make valuable contributions to public health.
Minda Zhao DKU’2024
As a Duke Kunshan University student of the class of 2024, I was fortunate enough to participate in the RWChealth project. Through in-depth research in Xinjiang and an online survey, I learned about the current state of maternal and child health knowledge dissemination in rural areas. In the project, I was responsible for website development, building a public welfare website from scratch. Faced with challenges like purchasing domain names and servers, I learned to work efficiently under pressure and ensured the project’s timely completion through active communication and planning adjustments. Looking back on this beneficial experience, walking and conducting research in the vast foreign land of southern Xinjiang, in schools of various sizes beneath the Danxia landforms, I learned how to effectively collect and analyze data and improve communication skills and cultural sensitivity through practical exchanges. And I realize that these experiences will benefit me for a lifetime.
Lunyu Zhao DKU’2027
As a Computer Science student, I had the privilege of participating in a health and medical website design project. In this project, I was responsible for the design of the website as well as some of the backend data and website management. Through this project, I not only significantly improved my technical skills but also gained valuable experience in personal and professional development. I hope to continue to work in this field in the future, constantly improving my professional level, and making more contributions to society.
Lexue Song DKU’2024
In this website design project on rural women’s and children’s health, I undertook part of the web design work and participated in planning the layout and structure of the web modules. I also designed posters for the project’s promotion. In my future career, I will continue to maintain this open mindset, constantly learning and growing, to design practical and meaningful products for more people in need.
