Category: GH Announcements
Student Spring Semester MBTA Passes – Jan. 11 Deadline
Attention Students: Please note that the deadline for spring semester discounted MBTA pass applications is Monday, Jan. 11, 2016. This is for passes February-May 2016.
You may submit applications before intersession. Apply for spring semester discounted MBTA passes at the TranSComm Office at 710 Albany St. or visit www.bumc.bu.edu/transcomm and print the application, the mail completed application with your check to TranSComm before Jan. 11.
The TranSComm office is open Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. The office will close at 1 p.m. Dec. 24 and will reopen on Jan. 4, 2016. Happy holidays!
Contact Operations Manager Michelle Tse with any questions:
638-7473 Bumctranscomm@gmail.com
GH Concentrator Helps Establish Maternal Health Monitoring Program in Haiti
For her public health practicum, student Brittany Tusing worked with a child and maternal health service in Haiti that operates a mobile prenatal clinic that travels to 23 villages each month, serving about 700 women.
The mobile clinic, operating out of a bright pink custom built Jeep, is part of a spectrum of services offered by Midwives for Haiti, a Virginia-based nonprofit that works with Haiti’s Ministry of Health and other organizations to “deliver culturally appropriate, high impact health interventions.”
Tusing helped refine and strengthen the mobile clinic’s monitoring and evaluation capabilities. She was specifically tasked with developing a formal monitoring plan to ensure the quality of care being provided to clients during prenatal visits, postpartum care, and referrals and transfers.
She also helped set up the foundations of a structured evaluation plan so that the organization could assess its impact on maternal mortality in its operating area, the villages of Haiti’s Central Plateau. Working with the clinic’s six midwives, she created a new data collection sheet designed to assist the group’s ongoing collaboration with local and regional officials from the Ministry of Health.
A significant part of her funding came from a public health fellowship sponsored by Santander Universities, a division of one of the world’s largest banking firms. At SPH, the Santander Fellows Program provides about 45 annual stipends in three programs: for low- and moderate-income students, for students pursuing health care research in Latin America, and for a field practice program in Kenya. The practice opportunities are critical for SPH students, who are required to spend at least one semester on an intensive practicum to gain firsthand knowledge. Santander stipends often pay the bulk of airfare, ground transportation, and housing for the semester-long practicum.
article posted at /sph/2015/12/10/student-helps-establish-maternal-health-monitoring-program-in-haiti/
Spring 2016 Payment Deadline: Wednesday, December 16
The payment deadline for spring 2016 is Wednesday, December 16, 2015.
Students are encouraged to finalize their spring schedules at this time.
International students who wish to be part-time during the spring should apply now (forms are available from the SPH Registrar in Talbot 210C).
For questions, please contact Alan Hatton at alhatton@bu.edu or call 617-638-5072.
New Podcast on December 17th: Data Collection & Refugee Protection
Register here to tune into The Humanitarian Assistance Podcast on December 17th 10:00AM-11:00AM
As the numbers of migrants and refugees entering Europe continue to increase, data collection and analysis, particularly through mobile technology, social media, and crowdsourcing, provide humanitarian actors with key insights into critical protection gaps and emerging trends. Yet the growing use of information technology over the last decade has also introduced new concerns regarding the ethics, security, and utility of data for the humanitarian sector. While expansive data collection has created opportunities for more effective aid delivery to displaced populations, humanitarian agencies must also address the growing need for more sophisticated safeguards to protect the personal information of vulnerable civilians. Furthermore, extensive data collection also requires agencies to find effective means of analyzing large volumes of data to inform programming and humanitarian response in real time.
In conversations with key experts and practitioners, this podcast will assess current information management methodologies and practices applicable to humanitarian response, the continued development of professional standards in this area, and the policy implications of leveraging information technology to address large-scale protection challenges. This podcast will also examine how to create trusted pathways for information gathering by both agencies and displaced populations alike, as well as shared practices for incorporating considerations around data into protection programming.
