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Greetings!
At DGHI, when we say global health we mean not just the health of people "over there"; we mean the health of people "everywhere". That includes the people of North Carolina. Read about the work of our four Health Disparities Fellows who are addressing critical health issues in their communities of NC.
They say a picture is worth a thousand words. In the case of the photo exhibit coming to DGHI this week, a picture is worth so much more. Don't miss the DGHI photo exhibit, Sights of the Streets: Changing the Perceptions of Street Children in Eldoret, Kenya this Thursday on the first floor of Trent Hall. The lecture begins at 4:30 pm and is followed by a reception. Students will have a special opportunity to meet the curator of the exhibit and co-founder of the Tumaini Children's Center in Kenya. The Global Health Conversations will be at 3 pm in Room 124 Trent.
Come experience life on the streets through the lens of a child, while learning about their struggles with addiction and the need for public health inventions for this stigmatized population. This Thursday and Friday until noon only!
Until next week,
Geelea Seaford and Everyone at DGHI |
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Fellows Address Health Disparities in North Carolina
Disparities in health are not only felt in poor countries around the world, but also here at home. As fellows in the North Carolina Health Disparities Fellowship, four public health professionals are the first to complete the two-year program which culminates in a year-long project in their communities.
 "The breadth of topics the fellows chose for their projects speaks to the wide array of health disparities that exist in North Carolina, and their work speaks to the impact we each can make locally, when we work collaboratively and engage our communities. Their work has the potential to inform policy, programming, and community health outcomes," said Morgan Barlow, who coordinates the fellowship through DGHI.
The two-year fellowship supported by the North Carolina Health and Wellness Trust Fund (HWTF) and administered by DGHI, concludes with a presentation before the funders and other HWTF Health Disparities Initiative grantees. The training program seeks to engage mid-level public health and social work professionals to develop interventions locally that address complex issues related to health disparities, and the first class of fellows have come away with invaluable experience.
"I have gained so much knowledge and experience that I can directly apply to my daily work. I would not have been able to get this intensive training anywhere else," said fellow Jennifer Danai, health initiatives manager at North Carolina Academy of Family Physicians (NCAFP), whose project centered on building capacity among health care providers to care for Hispanic patients. |
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Access to Health Care Impacts Burden of Disease, says DGHI Researcher
In the Kilifi District of Kenya's Coast Province, nearly three-quarters of children live more than an hour from the nearest primary care facility. The inability to access fundamental health care services is a common problem in low-resource areas where there is limited public infrastructure and health workers. DGHI faculty member Wendy O'Meara says this accessibility issue can impact burden of disease.
 As part of O'Meara's research on the barriers to accessing health care, she found a higher incidence of malaria among people who lived the farthest distance from a health care facility. She asked the question: How many episodes could have been averted by access to a health facility? She found that 38 percent of hospital admissions could have been averted if patients lived within an hour of a primary care facility, and 48 percent of hospital admissions averted if less than 30 minutes away.
Speaking at last Thursday's Global Health Exchange, O'Meara said the focus should be on improving access to care in rural areas of Kenya, rather than solely improving hospital care.
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DGHI Unveils New Alumni Section of Website
Through DGHI's new alumni section, Duke Alumni working in global health can now get connected with other alumni, students and friends in the field, and easily find ways to get involved at the Institute - such as mentoring and attending special events.
The new section of the website features Duke alumni profiles from a multitude of degree programs, levels of experience and backgrounds, as well as career resources and opportunities for networking through social media.
The website unveiling is part of the launch of the DGHI Affinity Group, which allows its members to stay informed about DGHI activities and opportunities through regular newsletters and reports.
Ways to Get Involved:
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In the Media
- VOA: Funding Medical Education In Africa (In collaboration with DGHI, Tanzania's KCMC was awarded this grant) |
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Faculty Research
John Bartlett, MD | Bartlett Awarded $1.3M to Develop Research Capacity in Africa for Studies on HIV-Associated Malignancies
DGHI Associate Director of Research John Bartlett, also professor of medicine at Duke University Medical Center, is principal investigator of a new three-year, $1.3 million international training grant from the National Cancer Institute. The funding will develop research capacity in HIV-associated malignancies in partnership with the Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre (KCMC), a Duke global health site in Moshi, Tanzania, where there is a significant amount of HIV infection and associated complications, including cervical cancer. Building upon the Duke-KCMC partnership's initial investment in scientific infrastructure in Tanzania, the grant will enable the short- and long-term training of 35 investigators and research staff in clinical and laboratory research methodology, pathology, radiology and support. The training will combine opportunities to engage in network-sponsored and investigator-initiated research into HIV-associated malignancies. |
Global Health Opportunities
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