Interviews
We wanted to shape our project from different perspectives to achieve socially responsible research. Thus, we consulted with government officials, experts, and academic specialists to consider the application of our project in society. From the interviews, we understood the process and the standards for verification for medical devices from the Taiwan Food and Drug Administration (TFDA). Moreover, we learned about pretreatment of blood sample from The Dengue Prevention and Control Center. We also comprehended the modification of gold nanoparticles after consulting with experts in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at National Chung Cheng University.
Public Survey
We wanted to find out how much the public knows about dengue and their demands for a dengue virus detection kit. Thus, we created a questionnaire and received 248 questionnaires by sharing the it online and distributing it in the community.
The results showed nearly 70% of people did not know about severe dengue and nearly 70% did not know what kind of treatment is required for dengue fever. This shows that the public in Taiwan lack common understanding about dengue, which leads to low awareness about the severity of this disease in Taiwan. This urged us to conduct outreach and education programs to popularize knowledge of dengue fever.
From the survey we also determined that our detection kit meets their needs, as it should have high sensitivity during the first five days of symptoms, which is when people would consult a doctor.
Education
Podcast
Podcast has become a popular platform to convey knowledge in Taiwan. In order to reach the general public, we created a podcast program with 7 episodes talking about synthetic biology.
Dengue Fever Information in Taiwanese Hokkien
Taiwan is considered an aged society, as the aged population reached 16% in 2018. We invited the elderly in our community help us record a dengue fever information audio in Taiwanese Hokkien, targeting senior citizens, who mostly use this local dialect.
Children’s Storybook
We created a children’s storybook to spark children’s interest in science. To reach to more children and increase the impact of our storybook, we translated it into English, Chinese, and Hindi.
Educational Activity
We went to the Cheng-He Confucian academic center, a religious center where children study Confucianism, teaching them basic ideas about biology.
Radio Interview
We were invited by National Education Radio to introduce synthetic biology, iGEM competition and also our project.
Communication
We joined the 2020 Taiwan iGEM Conference, which provided us a chance to share our project and received lots of valuable advice from other teams and professors. We also participated in a panel discussion focusing on sustainable development goals (SDGs). This lead us to have a deeper understanding of SDGs.