March 1, 2011

Photo by Alice Zhang
Greetings!       

Do you have expertise in water strategies in Pakistan, or oral health among migrant workers in North Carolina?  If so, we're looking for you! Global health capstone students are looking for resources and contacts to inform their final projects.  See the complete list of project topics below and contact us if you have research or experience to share.
  
A few months ago we announced DGHI's new project to strengthen medical education in Moshi, Tanzania at Kilimanjaro Christian Medical College.  Needless to say, this work takes a village. A librarian at the Duke Medical Center Library has gotten into the action and just returned from Moshi where she provided training and counsel to college leaders. Read about her experiences below.    

Until next week,
Geelea Seaford and Everyone at DGHI

 

 
Upcoming Events

PopMED Forum: "Public Health in Nutritional Emergencies"
Mar. 2, 12:15-1:05pm
 
Seniors Seek Your Advice on Final Global Health Projects  
 
Under the leadership of Professors Dennis Clements and David Boyd, 39 Duke students enrolled in the Global Health Capstone course this semester are working in teams to design an innovative solution to a pressing global health challenge.

2010 Capstone 

The Capstone provides seniors with the opportunity to showcase what they've learned in the global health certificate program and to think critically about a global health topic. Student projects range from pesticide exposure in North Carolina and disaster relief in Pakistan to HIV/AIDS orphans in Tanzania and sexual violence in Congo.

 

In addition to conducting in-depth research on their topic, students are seeking the feedback and mentorship of faculty, researchers and professionals on the projects as ideas are being developed. In years past, students have found this professional advice to be especially helpful, and they have reached out to Duke University and School of Medicine faculty, as well as local and international business professionals. In some cases, students used video technology such as Skype to interview project mentors overseas.

 

The Global Health Capstone course is the culmination of the global health certificate program, which includes six global health courses and a summer service-learning experience to gain real-world experience working with community partners in a low-resource setting. Students will present their final projects at a poster session later this spring.

 

If you have information or advice for the student teams on one of the projects listed below, email globalhealth@duke.edu. Please indicate which group or topic about which you have information. It is this kind of expert advice and mentorship that encourages critical thinking and growth as a global health scholar.


2011 Project Topics

When There is No Ark: Water Management Strategies for Post-Disaster Relief in Pakistan

Addressing the Issue of HIV/AIDS Orphans in Dar es Salaam

Developing Legislative Strategies to Increase Cigarette Excise Taxes in the Southeast

Migrant Workers Exposure to Pesticides in North Carolina

Oral Health of Latino Migrant Farm Workers in North Carolina

HIV Transmission among Married Couples in Kenyan Fishing Villages

GIS Mapping and Disease Preparedness in Haiti

Improving Water Quality and Sanitation in India

A Multi-Dimensional Approach to Preventing Sexual Violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo

Promotion of Breast-feeding Initiation, Continuation and Exclusivity in WIC participants in North Carolina                                                                                                                                                             

                                                                                                                                                                                        

 

Improving Library Resources in Tanzania: Duke Medical Center Librarian Blog

 

Megan von Isenburg is Associate Director of Public Services - Information Services at the Duke University Medical Center Library and serves as the liaison to Global Health and Graduate Medical Education. von Isenburg Megan von Isenburg at KCMCjust returned from a visit to the Duke-KCMC partnership in Moshi, Tanzania, where the Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre and DGHI have received a $10 million grant to enhance medical education. The following are her reflections from her trip:

 

"As part of the KCMC-Duke Medical Education Partnership Initiative (MEPI) Grant, I traveled to Moshi, Tanzania, to conduct a needs assessment of the KCMC library and to work with librarian Neema Mosha on potential solutions that could improve access to health information at KCMC.

 

In my week at KCMC, I reviewed the library facility and collections, observed classes and clinical teaching, interviewed several students, and worked with faculty and trainees. I led two training sessions: an introduction to HINARI, a digital library created by a partnership between the World Health Organization and journal publishers that is available for free to low-income countries, and an advanced session on searching the medical literature through PubMed. To assist with individual's research projects, I also offered research consultation services, which proved to be in high demand..."  

                                                          Read more 

                   
Problems Remain Amid Progress in Developing World     

 

By Camille Jackson, Duke Office of News and Communications

 

Many countries in the developing world have made progress in health and other fields in recent decades, but large numbers of people still struggle to survive every day, a panel of experts said Friday at the opening panel of AWTDuke's "A World Together" conference on global development.

 

Michael Merson, director of the Duke Global Health Institute, pointed toward health disparities in our "new converging world," citing chronic disease, climate change and inadequate health systems as key issues. Just as in the United States, tobacco use, obesity and cardiovascular diseases have become major health challenges in the developing world.

 

"There is no longer any doubt how important health is to development. Security threats and health issues impact development. They are intertwined," Merson said.

 

Maya Ajmera, who graduated from Duke with a public policy master's degree, told the story of how she founded The Global Fund for Children, an organization that gives small grants to community-based organizations working with street kids, child laborers, orphans and other young people.

 

She said her effort seeks to use relatively small amounts of capital to help grassroots organizations grow and become sustainable. "There are about 250 million children who are invisible," Ajmera said. "Community-based NGOs can reach them. So we gave them money to reach even more children and stood by them for three to 10 years."

                                                                                               
                                                           Read more 

   
 
 
Global Health News
In the Media
 
Noteworthy             


Duke AHEC Program Announces Polyglot Med Spanish iPhone App       

don taylor

The Duke Area Health Education Center (AHEC) has launched a new tool to bridge the communication gap between health care providers and Spanish-speaking patients.  Polyglot Med Spanish, now available iTunes for free download, is a simple-to-use app that offers immediate audio translation of more than 3,000 common words, phrases and assessment questions from English to Spanish and from Spanish to English.

 

Polyglot Med Spanish is available for use on the iPhone, iPod Touch and the iPad. The tool offers phrases categorized in conversations to allow the health care provider to practice a series of assessment or conversational questions structures to solicit a "yes" or "no" response.  Users can create their "favorites" list, so that locating their most frequently used phrases or questions are fast and easy.

 

The voice of Polyglot Med Spanish is Alicia Gonzalez, a Honduran native and Psychiatric Clinical Nurse Specialist who has worked with the North Carolina AHEC Program to develop and introduce beginning Spanish programs for health care providers since 1998. "Many health care providers work with patients who are predominately Spanish speaking on a daily basis," said Gonzalez.

                                                                                                                    Read more

                                                                                                                                                          

 
Global Health Opportunities   

 

Job Opportunities: Ipas - Research and Evaluation Assistant  

         

Faculty
DGHI Funding: Global Emerging Infections Research - due Mar. 14

 
Photos by Sarah Trent & Dennis Clements
The Duke Global Health Institute was created in 2006 to address health disparities around the world. It is one of seven university-wide interdisciplinary institutes at Duke. Learn more.
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