nayavill – Page 9 – Gillings Around the globe

Communication, communication, communication

Posted on August 3, 2021 by nayavill

My practicum with NARAL Pro-Choice North Carolina was to take place over 10 weeks, the last of which began on August 2nd. I expected to enjoy my time with NARAL NC, but my practicum has surpassed my anticipations dramatically.

I believe my good experience centers around the way the staff treats me. They speak to me as an equal, not just as a student who needs supervision. While my preceptor helped me identify a few deliverables that I could work on at the beginning of my practicum, she was flexible and supportive when our goals shifted throughout the summer, allowing me to amend my deliverables as needed.

My last deliverable has been my favorite by far. In short, I have been working on a report on a specific public health problem that is meant to be consumed by the public. I started this project by receiving an abundance of raw data that needed to be analyzed, which allowed me to practice my STATA skills. I was able to take some of that raw data and turn it into an ArcGIS map, which I believe will be a valuable addition to the report. Lastly, I’ve been able to practice my graphic design skills by designing the layout and format of the report as I go.

However, my favorite part of this project has been the writing aspect. The MPH program typically requires us to write papers and such in scientific or academic voices, which certainly aligns with the audience they’re meant for. The NARAL NC report, on the other hand, is being created for a non-scientific audience, which has been an amazing challenge for me and my writing skills. I have enjoyed this type of writing more than I expected to. The unique combination of abilities it requires has exercised so many different tools from my toolbox, from data translation and choosing relevant statistics to creative writing and narrative formatting.

This report has really driven home the idea that our job as public health professionals is not just to partake in research and the scientific process, but to make sure our findings are accessible to the world. COVID has been a great example of this, especially now with the concerning Delta variant. The research is somewhat unclear, and while that is to be expected this early in the process, I do not feel that it has been communicated to the world in an organized manner. This, plus government mandates and the loss of progress on “opening back up” adds to confusion and alarm. I’m sure we would agree that the United States could have done many things differently throughout this pandemic, but communication would be towards the top of the list in my opinion.

While my practicum is wrapping up and COVID is picking back up, I will always remember the lessons learned at NARAL Pro-Choice NC.

Stay safe,

Abby

Long days, short (summer) weeks…. Wrapping up a remote global health practicum

Posted on July 29, 2021 by nayavill

It’s hard to believe that my practicum experience is almost over and that the summer’s almost gone! I keep asking myself where all the time went. For my practicum experience, I have been working with UNC Gillings Zambia on the ARCH study. The goal of the ARCH study is to optimize birth outcomes in low-resources settings, by using household surveillance to gain a better understanding of the social and clinical factors that may affect pregnancy outcomes in women of reproductive age. I think that one of the best parts of the study is that it allows the study team to follow women of reproductive age, from preconception to at least one year after the end of their pregnancy, in the event that they become pregnant during the course of the study. In addition, the study also follows children under the age of 2, to gain a better understanding about factors that impact the health of young children. Thus far, I have learned quite a bit from the study, mostly related to the implementation of such a large-scale study.

One of the most important lessons that I have learned so far has been the importance of flexibility and being willing to adapt to a new situation. At the beginning of my practicum, my preceptor and I thought that it would be most helpful if I worked on developing standard operating procedures (SOPs) for various aspects of the study. As time progressed, it became clear that there were other aspects of study implementation that would be a better fit. As such, we have pivoted from working on SOPs to developing recruitment and training materials. It has been an interesting learning experience, thinking about how best to simplify the language from protocols, written for technical experts, to informationals that can be understood by study participants. I’ve also learned a lot about the seemingly small aspects of study implementation that I had only briefly thought about. As I’ve been charged with drafting some of the training materials and schedules, I find myself thinking about the most pertinent parts of the study protocols and how to engage study staff when they might have days’ worth of training in their future. All in all, it’s been a truly educational experience.

It might not come as a surprise that one of the most challenging aspects of the practicum experience has been my inability to meet most of the people that I’m working with in person. I have tried to keep in touch via email. My preceptor has also been wonderful, as we decided to meet on a weekly basis, just to touch bases. I think that the weekly meetings have been helpful and have provided more opportunity for direct feedback. At this point, we have talked about extending my practicum, but I still don’t think that I will be able to see the actual start of the ARCH study. That said, I plan to follow the study closely and look forward to learning more about the results of the survey.

Lastly, I’m looking forward to enjoying the last weeks of summer, prior to the beginning of the semester. I’m very excited about starting the second year and can’t wait to meet in person!

– ‘Desola

Global Women’s Health from Home

Posted on July 28, 2021 by nayavill

On the backend of my internship, I can now look back with an awareness of how much the projects I am working on have evolved since the beginning. I cannot believe that we are reaching the end of the practicum this week, it has flown by. I am truly grateful for the team I have been able to work with throughout this experience. It has been so helpful for my future career planning to interact with others in the field of global women’s health.

In the second half of the internship, I have spent the bulk of my time working on the division of Global Women’s Health website content and restructuring to convey the current research to wide audiences. I have particularly focused on producing written content for the page detailing the prevention of adverse birth outcomes. At first it was overwhelming to effectively summarize the work of so many different projects in various countries. But as I continued, I found greater focus and clarity as I emphasized the population impact that these projects carried. This reflective reminder came at an important time for me. I was feeling burdened down by the extensive complex problems, especially on a global scale (as that was the context I was working in). I was doubting the change I could affect on systematic and widespread issues. However, as I drafted material about the big picture, the why, and the goals of the division, it reemphasized to me the importance of individual contributions as a piece of the united effort.

As I conclude this internship I am grateful for the glimpse it gave me into the responsibilities of program managers, with an emphasis in communications. It was informative for me to see how a team of researchers, local and abroad interact to complete translational research for improved practice. This internship taught me the importance of not only performing research but also telling the story to a larger audience: funders, potential fellows, and the general public. I gained an understanding of the value in uniting teams towards a common vision while each person is focused on a unique aspect of the overall mission. I hope to transfer these skills into positions I will hold in the future.

-Renee