Category: Amiah

It feels very surreal to be writing about my practicum experience as I prepare to leave Malawi. Time has gone by so quickly this summer, and yet I feel as though I’ve been here for years, not months. Working with the incredible group at UNC Project-Malawi and the amazing HIV-Engagement and Adolescent Depression Support (HEADS-UP) team in Chapel Hill and Lilongwe has been such a great experience. While in Lilongwe, I have been assisting in the preparation of the HEADS-UP formative study. HEADS-UP is an adaptation of the Friendship Bench intervention for adolescents living with HIV (ALWH) in Lilongwe, Malawi. I have worked on research projects before, but this experience was especially exciting because I was able to learn the process of what needs to happen before the study can officially start with participants. I have worked on creating forms (screening, enrollment, checklist, etc.), writing a standard operating procedure (SOP) for the formative interviews, and working with the research coordinator, Steve, to meet and discuss HEADS-UP with members of the ministry of health (MOH) and district health management teams (DHMT). As I’m winding down, I am able to work on assisting a teammate, who has just arrived and will be at UNC Project-Malawi for a year, transition to working for the study on site.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This practicum experience gave me more clarity on what I would like to continue pursuing in the future after my MPH at Gillings. I have been in the research field for about 5 years, and particularly love working with participants. I’ve found that research is usually not able to provide direct benefit to participants, but the outcome could be beneficial to many in the future. I feel that I would like to work more directly with people and communities to provide more immediate assistance, if possible. I am coming out of my practicum with deep appreciation and love for the research field, but I also feel confident that I would like to pursue other options in the global health field such as international development or humanitarian aid work. Without my time here I may have not come to the same understanding of my future career goals and what I would like to pursue further. I am incredibly grateful to the HEADS-UP team, UNC Project-Malawi, and UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health for such an amazing opportunity.

All the best,

-Amiah

 

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