Class Of 2026

Ma-Emton No-Oo

How did you come to this work?

My family immigrated from Egypt to America in the 90’s. With many family members  both then and now working diligently in healthcare, I was constantly exposed to this profession from a  young age. I began to hear stories comparing healthcare in America to that in Egypt. These also included   immigration stories of many friends and neighbors who sought healthcare in America. By the  time I was graduating high school, my aunt, who had lived her entire (let’s just say 65 years of) life in Egypt, made a permanent immigration to the United States to seek medical treatment here.  As a public health major myself I became intrigued by the flawed healthcare system that made my aunt move across the world for treatment. In the summer of 2023 I traveled to Egypt, through the help of the MSH Research Fellows grant, to study the state of its healthcare system.

What resonated with you as you conducted your research?

My research project investigates and identifies  the causes of healthcare disparities in Egypt. My primary research subjects included doctors, pharmacists, healthcare practitioners and workers, and the general population. In using the information I gather from my research subjects; my project aims to highlight the role healthcare plays in the lives of Egyptians; its benefits and drawbacks; discrepancies in accessibility and quality of service; and Egyptian perspectives about the government’s progress in the field of healthcare.

Research limitations include the religion and profession of the interviewees.  Egyptian citizens not working in the healthcare profession were not willing to be formally included as interviewees but were willing to have general conversations with me about healthcare – so long as their words, thoughts, and opinions were not included in the study. Apart from one interviewee, all interviewees were Copts, as non-Copts were rather hesitant to participate in interviews [ethno-religious Orthodox Christian minority in Egypt] since I am an American-born Copt. Although religious discrimination has decreased immensely under the current administration, it has not been fully eradicated as seen in this project.

Do you plan on continuing this work? If so, in what way?

A secondary line of research following this project would be to analyze the efficacy of  the Universal Healthcare Law of 2018 on a systematic level. Additionally, interviews with  Egyptian immigrants living in America would help to understand how their experience with  healthcare in America compares to that in Egypt. The secondary line would help to highlight  struggles that common immigrant families experience as they navigate the American healthcare  system to propose possible solutions to ameliorate these roadblocks.