Our Projects
Improving College Resilience and Graduation Success
A college degree has become increasingly important in the United States and is linked to future success, more career options, higher employment rates, higher income and greater civic engagement. Despite these known benefits, many students struggle in college and drop out without a degree. The overall graduation rate (both 4-year and 2-year schools) in 6 years was 58% from National Student Clearinghouse Research Center (NSCRC) report, published Dec 2018. Only about 40% attained a 4-year degree in 4 years. The rate is even lower for first generation students with only 27% graduated in 4 years from Higher Education Research Institute at UCLA (HERI), published 2011. For low income, first generation students, almost 50% dropped out within 6 years of initial enrollment without ever earning a degree (Pell Institute, published Dec 2011).
This is a serious and costly problem. Delayed graduation and low graduation rates result in costs to the students (opportunity cost and student debts), educational institutions (school reputation and resources) and society (lack of an educated workforce).
Many factors contribute to the low college retention and graduation rates including academic, economic and social barriers. Research has shown that many first generation students struggle with the transition from high school to college, lack experience with college learning and social environments, and experience feelings of isolation and loss of social support from high school friends and family.
EastBridge Foundation (EBF) partners with nonprofit community based organizations to develop measurable and scalable interventions to build college resilience and improve graduation success with a focus on low income and first generation students. For example, EBF partners with the Chinese-American Planning Council (CPC) to develop a program for incoming freshmen to celebrate graduation from high school and the transition to college, to educate by sharing peer-to-peer common experiences and build specific skills, and to connect by accelerating the building of a peer social support system with early connection to peers and mentors.
Improving Maternal Health in Developing Countries
In developed countries, the rate of deaths among women during pregnancy is generally low, ranging from <5 per 100,000 live births (e.g. Finland, Italy, Japan) to 7 in Canada, or 14 in the United States. In contrast less-developed countries can have death rates 100 times higher. In Indonesia, the maternal mortality rate is estimated to be about 126, almost 10 times higher than in the US. In a country the size of Indonesia, this amounts to about 6,000 excess maternal deaths per year as compared to the US. In a study published in 2019, Indonesian obstetric leaders reviewed 90 maternal deaths and concluded that 90% of those deaths were preventable. The magnitude of the problem of inadequate maternal care is further amplified when considering the accompanying rates of nonfatal injuries to mothers, premature births, neonatal deaths and infant morbidity such as cerebral palsy.
The medical causes of deaths among pregnant women are multiple and not within the scope of this article. But, a common systems framework for thinking about poor maternal care is the three delays paradigm. The First Delay is in a woman seeking care. This could reflect a poor understanding of when help is needed, acceptance of complications or even death as fate, cultural issues impeding a call for help, financial concerns or a lack of access. The Second Delay is in reaching care. Simplistically, this could be due to the distance to health facilities or providers, a lack of good transportation, or the prohibitive cost of transportation. The Third Delay is in receiving adequate care, which may be due to the lack of skilled staff, medical facilities or supplies. Putting it all together, a pregnant woman is more likely to have a better outcome if she knows when she needs medical care, gets it promptly, from skilled personnel in proper facilities.
EBF recognizes that this is a complex problem, and its current project can only contribute to a full holistic solution. EBF is developing an app communication tool to link expectant mothers with their midwife or other health care provider. The app will enable the woman to report how she is feeling, and submit simple data, such as her weight, to her remote provider or clinic. The midwife will review these observations and contact the woman if there is any concern or need for follow up. By increasing the collection of more frequent self-reported observations, EBF hopes to reduce Delays #1 and #2, helping the mother to get more timely medical assessment and care. Reviews by US midwives and obstetricians and Indonesian health IT experts project that this should be feasible for women to use in a low-income environment, and would be clinically beneficial during the second half of a pregnancy, particularly among higher risk pregnant women.