"I blamed our people for being careless" - SOP for public health

I need to write SOP for MPH, and I really need help. I tried but couldn't connect my ideas as I am planning to implement programs increasing people's medical awareness.

European people visit the doctors to make sure they are healthy, Russian people see the doctors when they don't feel well and Uzbek people are brought to the hospital in the last minute.

We used to tell this anecdote and laugh though it is not funny considering I am Uzbek. My uncle suffered from diabetes for almost 5 years, he didn't take any medications, later he had his both legs amputated, in the end he passed away. During my college years I blamed our people for being careless. Was I right?

I was among the best students while graduating, participated to the World Biology Olympiad in Germany in 1998 and was admitted to Medical Academy without exam. There I built an excellent reputation through organizing Young Scientists' Community, Medical English Course, holding weekly conferences and working as a consultant-adviser.

Later, I had chance to visit many countries, including Sweden, Russia, Turkey, Bahrain, UAE, met different people, introduced with their health care systems. I started to compare those systems and analyze the differences.

In 2009 I volunteered for WHO STEPS Surveillance Program which had the objectives of surveillance of chronic disease risk factors and selected chronic diseases, such as: collect consistent data across and within countries, develop standardized tools to enable comparisons over time and across countries/sites, prevent chronic disease epidemics before they occur, help health services plan and determine public health priorities, predict future caseloads of chronic diseases, monitor and evaluate population-wide interventions. During this period, I carried out my own research; I informed the people of the risk factors, treatment and disease consequences using brochures, booklets, and followed up for a year. I published the results which arose lots of interest in community.

Uzbek people are brought to the hospital in the last minutes, and mostly they die. This is not an anecdote, this is reality. They are not responsible for being unaware, but we are. For not giving them the instruction they need. I lost my uncle, but I want to save others' uncles.

I changed a bit.
Here is the updated one.
"Your uncle has passed away. Do not miss the funeral," - my mother called me three years ago when I was a graduate student at the .... Department. The news shocked me as I had been taking care of him for the last three years. He had been suffering from diabetes for ten years and had already both his feet amputated. He couldn't afford to take the medications prescribed; moreover he hadn't lived a healthy lifestyle I had advised. He had been under the control of village physician, later surgeons had operated on him successfully, but still we lost him. When I look at the scene on a population level, almost everybody have the same problem which makes me recall an anecdote, "The Europeans visit the doctor to make sure they are healthy, the Russians see the doctor when they feel sick, ... {we} are brought to the hospital". It is not our destiny; there should be a solution. What can I do?

As a child, in spite of living 200km far from the city, being one of the seven children in the family, having a strict father who is drunk all the time and working in the field after school every day, I always dreamt about doing 'big things'. Later as a payment for my hard time I was selected to study in the city. It gave me hope, helped me to find faith in myself. With the focus on my dream, I selected biology as a major. I wanted to be a doctor and find a cure for alcoholism, which caused many troubles in our family.

I have distinguished myself with diligence and determination in my academics since my secondary school days. Because of my knowledge in biology, I participated in the World Biology Olympiad in Germany, and consequently I was admitted to ... Medical Academy as a privileged student. During my study there I built an excellent reputation through organizing Young Scientists' Community, Medical English Course, and holding weekly conferences, where I had the opportunity to lead the group and speak on stage in front of them. Besides, with the purpose of gaining more knowledge I joined several social activities, such as Kamolot, and research projects.

Last summer I volunteered for WHO STEPS Surveillance Program at policlinic 34. Its objectives were surveillance of chronic disease risk factors. I worked on "policy issues" which involved identifying and summarizing risk factors of non-communicable diseases as well as documenting resolved issues in order to establish protocols to increase research's efficiency. Along with my duties, I attended seminars and met with public health leaders at different functions and events. I learned about the challenges in a government-run hospital and the local diseases of the area. My true introduction to the public health arena came in here. These hands-on community health experiences have shown me that this is where I want to be. As a doctor if I help 5-10 patients, as a public health specialist I could help more, and not treat the patient with complication, but prevent them from any minor damages. All these activities confirmed my growing interest in preventive medicine, outcomes and effectiveness, and quality of care. I believe they are fundamental to our nation's health.

In my country, public health infrastructure is still forming. There are not enough trained health workers and monetary resources to provide a high level of medical care and disease prevention. By concentrating efforts on prevention, the potential diseases, emotional stress, and cost of treatments will be greatly reduced which will improve socioeconomic status of our nation as well. By implementing patient education programs, successful patient outcomes will be achieved. Well-designed and well-delivered patient education programs will lead to improved relationship between the patients and physicians, full participation of patients in treatment, improved adherence to the prescribed treatment regimen, and improved patient skills in chronic disease management. It is also a democratic approach to empower them to become involved with treatment planning.

Going to the US I want to broaden my horizon gaining more knowledge on public health as well as to explore the American culture and share Uzbek culture with Americans. Undoubtedly my cultural diversity will be a great contribution to the US University. Being raised in a farmer family in the village, visiting different countries and now living in the capital city, I have experienced the similarities and differences among many diverse cultural groups and geographical areas. This allowed me to relate to different types of people by understanding their ways and beliefs, a quality that will help me work well with other people.

My strength as a candidate to Muskie graduate fellowship program lies mostly in the objectives that I plan to fulfill upon returning home. I will work at the ministry of health and create policies on health promotion to increase the medical education of the population at all levels, formulate and maintain health care principles and advancements in detection and prevention of disease, and the restoration of health. I hope to work on important problems of health care, from expanding health insurance coverage and eliminating disparities, to designing and improving the performance of entire health systems.

To my mind it is of key importance to have possibilities to obtain excellent education and to conduct certain research projects independently that is why I consider public health studies in the US as the next professional stepping stone in my career. I had the chance to construct and implement a public health project on my own last summer, but the most important thing I learned there was that I still had a lot to learn. The fact is that the best possible supervisors and a highly competitive atmosphere are necessary for me to achieve my goal.

I hope one day there will be no AIDS, no drug addiction, no alcoholism, no smoking and no one's uncle will suffer from diabetes as most of these diseases are preventable, and I will be there playing my part in it.

Thank you a lot!!!