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Greetings!
Summer is in full swing and the oppressive North Carolina heat has arrived. Despite the heat, DGHI faculty are busy publishing new and important research on the health of diverse populations, from orphans in Africa and Asia to clergy in North Carolina. Read the latest from these initiatives below.
Coming up later this summer, look for commentary from DGHI Director Michael Merson on the future of PEPFAR in a new paper to be released at the International AIDS Conference. Also in July, DGHI is pleased to join the Duke School of Nursing as we host a delegation of undergraduate and graduate students from Wuhan University. We'll provide you with a full report of both initiatives later in July. In the meantime, take time to enjoy the summer.
Until next time,
Geelea Seaford and Everyone at DGHI
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Caregiver's Health is Strong Predictor of Orphan's Health
The health of a caregiver is the most important predictor of orphan health, according to a new Duke University study that spans five less-wealthy nations in Africa and Asia. More important than an orphan's geographic location, living conditions or past trauma, the Duke study finds that an unhealthy caregiver likely means an unhealthy child.
The findings prompt Duke researchers to call for international orphan policies to place greater attention on assessing and treating an orphan and his caregiver's health together, rather than focusing solely on children's health.
Published in PLoS One today, the study of more than 1,300 randomly selected orphans and abandoned children from six diverse settings found strong and consistent associations between poorer child health and poorer health among their caregivers. One in five children was in fair or poor health, with one in four reporting symptoms like fever, cough and/or diarrhea in the previous two weeks. Forty-five percent of the caregivers in the study reported their own health to be fair or poor, and one out of four also had similar symptoms in the past two weeks. Children in fair or poor health were also more likely to have suffered additional traumatic events beyond losing a parent and to receive fewer than three meals a day. However, children whose caregivers were more involved in their lives and well-being were less likely to be sick or unhealthy. "This study produces strong evidence to inform policy and resource allocation relevant to the health of this large vulnerable child population worldwide," said Nathan Thielman, lead author and associate professor of medicine and global health at the Duke Global Health Institute. "Specifically, policies that promote orphan well-being should include health assessments and interventions that target the caregiver-child dyad."  * Duke researchers launched a website OVCwellbeing.org to share more details about their work.
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Global Health Doctoral Scholars Named
Two new Duke Global Health Doctoral Scholars have been named - Jiesheng Tan Soo and Divya Guru Rajan - the second group of doctoral students who will complement th eir primary disciplines of environmental policy and public policy with global health research. A DGHI dissertation grant has also been awarded to political science doctoral student Gregory Schober.
As Global Health Doctoral Scholars (GHDS), Rajan and Tan Soo will spend a minimum of nine months working on their global health projects and be mentored by a DGHI faculty member. They are also able to connect with other global health experts and resources on campus - including the opportunity to collaborate with DGHI faculty members.
"I am really honored and delighted to be named a doctoral scholar by DGHI," said Jiesheng Tan Soo, a doctoral student at the Nicholas School. "This award is a real confidence booster as I take this as a sign that I am moving in the right direction academically and in terms of research."
Tan Soo is interested in using a social science lens to break the link between disease and the environment. His projects are focused on the factors that lead to diseases such as respiratory illnesses, diarrhea and other water-based diseases facing the poor and rural populations in developing countries.
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Creating Health Interventions for Clergy Proves Complex
Clergy have been found to have higher-than-average rates of chronic disease and depression. But it may be difficult to get them into care because pastors default to caring for others first. Duke University researchers have been trying to design health programs that will be more effective for clergy, given these tendencies.
"Clergy recognize the importance of caring for themselves, but doing so takes a back seat to fulfilling their vocational responsibilities, which are tantamount to caring for an entire community," said Rae Jean Proeschold-Bell, research director of the Clergy Health Initiative at Duke Divinity School and assistant research professor at the Duke Global Health Institute.
"Many pastors equate self-care with selfishness," said Proeschold-Bell. "They feel they need permission to take the time to attend to their health. A health intervention aimed at clergy must address this tendency head-on."
Her group's latest study, published in the Journal of Prevention & Intervention in the Community, underscores the need to place preventive care programs for clergy in the context of their beliefs, congregations, and institutional structures. The findings are drawn from in-depth focus group data from 88 United Methodist clergy in North Carolina.
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UNC, Duke Partner to Combat Child Obesity
A new $3.3 million project to simultaneously combat childhood obesity and help home-based child care owners adopt healthy practices will be undertaken by a partnership between researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel  Hill and Duke University. Led by Dianne Ward at UNC and Truls Ostbye at Duke, The Healthy You, Healthy Home, Healthy Business, or H-3 project, will be based in family child care homes, which are small business where providers care for children out of their own homes. Ostbye is a professor in the Duke University Department of Community and Family Medicine and Duke Global Health Institute. Ward is a professor of nutrition at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health and research fellow at the UNC Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention.
The H-3 intervention will help child care providers become healthy role models and create family home child care environments that are supportive of good nutrition and physical activity and that adopt healthy business practices. The program includes group workshops, on-site visits, tailored coaching phone calls and educational toolkits.
Duke AHEC Program Takes Lamaze Childbirth Training Class to Kenya
 The Duke Area Health Education Center (AHEC) Program is providing Lamaze childbirth educator training in Nairobi, Kenya, with the most recent trip taking place this past spring. In partnership with Africa Inland Mission, Duke AHEC's Tara Owens Shuler led training for 26 Kenyan health care providers and community health workers in an effort to promote safe and health birth practices among pregnant women.
Thanks to the many donations and sponsors from colleagues and partners in the US, each program participant has received essential teaching supplies so they can share their newfound knowledge with other women and the larger community. Since 2005, the Duke AHEC Program has offered three Lamaze childbirth educator trainings in Kenya, reaching more than 50 nurses, midwives, community health workers and one OB/GYN. As a result, hospitals, such as Aga Khan University, Nairobi Hospital and Mater Hospitals, have developed their own childbirth education programs for expectant women and their partners. Some Kenyan midwives have also established their own businesses offering childbirth education to women in the community. |
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Global Health Opportunities
Job Opportunities
Joint Faculty Position in Global Cancer Research, Duke Cancer Institute and Duke Global Health Institute
Upcoming Conferences
2012 International AIDS Conference, July 22-27, Washington, D.C.
APHA Annual Meeting, Oct. 27-31, San Francisco, CA
Global Symposium on Health Systems Research, Oct. 31-Nov. 3, Beijing, China
61st Annual ASTMH Conference, Nov. 11-15, Atlanta, GA
Faculty
DGHI Global Cancer Research Request for Proposals - due Sept. 1
Global Health & Innovation Conference 2013: Call for Abstracts
DukeEngage Facuolty Call for Proposals to Lead Programs
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