|
Weekly News and Notes
From the Duke Global Health Institute
Greetings!
Thanks to the more than 75 people who attended the first Duke Surgery Global Health Symposium last Saturday. We had outstanding speakers, lively discussion and an inspiring keynote address by Dr. Haile Debas from University of California-San Francisco (see Alyssa's interview with Dr. Debas below). Many thanks to Dr. Danny Jacobs, chair of Dept of Surgery, and Dr. Sandhya Lagoo for collaborating with DGHI to make this event a success.
We are also grateful to the more than 100 people who have completed the DGHI Communication Survey. If you haven't added your voice and ideas, click here and follow the link in the Important News section.
In today's edition, read about the global health certificate capstone student projects and the US Treasury Department's contribution to a new global agriculture and food security program.
Until next week,
Geelea Seaford and Everyone at DGHI |
|
|
Global Health Students Showcase Final Projects at DGHI Poster Session
By Alyssa Zamora
It takes a well-researched, thoughtful, and collaborative effort to address the health disparities that exist today around the world. On a much smaller scale, more than 40 graduating Duke global health certificate students had the chance to do just that, and showcased the outcomes of their final projects at Monday's poster session.
Under the direction of Capstone Instructors David Boyd and Dennis Clements, students worked in groups to research and develop an intervention related to a health disparity topic. Projects ranged from U.S. health care reform, mental health in Columbian slums and orphan care in Iraq to disaster relief in Haiti, to water and sanitation in Peru, and child nutritional programs in Bangladesh. Capstone instructors David Boyd and Dennis Clements thanked the students for their hard work throughout the semester and on their projects. |
"These projects truly run the gamut, addressing a variety of global health issues all over the globe. This attests to the students' global interests," said Boyd. "We have asked them many questions to see how hard they could work, and without question, they have all come through. I am as proud of my students as I have ever been of any group of students in my life. When I look around and see the work they've done, I think this is what our global health certificate is all about."
One of the groups used the Haiti earthquake as a case study to evaluate the preparedness, mobilization and distribution of emergency food and water assistance in the wake of a natural disaster. They coordinated a live video interview with a food cluster leader from the UN's World Food Program who is currently on the ground in Haiti.
"It was an awesome experience to have someone with so much influence to contact directly about our project. He provided us with photos, information and the real-world perspective of how relief efforts are going in Haiti. It helped us answer some critical questions about coordination of efforts by international agencies," said group member Stephanie Maestre. "Also, to get primary sources from people involved in disaster relief after the Haiti earthquake was very helpful."
The group also interviewed Duke physician Dr. Ian Greenwald who led several Duke Medicine teams to Haiti after the earthquake. Based on these interviews and their own research, the students recommended more coordination of international aid, particularly a clear labeling system for food resources entering a disaster-stricken area, a more streamlined strategy for road clearing of debris, the simultaneous distribution of food and water resources and an insurance program for low-income nations at high risk of natural disasters.
The capstone course serves as the final requirement in the global health certificate program, which is intended to have students think critically about what they've learned in the classroom and from their fieldwork experience, and develop a solution to a current global health challenge. As in years past, the global health certificate students continue to be an impressive group of committed individuals who are destined to contribute great things to the world and to the field of global health.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
Renowned Surgeon, Global Health Leader says Surgery Must Be Priority
Across low- and middle-income countries, a lack of trained health professionals, equipment and health system is making it difficult to care for the sick. At the same time, chronic diseases and trauma are increasingly prevalent in these underserved areas. Renowned global health leader Dr. Haile Debas says more attention must be paid to surgery as one solution to meeting health care needs, and should be made a global priority.
The complex topic was addressed by Debas in his keynote speech at Saturday's Duke Surgery Global Health Symposium, sponsored by the Duke Department of Surgery and the Duke Global Health Institute. The event addressed important issues related to surgical care and underserved populations and its implications on public policy, governance, funding and access to care.
Debas, a gastrointestinal surgeon by training, is responsible for coordinating a University of California-wide Global Health Institute, which brings together faculty and students from ten UC campuses to address global health issues. Debas said this kind of collaboration is necessary for addressing vast global health needs abroad, including building capacity for sustainable health systems and surgical centers in low-resource settings.
In the following video, click to learn more about Debas' work to transform global health at the University of California- San Francisco and his appeal to universities, the government and nonprofit organization to make surgery a global health priority. 
US Partners with Donors to Commit $880 Million for Global Food Security Fund
The U.S. Treasury has announced $880 million in contributions from the U.S., Canada, Spain, South Korea and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for the new World Bank-hosted Global Agriculture and Food Security Program
Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner said the U.S. is backing the program because a global economy where more than one billion people suffer from hunger is not a sustainable one.
