Kadakia to receive Yale’s Fall 2024 Global Health Spark Award

The Yale Institute for Global Health has selected Indian American researcher Nidhi Kadakia and Aline Herlopian to receive the Fall 2024 Global Health Spark Award. They will each receive an award of up to $10,000.

The Global Health Spark Award aims to provide initial funding to support global health research initiatives and partnerships among YIGH-affiliated faculty. Candidates were selected based on five criteria: innovativeness, feasibility, sustainability, and connection between “spark” and anticipated outcomes. Below is a summary of the projects:

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Kadakia is Instructor of Emergency Medicine. Her project focuses on assessing the prevalence and management efficacy of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as hypertension, diabetes, chronic respiratory illness, and malnutrition among over 200,000 forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals (FDMN) in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh.

By conducting a retrospective chart review and engaging in patient focus groups, Dr. Kadakia and team aim to uncover unique epidemiological patterns, treatment efficacy, and obstacles in disease management specific to this vulnerable population.

This project will identify critical facilitators and barriers to effective NCD care in a humanitarian setting, providing a foundation for the development of tailored health interventions. Ultimately, the research aspires to significantly enhance the quality of life of the FDMN community and inform best practices for NCD management in other refugee and crisis contexts.

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“I am very grateful to receive this Spark Award, which will allow my colleagues from HAEFA and I to uncover unique epidemiological patterns, treatment efficacy, and obstacles in non-communicable disease (NCD) management,” said Kadakia.

“Through retrospective analysis and small groups, we will focus on the specific challenges faced by the forcibly displaced Rohingya people living in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh,” she said. “We expect this intervention to improve the quality of life of this vulnerable community and inform best practices for NCD management in this and other refugee and crisis contexts.”