"Praava Health’s mission is derived from the concept that patients should always be at the center of health care. Praava’s goal is to ensure that each of their patients feels valued and heard as they navigate their health care in Bangladesh. In Bangladesh today, health care providers spend an average of 48 seconds with their patients. Praava has created a paradigm shift, with its providers spending an average of fifteen minutes with each patient. As a health systems intern, I worked on designing a patient experience strategy that the communications team will use to ensure each patient feels valued, heard, and has a seamless experience whether they come to Praava for in-person appointments or telehealth visits. Another pivotal project I worked on was designing patient communication tools targeting new and existing patients. These communication tools ranged from blogs, interviews with doctors, or op-eds from leading experts at Praava. These tools helped grow the patient base while educating existing patients on the importance of preventative health care measures, especially related to chronic disease management and diagnoses. Lastly, Praava struggled with siloed teams. Along with another intern, I redesigned the existing process to ensure that the marketing and operations teams work collectively and integrate processes to deliver patient services, especially COVID-19 testing services. This redesign is now being implemented and used by both teams.

As a public health practitioner, my goal is to always put health care equity and patient needs above the “bottom line,” but health care is a complex field and business is a pivotal part of its functioning. Together, health care and business can make sustainable, lasting change, especially in an emerging market. While at Praava, I used my health promotion and strategy skills to ensure patient communication tools were distilled to include the most accessible information. I also used skills from my op-ed course and implemented them each time Praava published an op-ed. I used a myriad of health promotion theories while writing content for Praava to encourage healthy behaviors that aimed to reduce the chronic disease burden in Bangladesh, while also educating the public about engaging in risky behaviors. My public health writing, health care promotion, and strategy skills were all applicable while at Praava.

The first challenge I faced was the fast-paced, startup nature of Praava. Everything was time sensitive. Coming from a public health background, I was not used to having such quick turnaround times, but it was also a skill I acquired throughout my time there. The second challenge was the distance. Working on numerous projects across time zones and teams proved to be difficult because there was conflicting feedback and work styles, which made it a challenge to complete some tasks promptly. The last challenge was the government closure of Praava Health at the end of my internship. This was a problem for the entire organization, and it was disheartening to witness an organization so determined to provide quality health care for Bangladeshis be shut down for political reasons. Praava’s leadership managed the entirety of the shutdown efficiently and eventually, Praava was able to reopen, but it was a challenge to work given the sensitivity of Praava’s PR response.

At Praava, I gained business skills and was exposed to how a business functions in a complex market like Bangladesh. I gained insight into the nuance of running a health care company in a South Asian market. The expectation was to be agile and innovative. I am fortunate I acquired business and strategy skills, as both are imperative in the public health sphere as well. Praava also gave me the skills needed to manage teams across different time zones with various personalities. My goal is to eventually work at the intersection of the private sector and impact and Praava has given me a strong foundation to begin my journey in that space. My experience throughout Praava emphasized the value of raising the ideas and voices of junior staff. My internship at Praava equipped me with the skills I previously lacked in the health care business space, and I will use them as I progress in my career as a global health consultant in emerging markets, focused in South Asia."