January 20, 2015                    
 
Members of the Caktus Group testing the new HIV mhealth app

Duke, UNC and Caktus Group Receive $1M NIMH Grant to Develop HIV App  

Researchers from Duke, UNC and Durham-based web application firm Caktus Group have been awarded a $1 million grant from the National Institute of Mental Health to refine and test Epic Allies, an innovative game-based smartphone app designed to help young HIV-positive men who have sex with men adhere to their HIV treatment plan. Sara LeGrand, assistant research professor for global health at the Duke Global Health Institute (DGHI) and the Center for Health Policy and Inequalities Research, and Joseph Egger, research scholar at DGHI, represent Duke in this collaborative project. Lisa Hightow-Weidman, associate professor of medicine at UNC, serves as the lead UNC researcher.   


 
Global Health Humanities students making a video blog using an iPhone. Global Health undergraduate Nicole Payne, center, interviews a fellow student. 

Global Health Humanities Project Encourages Broader Perspective, Focus on Human Stories


Since the 1970s, medical education programs have increasingly focused on training physicians not just as technicians, but as healers. This trend led to a new field called "medical humanities," which uses poetry, stories, visual art, film and other media to help physicians develop critical skills such as observation, listening and empathy so they can engage effectively with their patients. And now, through a new three-year Global Health Humanities project funded by the Dean of Humanities and the Franklin Humanities Institute, faculty at Duke are exploring whether this model could enhance global health education. Could "global health humanities" be one of the next new health fields?

 

 
Study Finds Cognitive Behavioral Counseling Increases Exclusive Breastfeeding   

 

In a recent study, Joanna (Asia) Maselko, assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences and global health at the Duke Global Health Institute (DGHI), and Pakistani colleague Siham Sikander, along with several other researchers, found that cognitive-behavioral counseling significantly extended the duration of exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) in the rural Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province of Pakistan. The success of this study shows that it's possible to simplify sophisticated therapeutic techniques and efficiently train community health workers--the "backbone" of primary health care in low-income countries--to use these techniques effectively. The research team believes that these techniques and the training methods used in this intervention might be applicable to other prevention and health promotion initiatives in similar settings. 

 
Global health students: Looking for one more course this spring? 

 

Consider registering for One Health Intellectual Exchange Group Course: Philosophy to Practical Integration of Human, Animal, and Environmental Health. This interdisciplinary course--taught by DGHI's Christopher Woods and William Pan, as well as faculty from NC State and UNC-Chapel Hill--will explore the bidirectional impact of animal health on human health, the effect of earth's changing ecology on health, food and water security and the benefits of comparative medicine.Learn more and register at the ACES site (look for ENV 774/GLHLTH 771). 

Global Health Opportunities 

Faculty

Students/Trainees

UPCOMING EVENTS

Jan. 21, 3 pm - 5 pm
Bass Connections open house 

 

Jan. 22, 12 pm - 1pm

Screaming in the library: Open access publishing in 2015 

 

Jan. 22, 12 pm - 1pm Global Cancer Working Group 

 

Jan. 27, 4 pm - 5 pm   

Sex worker health: San Francisco style 


Jan. 27, 5 pm - 6 pm   
Never talk to the media; Never trust the government: Bad advice

 

SAVE THE DATE! 

The 2015 DGHI commencement will be held on Friday, May 8.


For more events, visit the DGHI Calendar.

NEWS COVERAGE
NOTEWORTHY

2015 Commencement Speaker: Paul Farmer


DGHI advisory board member and global health leader, Paul Farmer, will speak at Duke's commencement on Sunday, May 10, 2015. Read more about Farmer's highly anticipated visit to Duke.  

 

 

Emerging Leader Finalist: Eve Puffer

 

Eve Puffer, DGHI faculty member, has been recognized by the Triangle Global Health Consortium as an emerging leader in the global health field through her commitment to improve the health of those living in the developing world. Puffer is one of three finalists nominated for the 2015 award. Read about the other two finalists and cast your vote today!

 

 

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GH LIBRARIAN
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Trent 131

Hannah Rozear and Megan von Isenburg will be available to assist you with your global health research.

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