Through discussions with high-level practitioners and experts in the field, this podcast will address the following questions:
- How can data be better collected, analyzed and leveraged to improve humanitarian response, especially in the current refugee crisis?
- What are the key professional and ethical dilemmas involved in the collection of data from vulnerable populations?
- What protocols or standards should be implemented in order to ensure that information collected by humanitarian agencies is directly integrated into protection programming and strategies?
The ATHA team marks the release of each Humanitarian Assistance Podcast with a live, online launch event. Join us for a first listen in our live, interactive chat or follow along at twitter.com/athasweden.
Data Collection System Developer needed for the Maternity Homes Access in Zambia Project
Researchers in the CGHD are looking for a student to help develop an electronic data collection system using Survey CTO/ODK. This will be used to support the Maternity Homes Access in Zambia Project (the MAHMAZ Project) in administering a ~350 question household survey to approximately 2,500 households during baseline data collection during early 2016.
The data capture system needs to be built and ready for pre-testing by mid-January. We are looking for a student who has experience in SurveyCTO, CommCare, ODK, or similar program who can commit ~15 hours/week beginning ASAP going through early February. Compensation is available.
Please send an email of interest (which describes your relevant experience) and an upto date resume to Lizzy Ragan at ejragan@bu.edu.
Sit in on the Debates in GH795!
Please join students, faculty and staff as students from GH795, the Global AIDS Epidemic class, debate the following topics:
- Mandatory HIV testing of partners of people living with HIV (December 8th)
- Harm reduction vs. arrest and detention of people who inject drugs (December 8th)
- AIDS colonies: pro vs. con (December 15th)
Students will bring evidence, reason, ethics, religion, morality, politics or any other tools to bear to convince the audience of the merits of their team’s position. The audience will have the opportunity to engage in the debates. The debates will be held in Crosstown 462 starting at 10:00am.
December Concentrator’s Meeting
December GH Concentrator's Meeting will be a CE Information Session on Monday, December 14 from 1 - 2pm in CT - 305. Please RSVP to attend.
CALL FOR PAPERS – Mobilizing Africa: Innovation, Syncretism, and Appropriation
24th Annual Boston University Graduate Student Conference in African Studies March 25-‐‑26, 2016
Call for Papers - Mobilizing Africa: Innovation, Syncretism, and Appropriation
Mexico Field Program – Now Accepting Applications
The Community Health Assessment in Mexico: a field practicum course, which runs in the Summer, from May 9 - July 15, 2016 - for 10 weeks, is accepting applications until January 22. See the link for more details:
Tanzania Field Program for Summer 2016
The Global Health Department is in negotiations with a partner organization, to offer a field course in Tanzania for Summer 2016. If approved, this 6–week, 6-credit course, would run from mid-May through June. It will build upon 9 years of experience of offering GH707, the Kenya Field Practicum course. The new program will engage in health challenges affecting both urban and rural populations. Similar to GH707, students will create data collection instruments, conduct field-based data collection, analyze data, write reports, and present results and recommendations to stakeholders. Successful completion of the program will meet the MPH practicum requirement for eligible SPH students. Those accepted into the program will be offered a Santander Scholarship to help defray the costs of travel. In January 2016, we will hold information sessions about the program, where students can learn how to apply.
Recently we announced that the African Studies Center, will offer a 2-credit course on Swahili Language with a Health Focus (CAS LE491) on the BU Medical Campus Spring 2016. Student interested in taking the Tanzania Field Course or East Africa, are strongly encouraged to take the Swahili course and are asked to please complete this two question survey to gauge their interest and availability, by Friday, December 4 at 11:59 pm.
NOTE - This intensive undergraduate language course will be scheduled for 2 hours twice a week. Students may be able to add the course as part of their full-time course load without additional tuition expense. Language credits will not count toward your MPH degree. A follow-up course may be taught during Fall semester (2016) for returning students who want to further develop their language skills.
