Zambia 2020 – Gillings Around the globe

Life in the Era of Zoom

Posted on September 30, 2020 by nayavill

As I sat down to write this blog, it really hit me that it is already the end of September. It’s been over 6 months since this pandemic started and about 5 months since I began my practicum. Reflecting back, I entered this pandemic with feelings of uncertainty. Transitioning to classes online seemed fine at first since it was already classes we were used to. Since North Carolina cases were not as bad initially, I still saw my close friends safely and following guidelines. Nothing felt like an extreme change.

However, as time went on, the pandemic began to take its toll on me as it inevitably has on everyone else. Even simple things like going to the grocery store became a whole fiasco of timing it so the store isn’t crowded or being wary of grabbing takeout. As we began to bunker down even more strictly, it became hard to not feel frustrated at times.

Needing a break from North Carolina, I ended up going back to my parent’s place for a bit in New Jersey. When I relayed these feelings to my mom, she made a point that I hadn’t considered before. For the first time in over 6 years, I was actually home for more than one week. I had never considered it given that I talk to my family frequently but once it came to my attention, I thought back to how much I’ve missed in my family life.

Thinking about this in terms of my practicum, if I had gone to Zambia this summer, I would have missed the time I spent with my family. Don’t get me wrong, I still would have loved to do my practicum in person. However, missing one opportunity allowed me multiple other ones. If I had gone to Zambia, I would’ve spent maybe a couple months then and returned. Despite the challenges that came with doing the practicum remotely, I had the privilege of seeing my project from start to finish. Remote work also allowed for continuity with the project so despite my practicum officially ending soon, I’ll be staying on a while longer to help finish papers. Even though the study I worked on was not the original study I had signed up to do my practicum with, I developed qualitative data analysis skills that I really feel are an assets to future work. Importantly as well, I developed friendships and networks through Zoom, something which I thought would be very difficult.

Learning how to cook different cuisines this summer!

As I wind down on my official time with this practicum and work on my deliverables, I am really thankful for the opportunity to work with the Zambia hub. My practicum was everything I had wanted it to be and I got more out of it than I had expected from remote work. I’m grateful for both the community here at Gillings and in Zambia for making this summer a great one!

– Aditi

ALL’S WELL THAT ENDS WELL

Posted on August 26, 2020 by nayavill

It feels like just yesterday when I started my practicum and like the saying goes “everything that has a beginning, sure has an end.” I successfully completed my remote practicum on August 10, which also happened to be the first day of class for the Fall semester.

My practicum project was aimed at engaging male partners, grandmothers/family members in Lusaka, Zambia to support optimal infant feeding and stimulation of HIV-exposed uninfected infants as well as women’s continued ART adherence. I also participated in secondary analysis of qualitative data obtained from interviews with HIV-positive women and their male partners in Zambia and Malawi.

I am very excited to have worked on a project that is in line with my interest, which is improving the health of women and children with limited access to health care particularly in the areas of HIV/AIDS as well as Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF).

My outputs were counseling materials, training guides and qualitative data summaries. Though I could not make it to Zambia, I am so glad for how much I have learnt about the population, their traditions, beliefs and available community assets. This knowledge helped me to design materials bearing in mind the context of the public health problem as well as being culturally sensitive which would in turn ensure acceptability and sustainability of recommended practices.

I am extremely grateful to UNC Gillings Zambia Hub for this opportunity to broaden my knowledge, develop skills and apply my knowledge on a hands-on real work. I had an amazing preceptor, Dr. Stephanie Martin, who coached me excellently, shared very useful resources and provided constructive feedback on products. I am also grateful for the guidance and encouragement from my faculty mentor, Dr. Sian Curtis. Above all, I am thankful for good health, sound mind and the ability to adapt to change.

This practicum experience has been a great one, which I would not have traded for anything. I hope to eventually travel to Zambia one day!

Below is the new addition to family [I am a new plant mom (fig. 2)…lol] and also currently “plant-sitting” for a friend (fig.3).

– Doreen

When Everything Goes Digital

Posted on August 21, 2020 by nayavill

In March, my practicum in Zambia was moved to an online format. I was frustrated and disappointed because I had been so eager to go physically see oncological care in Sub-Saharan Africa. What I didn’t expect was to gain practical skills during such a hands-off internship. This summer I developed a digital dashboard system for a multidisciplinary team that had just transitioned to a virtual format as well. I was originally very frustrated with the world when my plans got altered to start remote work, instead of traveling, but I realized I was not the only one that was adjusting. To make their efforts more efficient in their new virtual state, and to address historical need for technology, I was employed to introduce a new way of communicating between the team, allowing them to share information at a moment’s notice. I soon realized that the whole world would be having to learn this, and use these skills for a bit longer than anticipated.

Through my efforts of developing the digital data management system, I have researched eHealth systems around the world, and I have seen how low and middle-income countries are focused on developing eHealth strategy documents. The purpose of these is to outline the need for building technological capacity and supporting tech education. It is a public statement to the world and the people that the country intends to step into the technological world. Recently Zambia started benefiting from a new undersea high speed internet cable that has now given the internet to millions of people. Much of the population is still rural, but the new connective cable allows Zambia to join countries like South Africa and Zimbabwe that are also connected.

A practicum like mine would not have been possible even a decade ago because of lack of internet, and the whole prospect of shifting the multidisciplinary team to virtual meetings would not have been possible without the development of software like Zoom that has become so prevalent during the pandemic. COVID-19 is waking the world up to the functional uses of the internet in professional settings. All those meetings that could have been emails are now emails, or virtual meetings. I wonder if the in-person meetings, or offices, will make a full recovery. Now looking for employment at the start of the Fall semester, many if not all opportunities are advertised as remote for the foreseeable future, and will probably transition to that mode from now on. Over the past three months, I have learned many things about the virtual world, but the most important, is that it is here to stay.

– Katerina