Gillings Around the globe – Page 33 – Local is Global. Global is Local.

Exploring Sanitation Planning

Posted on July 29, 2022July 27, 2022 by

Hello, my name is Rachel Beardsley and for my practicum I have been working with the Citywide Inclusive Sanitation Technical Assistance (CWIS TA) Hub to help record and report the experiences developing their Water Supply and Sanitation Master Plan which is used for cities to plan for years to come and to guide efforts and investment. For my practicum, I wanted to take on a topic I knew little about, sanitation systems, grow in my research skills, and create deliverables with the goal of informing programs and policies. This has been a very rewarding time as I have learned a lot about sanitation systems as a whole and management of the sanitation chain as well as developed skills such as those in making effective presentations and research. I also grew a lot in my ability to create research for programs without a predestined research plan. In the past when I have done research, I was attached to a program that was intended to be researched and had a clear methodology and research strategy prepared. For this project, the development of the masterplan was done without this paper, or any papers, in mind. Nevertheless, I am glad I got to work on this project because it helped me learn to adapt to roadblocks I will likely face in the future. This practicum helped me gain new skills and taught me more about sanitation holistically. I am very grateful that I had the opportunity to assist the CWIS TA Hub this summer.

Coming up, I will deliver my presentation on how to improve master plan development to the African Development Bank soon. I am excited to share my findings and hopefully provide useful knowledge to experts that will inform their work. I will also be finishing up my manuscript, disseminating my findings, and looking into publishing.

Before I end, I would like to give a special thanks to Dr. Manga and Dr. Najib who were both incredibly kind, thoughtful, and helpful in developing my skills during this practicum. I am incredibly lucky to have worked with them.

-Rachel B.

Really Remote Research

Posted on July 28, 2022July 27, 2022 by

I spent most of my summer living out on the family farm in Western Nebraska/Wyoming. Here is my favorite hen!

Hi again! As a quick refresher, my name is Joanne, and I am working on my MPH in Global Health. For my practicum, I am working with an interdisciplinary team of practitioners and researchers at UNC Family Medicine and Duke’s Med School (the enemy I know!). We are conducting pilot research in collaboration with the national Respite Care Providers Network, that aims to investigate Medical Respite Care (MRP) for persons experiencing homelessness (PEH). Our ultimate aim is to develop a protocol and collect mixed methods data to investigate the relationship between MRP characteristics and care experience outcomes.

My role over the summer has been as the primary data collector, getting participants to complete online surveys, phone interviews, medical chart reviews, and facility censuses. While I have experience professionally in IT project management, implementation, and training in healthcare settings, this is my first time doing qualitative research with patients, providers, and staff. This is a completely different role for me, as in past jobs I was the one directing others and designing workflows, now I am the investigator looking to learn from the participants. While the people I am interviewing are often suffering from burn out, physical, financial, and emotional stressors, they have all been enthusiastic about actually being asked about their own opinions and experiences. This has made me reflect on how marginalized populations like PEC are so often left out of the decision-making process. I hope that with this work and throughout my future career, I can continue to elevate marginalized voices in healthcare.

Since my work conducting interviews, sending emails, creating spreadsheets, and writing protocols & methods has been all remote, I have been spending quality time out on the family farm in Western Nebraska (10 miles from Wyoming). Surrounded by huge bluffs, crazy sandstorms, grazing cattle, and corn and soybeans, it can feel a little surreal that with a simple internet or phone connection I can conduct national healthcare research. From the farm, I have been working with MRPs ranging from Ohio to California. This has allowed me an interesting look at how quality and types of healthcare can vary so drastically state to state. In California, a state with more robust social services, virtually all patients have state Medicaid that helps cover the cost of MRP treatment. Contrasted to states like North Carolina, that still have not expanded state Medicaid, far fewer PEC have any way to seek care. By shining a light on these disparities, I hope this work can promote calls for action and healthcare expansion nationwide.

The final learning moment of this summer has been around flexibility. Unfortunately, I was not able to collect enough data for analysis by the practicum end date. This was a nice dose of reality that when it comes to getting poorly resourced MRPs and marginalized individuals to participate in research, the investigators need to be flexible and understanding with timelines and commitments. However, I would not trade this experience for a more cut and dry one with more traditional health care settings, since it has allowed me to highlight marginalized peoples and gaps in current healthcare systems.

-Joanne

Sailing into the Semester

Posted on July 27, 2022July 27, 2022 by

Myself and my partner exploring Cccoquan, Virginia

Wow! I cannot believe this is the final week of my practicum. This summer has flown by and I find myself working to finish my final deliverable for the UNC Friendship Bench Adaptation to Improve Mental Health & HIV Care Engagement Outcomes Among PLWH and PWID in Vietnam (VITAL) team. This project is basically a narrative/ literature review summarizing the existing literature on the topic of if/how psychotherapy impacts antiretroviral therapy adherence in people living with HIV. While there is a lot of information and research on the importance of addressing mental health among people living with HIV, there are fewer projects that have specifically looked at the impact on adherence and whether these changes are maintained overtime. I have enjoyed diving into the literature as it has helped me gain a better understanding of the population and barriers to mental health treatment.

I was initially drawn to the VITAL team due to my interest in global mental health and as this practicum draws to a conclusion, I have to say I have learned a great deal about common mental disorders, other comorbidities and how they are bidirectional in nature. This project is especially interesting because in one arm the Friendship Bench intervention is delivered by professional counselors and in the other lay counselors are utilized. This practice of task shifting is of great interest because of the huge shortage of professional mental health providers in many low-and middle-income countries (LMICs).

A short sailing trip on the Piankatank River

As I move into my final year at UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, I am more confident and excited to gain practical skills that can be implemented in the field. My main takeaway from the VITAL practicum is that while some skills can be taught in the classroom, for the most part, you have to jump in and figure things out. Ask questions and don’t be afraid to make mistakes along the way. At this point, I plan to continue to work with the VITAL team during the upcoming semester and dive more into the results that we have been working to collect during the pilot study.

Cheers!
-Sage