The money will be used to finance medium-to long-term projects to boost agricultural development in low-income countries. The fund's focus will be to 1) raise agricultural productivity through investments in land use planning, better irrigation infrastructure and development of farm machinery leasing markets; 2) develop rural roads to better connect farmers to markets and improve other infrastructure to better handle harvested crops; and 3) provide better technical assistance to farmers, boost distribution of agriculture inputs such as seeds, and strengthen producer organizations.
|
|
Faculty News and Funding
Get a Preview of Duke's Human Simulation and Patient Safety Center, April 29
April 29, 9:30am 11:00am, Duke CE room NC1.04 Einstein.
RSVP to Debby Coffman (deborah.coffman@duke.edu)
Duke faculty and staff are invited to attend an upcoming event hosted by Duke's Human Simulation and Patient Safety Center, which is doing innovative work with gaming environments to train teams of medical students in emergency medicine techniques. The project is called 3DiTeams. Specific aims of the project include: · Development of an immersive environment software platform for training of health care skills. · Content development for the training of team coordination skills. · Prototype of the 3D immersive environment using a military trauma scenario for the purposes of proof-of-concept. · Planning for an assessment of ease of use and efficacy through an experimental trial at Duke University Medical Center. The development of 3DiMD will provide an effective solution to the problem of expanding the scope of team coordination skill training in military health care environments. In addition, the software platform will allow for the integration of multiple scenarios and work environments (e.g., training modules) to allow expansion into public health care environments.
Funding Opportunities
NEW! International Research Ethics Education and Curriculum Development Award (R25)
This funding opportunity seeks applications from institutions/organizations that propose to develop masters level curricula and provide educational opportunities for developing country academics, researchers and health professionals in ethics related to performing research involving human subjects in international resource poor settings. Deadline June 21. Read more.
NEW! International Extramural Associates Research Development Awards
This funding opportunity seeks applications from institutions that wish to strengthen an existing research administrative infrastructure for the purpose of enhancing and supporting biomedical and behavioral research capacity and activities. Deadline August 3. Read more.
NEW! International Research in Infectious Diseases including AIDS (IRIDA) Program (R01)
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases encourages the submission of R01 applications from institutions in eligible foreign countries to conduct studies and establish collaborative infectious diseases research with investigators and institutions at international sites where NIAID has significant investment in research and/or infrastructure. Deadline September 16. Read more.
Education/Training Opportunities
Robert E. Shope International Fellowship in Infectious Diseases
Individuals with doctoral-level degrees who seek fellowship funding to support travel, living and research expenses to work in laboratories in the tropics to pursue studies in arbovirology and/or emerging tropical infectious diseases are invited to apply for the Robert E. Shope International Fellowship. Deadline May 20. Read more.
NEW! Post-Graduate Diploma in Health Economics, Health Care Financing and Health Policy
The first of its kind in India, this course is premised on the belief that enhanced understanding and knowledge of health economics approaches and techniques, health systems research, monitoring and evaluation and health policy analysis is central to more effective policies and programs for better health services. Deadline June 30. Read more.
* * * For additional faculty opportunities, click here. |
|
Education Opportunity
Global Semester Abroad in India and China: Call for Applications
Applications are now being accepted on a rolling basis as long as space permits for the Duke Global Semester Abroad program, which begins in 2011. Join your fellow students to expore health and development issues in India and China while being immersed in their cultures for a semester. The Sanford School of Public Policy, the Department of Cultural Anthropology and the Duke Global Health Institute partnered to offer this opportunity to undergraduate students. Read more.
Job Opportunities
Career Postings from the Global Health Career Network
Are you graduating this semester? Are you interested in a career in global health? See the latest job opportunities available from the Global Health Council, which is a great resource for young adults entering the field. See their website. Also, see other global health career resources from DGHI.
Grand Challenges Explorations: Accepting Proposals for Round 5
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is now accepting grant proposals for Round 5 of Grand Challenges Explorations, a US $100 million initiative to encourage unconventional global health solutions. Anyone can apply, regardless of education or experience level. Deadline May 19. Read more.
* * *
|
|
|
|
|
April 28 » 8:30 am - 4 pm
Sheraton Imperial Hotel and Convention Center, RTP
April 29 » 12-1:30 pm
Rhodes Conference Room, Sanford School of Public Policy
April 30 » 2:30-4:30 pm
Westbrook Room 0015, Duke Divinity School
May 3 » 4 pm
LSRC A109, Nicholas School of the Environment
York Room, Divinity School
|
|
Video Corner
"Global Childhood Obesity Epidemic: Challenges and Opportunities"
University Seminar on Global Health featuring Youfa Wang, Center for Human Nutrition, Departments of International Health and Epidemiology, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University.
|
|
"Nurturing Leaders for Health Care"
-- The New York Times
Featuring the comments of Kevin Schulman, DGHI member and director of the health sector management program at the Fuqua School of Business.
|
|
