It is hard to believe that the summer is coming to a close. What started out as a summer full of unknowns seems to be leading into a fall full of unknowns. Despite this uncertain time, my practicum experience has been humbling and fulfilling. I have been amazed and inspired in working with my preceptor and the exceptional teams at UNC Project-Malawi and the Tingathe Program over the past three months.
In the face of unprecedented and evolving challenges caused by the pandemic, they continue to do vital work for HIV programming while remaining both flexible and resilient. In working with them, I not only learned more about adaptation at both the interpersonal and organization level, but also gained new skills and experiences along the way – from connections with amazing researchers and staff, to irreplaceable mentorship with quantitative analysis, to a newfound appreciation for the processes behind intervention design and testing.
At the center of this work was the teams’ focus on the community, as well as their trust in and reliance on one another, which created an environment that was collaborative and supportive. This spirit of solidarity is something that I leaned into on days when I felt particularly overwhelmed by the state of the world. Our systems were inadequate and unequal before the pandemic—plagued by asymmetries in power and privilege—and these inequalities are being grossly magnified amid the current crisis. Addressing such stark challenges will require ongoing accountability and open collaboration between individuals, communities, and nations.
One of several heart-shaped ornaments spotted in the trees on a walk through my neighborhood!
What continues to sustain me is knowing that I am not alone in this, and that brilliant people are working towards shared goals of improving health and wellbeing. I leave this summer feeling tired, but more passionate that ever in fighting for a future for global health that refuses to compromise in the face of unprecedented threats, recognizes our shared vulnerability and humanity, remains committed to advancing health justice, and pushes forward for a better, brighter future.
I finished my practicum this past week with the Water Institute at UNC, and it is hard to believe that this work and the summer have passed so quickly! I am grateful to my preceptor Nikki Behnke for her guidance and support, and the Water Institute for having me on as a research assistant.
Over the past couple months, I have made an annotated inventory of WASH guidelines for humanitarian settings, identified and summarized publications about environmental health in healthcare facilities, and mapped out current research in humanitarian settings. I learned a great deal about water and sanitation, challenges and interventions in refugee camps, and the intersectional needs of women, children and people with disabilities living in these settings. Forced migration due to conflict, famine and climate change will continue to get worse in the coming years, and providing adequate water and sanitation for displaced persons and refugees is paramount. I am glad I could support the Water Institute this summer while they continue to work towards tackling these issues.
Blue Ridge Parkway
Working from home has been a challenge, but has taught me about myself and what I need to thrive as a student and as a human being. Being in nature, engaging in self-reflection and seeing my friends (6 feet away or on FaceTime) have sustained me these past few months. I was even able to take a trip to the mountains with my family, which allowed me to recharge. I was looking forward to being in a new setting this summer, but it has been grounding to be in my hometown with my family and enjoy what I love about North Carolina.
I ended up having quite the busy summer from my parents’ basement barcalounger in Madison, WI. For about six weeks from mid-May until late June, I made a valiant effort to balance my time between keeping up with studying for my MCAT, and collecting news, social media, video blog, and other disseminated stories of North Carolina frontline health workers regarding their COVID-19 experience…along with the occasional Zoom trivia or game night with friends, Global Health Concentration social committee meeting, or meeting with the COVID Behind the Numbers project team. I only escaped my lounge lizard life for a few workouts a week, walking the dog, or a much needed socially distanced Sunday afternoon round of golf. While the effort was valiant, by early June, the MCAT had consumed my life, my mind, and my soul, as it does to so many pre-medical students.
Despite the preoccupation with the MCAT, I continued to follow video blogs, podcasts, and other social media posts from frontline healthcare workers through the up-and-downticks of the summer of COVID-19 in North Carolina. Obvious themes began to present themselves as I worked with my initial data: PPE shortage or surplus, preparedness, rural homecare facilities versus urban hospitals, and support and appreciation for frontline healthcare workers existed among others. However, underlying these themes were a few more compelling, yet unsettling themes. As I reviewed stories, no matter the position in healthcare from Emergency provider or administrator, to public health analyst, nurse, or homecare facility worker, I found a concern for mental health to be interwoven in the stories I read. Many healthcare workers described the stress of not knowing what is to come, if they were prepared, or if their PPE was effective in protecting them and consequently their families. Many used spending time outside during breaks, or keeping up with yoga, meditation, or other practices to alleviate the stress of the time.
While not always applicable to the specific healthcare workers telling stories, inequity flowed through aspects of almost every set of stories I analyzed. Throughout the data collection process, Latinx and African American communities in North Carolina bore the brunt of this outbreak in terms of disproportionate cases and deaths relative to the percentage of the population each group occupies in the state. The most promising aspect was that, from early on, public health and other healthcare workers acknowledged, or highlighted the importance of recognizing and addressing these inequities in their stories. However, the numbers have yet to even out, or even come close. Seeing the themes streaming from this project to this most recent Black Lives Matter movement and protests of police brutality, looking at two major historical events occurring at the same time, and analyzing how issues of ethics, equity, and empowerment overlapped was simultaneously heart wrenching and fascinating. One physician likened dealing with the pandemic to “building the airplane while flying it” and “knowing how to build the plane…[but] being thrown different parts at a time.” Once we recognize an equity issue exists – mid-pandemic or not – this part of the plane needs to take priority in design, build, and reinforcement before any other area.
Considering my interest in infectious disease and mixed methods research, it has been extremely rewarding to apply the skills I have acquired to this point in my public health career to such a pertinent project. It provided a fun twist in that we had the freedom to search and gather qualitative data from a variety of open sources, rather than more standard qualitative interviews, which hopefully will be done in the future. I feel this project has been extremely informative: from finding expected and unexpected themes, to the roller coaster of ups and downs seen in the pandemic, to looking at the pandemic in conjunction with a critical social movement, and more. During hard times, many people turn inward, and harbor their feelings, emotions, and opinions. With the social response and activism this summer, and throughout the pandemic, it’s incredibly encouraging to see so many facing outward, using their voices, and expressing their triumphs and hardships. Now, we need to turn to those whose voices remain stifled, amplify them, listen, and work to make real change.
