A little bit of global health in the summertime: reflection

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Rachel E. during her latest excursion in Southeast Asia
Rachel E. during her latest excursion in Southeast Asia

Although it hasn’t been very long since I last wrote, it feels like it’s been months! This summer has been filled with all things SRH (sexual and reproductive health) as I took a deep dive into the causalities of unintended pregnancies and contraception use in Thailand. My work with Kenan Foundation Asia has allowed me to gain much-needed insight into the inequities of SRH services and access for women and adolescents – specifically female immigrant and migrant workers and young girls. My contribution lays down some of the groundwork to advocate for policy change and the implementation phase of the organization’s SMART Family Planning program for factory and migrant workers around Bangkok and northern Thailand.

My practicum was a bit challenging as there was limited data on unintended pregnancies in the Thai context despite the Ministry of Public Health recognizing this is an increasing issue. However, this showcased to myself and the organization that further research needs to be conducted to fully understand the causality pathways that can lead to unintended pregnancies. Another challenge I faced was not knowing how time-consuming creating a questionnaire would be. My initial timeline did not account for such an iterative process! But nonetheless, it helped me to understand the framework of asking questions to gain additional perspective on the issue.

Despite these unexpected challenges with my practicum, I’m thankful for the opportunity to work on the early stages of what I know (or at least hope!) will be a transformative program for these communities in addressing gaps in family planning. When I was searching for a practicum, I knew I wanted to direct my efforts on working with an organization that focuses on East/Southeast Asia. Thus, Kenan Foundation Asia seemed like the best fit for me especially given my previous experience working in contraception development and introduction. I’m so glad that I got to expand my global health experience in a region I’m very passionate about and gain further insight into program planning and development. I’m looking forward to the next steps that the organization will take in ensuring more inclusive and quality SRH services for these communities as well as my own next steps in my academic and professional career.

– Rachel E.

Wrapping Up

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With Dr. Kwame Adu- Bonsaffoh, my mentor at Korle Bu Teaching Hospital (Amy A. on right)
With Dr. Kwame Adu- Bonsaffoh, my mentor at Korle Bu Teaching Hospital (Amy A. on right)

Two days after I returned from Ghana, the Ghana Standards Authority (GSA) finally sent me the selenium concentrations of selected Ghana foods run by spectrometry and I could now begin my data analysis. Interestingly, I thereafter became the cause of my own delay—in my attempt to calculate the total selenium intake of the population of pregnant women my research team surveyed, I unknowingly went about a long path to analyze the data. As I see it, it was part of the learning process. Furthermore, the purpose of my practicum research was to carry out a feasibility study to make recommendations for a pilot study to be carried out in the future. This structure freed my mind to accept every part of the process as not a success or failure, but instead a lesson for improvement.

Seeing all of the moving parts of my project come together left me desiring to continue this work into the career path that I choose as a physician. Studying the relationship between micronutrients and pregnancy is a path where there is a lot of room to grow and discover. Policy changes and clinical counseling recommendations can come from this kind of research. Potentially, I can turn this foundational work into a career-long pursuit that helps to improve the lives of women not only in Ghana but also around the globe.

I am grateful to each mentor, preceptor and advisor who helped me complete this project. I could not have done it without their support. I look forward to seeing what my future holds in this field!

With Dr. Godfred Egbi, my mentor at Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR) (Amy A. on right)
With Dr. Godfred Egbi, my mentor at Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR) (Amy A. on right)

-Amy A.

¡Hasta luego, (see you later) Puerto Rico!

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Like I said, snorkeling with sea turtles is a tough experience to beat!
Like I said, snorkeling with sea turtles is a tough experience to beat!

As the on-site portion of my practicum with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Dengue Branch has come to an end, I am reflecting on an experience that has exceeded my expectations. Saying my goodbyes in San Juan, Puerto Rico was bittersweet. Time flew by exploring the island, but I was also missing my 6-month old puppy. While I returned to Chapel Hill, my practicum is not quite over yet. Thanks to Microsoft Teams, I have been continuing to work on my practicum projects remotely, while staying connected to the branch. From finalizing an evaluation plan and data collection tool to better assess the Communities Organized to Prevent Arboviruses (COPA) project’s community engagement events and activities, to conducting exploratory analyses to improve the multi-year prospective cohort’s participant retention, I have been keeping busy! 

The ability to travel around Puerto Rico and immerse myself into a different culture has been one of the many delights of this practicum experience. I have learned throughout this experience how to be more perceptive and accommodating of cultural differences as well as how to receive and use constructive criticism to refine my projects. An unfamiliar component of this opportunity was the ability to give feedback on my experiences for future practicum students, which I learned to do so humbly and respectfully. Throughout this experience, my personal and professional growth were astounding! To no surprise, working as an epidemiologist was never monotonous. Opportunities and needs evolve, and no two days are the same. The chance to work in a federal office and attend meetings, as well as to work in a field project and attend community engagement activities has allowed me to see the diverse responsibilities and skills needed of an epidemiologist. It has also allowed me to observe firsthand the importance and codependency of these roles and the collaboration of professionals from different backgrounds and perspectives: you cannot have a team conducting community education and data collection without individuals to develop data collection tools and education materials, analyze the data, and evaluate and plan field activities (and vice versa).

All in all, this summer has been a very memorable –(snorkeling with sea turtles and paddling through the bioluminescent bays is a tough experience to beat!) and a thought-provoking one. The experience challenged me to grow as a person, a student, a public health professional, and a global citizen. I have been granted lessons that I intend to utilize as I continue into my second year of my MPH program at Gillings and begin my professional career as an aspiring epidemiologist. Fortunately, my time with the CDC Dengue Branch will continue into the fall, as I hope to publish the findings from my cohort retention analysis to help inform future community-based research studies in the region. 

-Emma