nayavill – Page 4 – Gillings Around the globe

Unforgettable Summer

Posted on August 12, 2022August 9, 2022 by nayavill

Hi all! I hope you all are having a great summer. This summer went by way too fast for me. I cannot believe it’s almost time to go back to school! I wish I had a little more time to travel and just relax, but I regret nothing about how I spent my summer. Working with the Occupational and Environmental Epidemiology Branch (OEEB) in the Division of Public Health within the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) has been a wonderful experience. My main work was to write a manuscript on health and climate impacts of traffic-related air pollution to describe the potential health benefits the NC Clean Transportation Plan will bring to people in North Carolina. To do this work, I have read many papers and articles, attended environmental health conference and webinars, and have joined NC Clean Transportation Plan work group meetings. I was given opportunities to be involved in different meeting groups that helped me learn more about air pollution, as well as other environmental health issues in North Carolia that I have not previously paid attention to. Although I was not directly involved in the NC Clean Transportation Plan development, it was very interesting to see how those big state plans are developed. I have learned how multiple stakeholders, such as NC Department of Transportation, NC Department of Environmental Quality, NC DHHS, and many more, work together to develop actionable strategies to improve air quality in North Carolina. It was like seeing everything I have learned in the first year of MPH actually taking place in real life.

During this summer, I was really into this project. Every time I drove, all I thought of were the cars emitting gas exhaustion, the houses near highways, and the lack of electric vehicle related infrastructures. One time, I was driving and talking about these for too long, my husband had to stop me few times. I still have some things to wrap up before this practicum ends. I am at the stage of revising the manuscript and preparing to give presentation on my learnings to people in the OEEB. The work will soon be over, but I will not stop digging up on this topic as I have gained so much interest throughout. Overall, I have had a valuable experience working with NC DHHS. I especially want to thank my preceptor, Dr. Guidry, for being a great support and helping me gain as much experience as I can.

Seowoo

Final stretch!

Posted on August 12, 2022August 9, 2022 by nayavill

Hello, my name is Nija Newton, an incoming second-year student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill obtaining a Master’s in Public Health with a concentration in Maternal, Child, and Family Health. This summer my practicum is with The Durham County Department of Public Health (DCoDPH), working with the population health division on the 2023 Community Health Assessment (CHA). These last weeks of my practicum have been nothing short of amazing! I have accomplished so much during my time there, as well as made so many connections. I was able to assist in the design and development of the Community Health Assessment (CHA) survey for Durham County residents. I recruited volunteers to help test and review the County-Wide and Communidad Latina survey for the CHA; I also conducted equitable survey testing for the CHA with Durham County residents. I was able to collaborate with external partners in Durham County to develop survey questions through a health equity lens, as well as research and create a data reference document with resources used for the CHA final report. I also developed a written consent form to test the CHA survey at Durham County Department of Public Health COVID vaccine clinic and so much more! I was able to gain so many new skills and gained a new sense of confidence for myself in the Public Health field, I am excited to see what my future holds.

Nija

Loss of a Mother: Update

Posted on August 11, 2022August 9, 2022 by nayavill

Hello again! It’s Maddie Metz, an MPH candidate in the Global Health concentration, with a practicum update!

I’m currently wrapping up my part of the project to publish the results of Dr. Adeyemi Olufolabi’s study on the impact of maternal mortality on male partners and their children. Dr. Olufolabi interviewed family members and male partners of women who died in childbirth in Rwanda.

As we got further into the analysis of the interviews, our project’s focus shifted to this loss’s long-term financial ramifications, the coping mechanisms utilized by spouses and family members, the larger effect on surviving children, the connection between gender roles and care-taking, and the perception of the medical establishment for future care. These topics are much more targeted than our initial broad questions as our study design relied on following the data that arose in semi-structured interviews instead of analyzing the answers to identical pre-specified questions.

One of the exciting parts of qualitative analysis is the unexpected directions the data can travel. Quantitative analysis is numerically-driven and is excellent for determining trends, correlations, and the “what” part of research. Qualitative analysis gets at the “why” questions, and provides a more open-ended forum to listen to the people behind the numerical conclusions.

Madeleine