|
February 7, 2012
Subscribe
Archive
|
|
Greetings!
Capacity-building is a term we often use to describe our research and training projects. It's like the familiar proverb, "Give a man a fish and you will feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime." Most - if not all - of our research has some form of capacity-building built in. Why? Because that's what global health is all about.
Today we bring you the story of Bob Malkin and a new grant from the GE Foundation that expands his curriculum on how to repair broken medical equipment to Ghana and Cambodia. Read more about this innovative training program below.
Mark your calendar for this Friday, 8:30am -3pm, for the symposium, Water and Energy: Improving Access through Small Scale Solutions. Organized by the Nicholas School of the Environment's Student International Discussion Group and Duke's Energy Initiative and co-sponsored by DGHI, this symposium highlights the impact small-scale projects and technologies can have on the problems of clean water and energy access faced by millions around the world. Make plans to attend.
Until next week,
Geelea Seaford and Everyone at DGHI
|
|
|
|
|
New Funding Takes Duke Biomedical Equipment Training Program to West Africa, Southeast Asia
A curriculum developed by Duke engineering students to train biomedical engineers and technicians in resource-poor settings on how to repair broken medical equipment, will be expanded to Ghana and Cambodia. The GE Foundation  pledged more than $530,000 in January to expand the Duke Biomedical Equipment Technician Training Program, which is currently under way in Rwanda and is filling a need for trained personnel to maintain and repair broken medical equipment. Worldwide, more than 95% of medical equipment in the hospitals of low-income countries is imported. Yet, Duke research shows that 40-95% of this equipment is out of service. Under the leadership Robert Malkin, founder of Engineering World Health and director of Duke's Developing World Healthcare Technology Laboratory (DHTLab), this research also found that 70-80% of this equipment could be repaired without importing spare parts - paving the way for the three-year effort to train technicians in Rwanda. The BMET training is currently training several dozen Rwandan biomedical engineers and technicians across more than 200 hospitals and clinics, where there is a shortage of trained biomedical engineers and training opportunities available. So far, data shows half of the broken medical equipment in Rwanda has been brought back into service because of the training. The Duke program is also being used in Honduras, and is being considered in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Ethiopia. |
|
|
Block the Snack-Food Blitz During the Super Bowl
Duke News & Communications
Tom Brady and Eli Manning weren't the only ones with a lot on the line in this Sunday's Super Bowl contest.
Advertisers of the annual sporting ritual hoped to lure millions of viewers into buying their pizza, beer, tacos,  cars, soda, chips and more.
Viewers have come to expect memorable performances and highly creative -- and expensive -- TV commercials that air throughout the game.
"With all of the competition for our attention these days, marketers are trying harder than ever to reach us on Super Bowl Sunday," says Gary Bennett, associate professor of psychology and global health. "Last year more than 11 million people watched the Super Bowl, and this year companies will be paying up to $4 million for each 30-second spot."
Bennett, who also directs the Duke Obesity Prevention Program, says that along with the laughs and viral videos these commercials generate each year, there's also a negative aspect: Snack food commercials, and lots of them.
"Food industry advertising has come under attack from federal regulators and some in the scientific community, because of mounting research evidence of its influence on our waistlines, particularly among children," Bennett says.
Gary Bennett was also featured in The Herald-Sun.
|
| |
Operation Smile Co-founder Gives Inspirational Talk at DGHI
Cleft of the lip, palate or both occurs in about one in every 1,000 babies worldwide. The third most common birth defect is possible to repair with surgery, but many children in low- and middle- income countries never get treated because there aren't enough trained surgeons to perform the operation. The medical nonprofit Operation Smile, which began with a mission trip in the Philippines in 1991, has become widely known for its cleft lip and palate surgical care.
In a DGHI talk last week, Operation Smile co-founder William Magee emphasized how his organization was able to grow into a global medical nonprofit and become sustainable. He also shared lessons he's learned that could apply to Duke students who want to make a difference in global health.
Duke's involvement with Operation Smile dates back to 2002, as the result of a formal education partnership with Chinese leaders. In 2005, a fellowship was established to bring Chinese plastic surgeons to Duke for a one-year educational experience. Duke plastic surgeon Jeffrey Marcus joined Operation Smile's global effort in 2007 with a medical mission trip to China. Marcus has also performed cleft lip/palate surgeries on behalf of Operation Smile in Panama and the Philippines. Back at Duke, some of Marcus' clinical research explores outcomes of cleft care to develop standards for evaluating a team's overall success. |
| | | | |
|
|
|
Physician Assistant Students Blog from Sri Lanka
Tracy Curtis and Holly Stump are doing a global health rotation in Sri Lanka as a result of a new partnership between the First Global Health Leaders Program, the Duke PA Program and the Duke Global Health Institute. Learn more. The blogs are also posted on Sen. Bill Frist's " Hope Through Healing Hands" Blog.
Casualty Day: Karapitiya Hospital in Sri Lanka
By Tracy Curtis
 "...Another interesting difference that struck me was the absence of beeping monitors and other technology on the wards. Vitals are obtained manually at regular intervals and charted on a paper above the patient's bed. There were no oxygen tanks hooked up for the COPD patients, no controls to adjust the hospital bed for comfort and certainly no television sets. The physicians and students are heavily reliant upon their physical exam skills. It was impressive how well these physicians could hear breath and heart sounds with all the background noise and conversations amongst providers. I hope I will be able to acquire this same level of competency in my physical exam!..."
On the Pediatrics Ward: Learning in Sri Lanka
by Holly Stump
 "...We were benefited from phenomenal teaching by a handful of consultants who were intent on actively involving their students during rounds. "Palpate this child's skull, Holly. What do you find?" "An open fontanelle sir," I responded. "Quickly, in your notebook, write down 3 reasons you may find an open fontanelle in children over the age of 18 months" he demanded. Apparently noting the oppressive heat in the ward, and the obvious sweat forming on my face, he continued, "Quickly, and then we will go snowboarding!" Snowboarding? "I'll take it," I said. "Too slow," was his response. Then he erupted in laughter, gave me a pat on the back and moved on to the next patient. This kind of rousing I was familiar with!"
|
|
Global Health Opportunities
Job Opportunity
Evaluation Coordinator, Results-Based Financing for Health Impact Evaluation Consultancy - Karnataka, India
Upcoming Conferences
NCD Child Conference, March 12-21, Oakland, CA
Global Surgery Conference, March 22-23, Salt Lake City, UT
Global Health & Innovation Conference, April 21-22, New Haven, CT
International Conference on Global Health, July 18-21, Washington, DC
Faculty
Summer Institute for Training in Biostatistics II - due Feb. 22
Education & Research Innovations in China (ERIC) Request for Proposals - due Mar. 1
Research on Family Complexity, Poverty, and Public Policy Emerging Scholar Grants - due Mar. 1
Request for Duke Service Learning Label and Funds - due Mar. 2
|
|
|
| Received this as a forward? Sign up for future issues. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
