Health Sciences students take home first place at policy competition

A team of McMaster University students with the Honours Health Sciences Program has won first place at a national policy competition for their innovative solution to tackle maternal and infant mortality.

The team of fourth-year students was among more than a dozen groups competing at the Partners in Health Canada Case Competition. The teams were tasked with creating policy based around a case study to address maternal and infant mortality in Sierra Leone.

The McMaster team’s idea is dubbed “Mobile Medics,” a health care on wheels approach that brings medical staff and resources to underserved rural areas in Sierra Leone.

“The ‘Mobile Medics’ would travel to these areas and both treat people with pregnancy conditions that could make them at higher risk for complications, while also teaching local women how to deal with these situations if they come up again in the future,” says Naya Nadeem, fourth-year student and one of the members of the McMaster team.

The team of four, which consisted of Anam Biabani, Maha Siddique, Anushka Patel, and Naya Nadeem, had three hours to analyze the scenario and develop a comprehensive program to address real-world challenges. Their “Mobile Medics” proposal impressed judges, awarding the team first place and a prize of $500.

“We didn’t go in with the mindset of wanting to win. We just went in wanting to have fun, wanting to bond, wanting to learn. And we had so much fun being creative. I think just integrating that creativity and being curious about what’s going to happen really helped us win,” says team member Biabani.

But it wasn’t just creative minds that led to their gold medal finish. Biabani says the group was well prepared thanks to the various teaching they’ve encountered through their years with the Honours Health Sciences Program.

“Throughout the entire creation of that policy, we kept reminiscing on all these courses that we had taken throughout our Health Sciences experience, and it really benefited us in so many ways,” Biabani says.

Stacey Ritz, assistant dean of the Honours Health Sciences Program, is delighted to see the success of the students and the incredible influence their learnings had on their decision making.

“It’s so exciting and gratifying to see our students take the capacities they develop in their Health Sciences inquiry courses and put them to work to come up with innovative approaches to complex health problems,” Ritz says. “Outcomes like this affirm that inquiry-based learning really does work, and we are so proud to see this team recognized for their creative and insightful solution.”

The experience was eye-opening for both Biabani and Nadeem as they look forward into the future of their own careers.

McMaster’s success at the competition didn’t stop with first place. A team of students representing Global Health won second place, securing a $250 cash prize.

Other participants from McMaster also won the People’s Choice Award for Best Focus on Equity Deserving Groups and the People’s Choice Award for Best Use of Local Context.