Addressing Health Disparities in Our Community
Glaucoma Screening Initiative
Creighton University's Glaucoma Screening Initiative was started in 2001 as a means of addressing and reducing the occurrence of preventable blindness. Under the direction of Dr. Sade Kosoko-Lasaki, MD, MPH, MBA, the Glaucoma Screening Initiative launched its attack on preventable blindness in the community which continues today. The GSI seeks to educate the public about ocular health and preventable blindness as well as ocular disease.
According to the World Health Organization, Glaucoma is the second leading cause of blindness after cataracts. However, Creighton University's GSI seeks to locate formation of glaucoma in its early stages because unlike cataracts, the blindness caused by glaucoma is irreversible.
The GSI travel to many cities in Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas and Missouri, screening individuals in under-served communities and under represented populations where preventable blindness is more prevalent. Glaucoma more frequently afflicts African Americans and Hispanics more than any other ethnic group. Also, individuals who have a family history of glaucoma, who have diabetes and those who suffer from hypertension are more at risk to develop glaucoma. So the Glaucoma Screening Initiative collects data on each individual screened to properly inform screening participants of any risk factors that they currently have.
The GSI screens for visual acuity and also the visual field. Every individual screened receives a copy of their results as well as a referral to an ophthalmologist if needed.
Find out more about our efforts, glaucoma, and screening events near you on facebook!
Sudanese Student Learning Initiative
Launched in the Summer of 2012, the Sudanese Student Learning Initiative was designed to reduce disparities in the vastly growing Sudanese population in Omaha, Nebraska. When Sudanese youth displayed increasing involvement in gang activity, HS-MACA partnered with the Darfur Association for Education and Community Services Inc. to combat the vulnerability of at risk youth by empowering them through education. 
For eight weeks, students met two days every week for two hours at the Southern Sudanese Community Association to learn about mathematics and science as they relate to health disparities.
The students also learned about the collegiate process and careers in the health sciences. Student activities involved learning about the skeletal system, the brain, the eye, cancer and infectious diseases, cells, etc.