Category: Lara

Hi everyone! The time has come to wrap up my summer practicum at EngenderHealth. This summer has flown by, but I know that what I will take away from this experience is something that I will cherish for a very long time. This summer I worked on a data analysis and draft manuscript for a project that EngenderHealth’s team is implementing in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The team ran a baseline survey to understand perceptions of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) among adolescents and I worked with the team in Ethiopia to summarize the data into the manuscript. The last few weeks have been spent finalizing the data tables and manuscript draft so that it can move into the publication stage and hopefully be published in a few months. The hope is that this manuscript will inform policies which will seek to further establish systems of support and reporting for SGBV.

My practicum experience has reinforced the importance of understanding data context and leading with curiosity. I have also learned a great deal about data communication and presentation and I will carry these lessons into the 2^nd year of my MPH and whatever comes after. I want to thank my preceptor, Kate, for her time and dedication to teaching me. It was an invaluable experience to learn from you.

All the best,

-Lara

 

 

Hi all,

I am an MPH student in the global health concentration at UNC. Prior to starting my MPH at UNC, I graduated from The University of Virginia with a BSEd in kinesiology. Some of the areas that I’m passionate about include contraceptive access, abortion care, and menstrual health.

For my summer practicum, I am working with EngenderHealth as an Impact, Research, and Evaluation Intern. EngenderHealth is “a global organization committed to advancing sexual and reproductive health and rights and gender equality”. They work around the world to support individuals, communities, healthcare systems in delivering high-quality, gender-equitable programs and services. Through the internship, I will support EngenderHealth’s team to develop a manuscript and run data analyses on a project currently being carried out in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The manuscript will serve to synthesize information collected from in-school and out-of-school adolescents on perceptions of knowledge, behaviors, and attitudes related to sexual and reproductive health. Currently, I am in the processes of finalizing the data in hopes of moving to the literature review and manuscript writing phase in the next few weeks. My hopes for this internship are to be able to apply many of the skills that I learned in my first year of the MPH such as statistical skills as well as health communication. I also hope to gain an understanding of how non-profit organizations carry out their goals and how they center the communities they work in throughout that work.

Outside of the practicum, I have been enjoying my summer break, exploring Sacramento and the other parts of California while visiting with my sister.

-Lara