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.
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.
Everything was perfect. I was building the surveys, practicing the lattes, and preparing for clinical days. Then the house of cards that was my summer felt a light gust and fell apart. That is a wildly exaggerated metaphor but keep an open mind. I spent much of my summer dividing my time between the three jobs of being a barista, a student, and a biostatistics intern. Three jobs may sound like too much work… and it was.
Over the past two months I have been working with Dr. Jessica Keys to prepare a database for a clinical trial with the UNC Center For Aids Research. Much thought went into the structure of the electronic case report forms or eCRFs that we were creating. Aside from coding and translating forms, most of the meetings with my preceptor involved brainstorming rather than hands-on work to discuss the sequence in which the forms would be filled out and how that would influence the coding within each form. For example, many of the forms had redundant information such as date of birth or height. So, we used coding to fill in the redundant information automatically by transferring the data from one form to another. Overall, the practicum gave me my first experience with creating a database and my first practical experience in biostatistics. My preceptor stressed all the best practices that one can do to make the data analyst’s job more efficient. For instance, one should export the data early in the process to see how it looks and adjust the forms if needed. Other tips included keeping the number of variables small if possible and create self-explanatory variables to make the data analysis more user-friendly. More important than the lessons I learned, I am now able to use REDCap and plan to learn more biostatistics skills to explore other positions in the future.
Evidence of brainstorming
What did I do when I wasn’t creating digital surveys? I finished training as a barista in March and will continue to work 20 hours a week indefinitely. Creating lattes is a nice break from academics and I enjoy learning about all the special types of coffee that exist. It’s crazy how many ways there are to make coffee. And something I have learned this summer is that it is essential to have something built into your schedule that allows you to relax.
Inside the coffee shop. (https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1379/8821/files/cafes-drmwood_0000s_0001_Layer_22_6167444c-37a4-4027-8e36-b289fed3227e.jpg?v=1644962612)
Finally, I took an EMT course. The lectures were 16 hours a week at night and all-day Saturday, but I was glad to be busy this summer. Unfortunately, I failed one of the last exams in the course and had to stop two weeks before completing the class! But on the other hand, I worked one emergency department shift before failing and had the chance to practice a lot of what I learned during the semester.
I set up a lot of IVs during my ER shift. (https://www.carygastro.com/uploads/blog/_1200x720_crop_center-center_100_none/Infusion-Therapy.jpg)
I admit that I was greedy. I tried to work 40 hours a week while taking night classes rather than prioritizing the EMT course, but I still debate whether I should commit to studying or continue to serve coffee to relax. For now, I will be on the streets of Durham if anyone needs CPR, a latte, or a database.
