Hi,
My name is Amiah Matthews and I’m an incoming second-year Global Health MPH student at the University of North Carolina’s Gillings School of Public Health. For my practicum this summer, I’m working with Dr. Bradley Gaynes, Dr. Nivedita Bhusan, and Dr. Brian Pence on the HEADS-UP formative study. HIV-Engagement and Adolescent Depression Support (HEADS-UP) is an adaptation of the Friendship Bench intervention for adolescents living with HIV (ALWH) in Lilongwe, Malawi.
The goal of the study is to decrease depression in ALWH using this adapted version of the evidence-based peer counseling intervention. For the formative part of the study, I’ve been tasked with helping the team in Lilongwe, Malawi recruit several groups for in-depth interviews, social mapping supports, and focus groups so HEADS-UP can create a feasible and acceptable youth-friendly intervention that provides mental health support and additional HIV care engagement. My goal is to better understand how a study is implemented and what goes along with it. I have worked on research studies previously, but I haven’t had experience creating study forms and logs, traveling to proposed study sites to give a presentation to the staff, etc. I feel that I am already learning so much.
While this is my first graduate school trip abroad, it is not my first time in Malawi. From 2018-2019 I lived in Lilongwe, Malawi for a little over 8 months. I was on a research study for UNC Project Malawi as well, but I was hired on as a research intern from The Ohio State University. I fell in love with Malawi during that time and have been yearning for an opportunity to go back. It’s felt absolutely lovely to see my old colleagues and friends, and even just being here makes me feel like I’m back at a second home. I’ve only been here for three weeks, but it’s felt like so much longer. Of course, my Malawian driving skills have only gotten worse while I was gone, but I am definitely trying to get them back! I’m excited to see what the practicum and Malawi have in store for me for the next two months!
-Amiah