Cornell students put together health kits for women going abroad

By Susan S. Lang

When a Cornell student tried to get help for a vaginal yeast infection in Spain last year, the pharmacist kept thinking she was referring to a foot fungus. Another Cornell student in Poland feared she was pregnant but couldn't understand the Polish instructions for the pregnancy test. Yet another had unprotected sex in Belgium and for five months endured "unbearable stress" not knowing where or how to get an HIV test.

From left, Erica Holland '05, biology, and Rachel Margolis '04, government, pose with items from the women's health kit they collaborated to make. Nicola Kountoupes/University Photography

"When we got back to Cornell, we realized that so many women who went abroad had health problems that would have been easily treatable in the United States but were problematic for them abroad," said Rachel Margolis '04, an Arts and Sciences graduate from Philadelphia who is now in a master's program at the London School of Economics.

"We realized that many female students who go abroad lack the resources necessary to take care of their physical health and to make informed decisions regarding their sexual health," added Erica Holland, a senior in Arts and Sciences from Lexington, Mass.

College women not only must cope with a language barrier to get help for sexual health or gynecological problems, but also cope with different cultural norms for women. And, Holland adds, women abroad become more vulnerable to various infections because of changes in diet, climate and sleep, but getting treatment for them can become a major problem in a foreign country.

So Margolis, Holland and Katherine Belzowski '04 of Ann Arbor, Mich., did something about it: They put in hundreds of hours of research and networked with key Cornell staff. The result: free women's health travel kits are now available for every female Cornell student studying abroad.

The kit includes vaginal yeast infection medication, a pregnancy test, 10 condoms, a key chain with a whistle (to draw attention in an emergency), lubricant, and various other products as well as information brochures on urinary tract infections, HIV/AIDS and other health issues for women studying abroad. In addition, every woman receives a link to an online database created by Margolis and Holland that lists contact information for an English-speaking Planned Parenthood affiliate in the country to which they are going. Cornell students typically study in 40 different countries.

Thanks to the many hours of work by the three Cornell women, the kits are supported by the Cornell Women's Resource Center, Cornell Abroad, Gannett: University Health Services and the offices of Dean of Students Kent Hubbell, Vice Provost Isaac Kramnick and Susan Murphy, vice president for student and academic services.

Next month Holland will join a panel on female needs abroad to discuss the new women's health initiative at a conference for the Association of International Educators in Garden City, N.Y. She hopes that the health kit may serve as a model for other universities. At Cornell, about 400 of the almost 600 students who go abroad each year are women; nationally, almost 105,000 college women go abroad.

Also thanks to the young women, students attending Cornell Abroad's supplementary predeparture meeting for women now also receive products and brochures that complement and expand on the issues addressed at this meeting by emphasizing health needs. The emphasis of these meetings has shifted to be more positive about what women students can do for their own health and happiness abroad.

"Women going abroad are not only at greater risk because their bodies are more vulnerable to infection, but also because they want to be open and try new things. They take risks they wouldn't necessarily take at home. They don't want to be the 'stupid American' or be a wimp, so their whole mindset changes. Many of them who would have had responsible sex at home find themselves taking risks," Margolis pointed out.

"You lose your sense of consequences," added Holland.

To ensure that the women's health kits continue to be available, Holland and Margolis have secured funding from various sources across campus for the current year, and are working to secure permanent funding. In response to the students' initiative, Cornell Abroad has offered to fund a new student position, called a health kit coordinator, in the Cornell Abroad office. Each year, a student will be hired to keep information in the kit current, ensure that funding is in place to continue the project and to process evaluations on the Web that Margolis and Holland will create for students returning from abroad to fill out.

"Erica and Rachel's enthusiasm and hard work on the concept, design and implementation of the women's travel kit project has been unsurpassed," said Kristen Grace, associate director of Cornell Abroad. "I continue to be impressed that their idea moved from being a spark to being institutionalized within the space of one year. It would not have happened without their incredible energy and enthusiasm."