Patrick has completed the first six months of fieldwork in Makueni County, Kenya for his project assessing the health and economic impacts of dam construction on displaced and downstream communities. As part of his PhD dissertation, he aims to:
- Assess the nutritional, disease, and economic pathways by which construction of Thwake Multipurpose Dam may impact household health and wellbeing.
- Explore the psychosocial, nutritional, disease and economic pathways by which construction of Thwake Multipurpose Dam may impact maternal and child health
- Explore the adaptive strategies that individuals and households develop to cope with changes as a result of the construction of Thwake Multipurpose Dam, and explore potential livelihood strategies for affected households.
During this baseline assessment, Patrick hired 26 enumerators who helped collect survey and biomarker data (saliva and dried blood spot samples) from over 900 individuals. He plans to return in 6 months for the first round of follow up after the dam is constructed.
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