Summer 2022 – Page 8 – Gillings Around the globe

Curamericas Global Maternal Projects Grant Writing: Part 2

Posted on August 5, 2022July 29, 2022 by

Hello everyone! This is Willow, again. Working with Curamericas Global this summer has been a wonderful learning experience and has better prepared me for identifying funders and proposal writing withing my career. For the last half of our practicum, we were focusing on identifying potential funders for our proposal projects. My proposal project is focused on requesting funding to support and sustain Casas Maternas, or community birthing centers. These Casas Maternas are specifically located in the Western Highlands of Guatemala with intent to improve the maternal mortality rates of indigenous women in the region, where the maternal mortality rate is twice that of non-indigenous and is higher than the national average. These health centers have been built and managed by the community members themselves and their community partner (Curamericas Guatemala). This project has required me to create a full proposal and budget, which has provided me with some of the hands-on proposal experience that we had practiced in our core courses. As a whole, this practicum has taught me a great deal about the review and proposal process, allowing me the ability to go forth with experience translating important materials and creating a proposal and budget. Within these final weeks of practicum, my partner and I are working to polish our proposals for our respective funders and send them out for review!

-Willow

Reflecting on an Amazing Summer in Puerto Rico

Posted on August 4, 2022July 29, 2022 by

Our first team building event- paddleboarding and kayaking in San Juan!

I can’t believe that my time with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Dengue Branch is already coming to an end. Living in San Juan, Puerto Rico for 6 weeks has been unforgettable, and I will really miss the people, the beaches, and the food! I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to learn from such passionate and dedicated individuals working at the forefront of public health, and for their eagerness to mentor me and allow me to take the lead on projects. I also spent a lot of time working with the CDC’s local partner organizations, the Communities Organized for the Prevention of Arboviruses (COPA) and the Puerto Rico Vector Control Unit (PRVCU), and I’m so thankful for their willingness to include me in their projects and help navigate the challenges of language barriers and study logistics!

This was my first time working with mosquito-borne diseases, so I’ve learned a lot in just a short time. One of my favorite activities was assisting COPA with yard inspections, where we looked for mosquito breeding sites in different water vessels such as plant saucers and bromeliads. I learned about the life cycle of the mosquito in detail, and the most common practices used to control adults and larvae. During the last few weeks of my practicum, I was in Caguas assisting the PRVCU with the start of their dengue serosurvey. This involved going door-to-door recruiting participants by explaining the project, passing out flyers, scheduling appointments, and recording household information in Survey123. I also assisted the community engagement leaders and phlebotomists during the appointments with dengue test set-up, blood collection, and recording participant information. I have learned a lot about the logistics required to successfully complete a serosurvey as well as some of the unanticipated challenges and how to navigate them.

This summer practicum experience has allowed me to build upon my skills and broaden my knowledge of arboviruses, as well as continue to grow as a public health professional. I look forward to working with the CDC and their partners remotely for the next few months as I wrap up a manuscript on outbreak vector control strategies and continue working on my master’s paper.

-Stephanie

Wrapping Up My Practicum

Posted on August 3, 2022July 28, 2022 by

I can’t believe how fast this summer has gone by! I am now entering my last two weeks with the Durham County Department of Public Health, and it has been a great experience. I have been lucky to meet some great people who really care about the community of Durham. Most of my previous experiences up until now have been direct services, working with clients one on one, or with families. It has been good to branch out a bit and see more of a bird’s eye view of a community, and the Population Health Division has provided that this summer.

During this experience, I learned what a health department’s reaccreditation entails, and part of my work was thinking of ways to involve and teach the employees of the health department about accreditation. I made games and presentations about the accreditation process for employees to bring them into accreditation in a fun way. I also worked on newsletters for July, August, and September that will go out to staff to review important parts of accreditation like HIPAA policies, trainings, and how to prepare for a site visit. I do not have as much experience in communications, and it was fun to learn a new skill and think of fun ways to get employees involved.

I have also been able to see what goes into making a strategic plan for a health department and the importance of writing a good mission and vision to guide that strategic plan. I read different strategic plans from health department across the country and was able to see the great work that health departments do within communities.

I have enjoyed getting to know the staff that works in Population Health. They are all great and I have learned a lot from my preceptor. This internship has also been a great reminder to remain flexible as projects and timelines may change, and we must learn to roll with that.

I am going into my last two weeks where I will be wrapping up my final projects, leading a presentation and game about accreditation, and giving a final presentation to my division about what I have done this summer.

-Sara G.