Guest Blog Post by APF Fellow Zayna Ahmed

During the summer, I was given the opportunity to work virtually with Sehat Kahani through the American Pakistani Foundation Fellowship program. I didn’t know what to expect out of a virtual fellowship, but I ended up gaining a variety of different skill sets that are now helping me throughout my job hunt. This is extremely helpful, especially because as a 2020 graduate, finding a job during the pandemic has been challenging.

I gained so many insights and skills during my fellowship that continue to help me grow professionally. Without the American Pakistani Foundation, I would not have been able to find such an impactful way to spend these few months, while also gaining skills that align with my professional goals.  

My primary project with Sehat Kahani was to conduct research and analysis on COVID-19 patients and telehealth within Pakistan. I studied the efficacy of Sehat Kahani’s telemedicine support in triaging suspected COVID-19 patients within Pakistan.

Sehat Kahani provided me with a sample set of 18,184 patients who used their services from May 17 to June 25, 2020.  

From my quantitative analysis, the data showed that Sehat Kahani was successful in its efforts of triaging patients through their telemedicine services. Only about 20% of Sehat Kahani patients were consulted to hospitals. However, we did see a decline in follow up calls due to patient adherence levels within Pakistan.  

We also observed a decrease in follow-up call conversations. From the survey, it was confirmed that Sehat Kahani did complete all follow-up calls, but as patient health started to improve, patients felt less concerned about following up.

Every patient surveyed had access to a smartphone, and 70% of them were on Facebook; an additional 15% were on both Facebook and Twitter. Based on these points, I recommended that telehealth companies like Sehat Kahani put out targeted ads or infographics on these social media platforms in order to increase awareness about COVID-19 protocols.

Throughout my fellowship, I was able to learn and improve on a countless number of skills, while being able to communicate with an amazing team. Working with these large data sets allowed me to see where COVID-19 was primarily present, and how the health sector in Pakistan responded to the pandemic.

Sehat Kahani is a well-respected telemedicine service that is truly making a difference within the country. I am grateful that I was able to gain this unique experience of working with a company that works in a primarily virtual environment. I am lucky to have been an APF Fellow, and even though I missed out on traveling to Pakistan, I was able to gain a once in a lifetime experience.