Friday, July 15, 2022 (Pago Pago, American Samoa) – In 2017, PIHOA Summer Intern and University of California Los Angeles Masters in Public Health student Brittany Meyer completed her internship in American Samoa under the supervision of Dr. Haley Cash, PIHOA NCD Regional Epidemiologist for the USAPIs, and in collaboration with the American Samoa Department of Health Maternal and Child Health program staff, Dr. Anaise Uso, Ipuniuesea Eliapo-Unutoa, and Ruta Rupeti.
Through extensive data collection with local staff, Meyer was able to establish the prevalence of Gestational Diabetes (GDM) in American Samoa and evaluate current screening and treatment practices. Meyer’s work in American Samoa was published this month in the Hawai’i Journal of Health and Social Welfare. This was an exciting project for the USAPIs, given the lack of GDM data in the region.