Celebrating International Student Success at Dalhousie Medical School

November 22, 2021 Jennifer LeBlanc Leave a Comment

By: Christina Torrealba (she/her), Graduate Student in Community Health and Epidemiology

For this installment of the GHO blog, I chatted with Chris Yeats (he/him), the coordinator for international students pursuing medical education at Dalhousie through the Office of Community Partnerships and Global Health.

Chris Yeats, Coordinator, International Students

When taking on his current role, Chris says he was “more than happy to join a team dedicated to improving social accountability, fostering diversity, and engaging in anti-oppressive practices.” Chris’ educational journey has transformed his life. His experiences have led him to seek out “roles that support and empower learners to reach their own educational goals as well as to foster an environment that allows learners to examine the social world through a diverse ethical lens and to be able to contribute to the well-being of the global community.”

This commitment is reflected in Chris’ work with the Undergraduate Medical Education (UGME) curriculum at Dalhousie. Chris is working with the Curriculum Refresh Committee to ensure medical students receive the most effective, equitable, and relevant medical education, specifically through evaluating the case studies used in UGME curriculum. Chris is working on creating a database of case studies which will allow the Curriculum Refresh Committee to identify what is missing – ensuring that UGME case studies are equitable, diverse and inclusive.

On top of his work with the Curriculum Refresh Committee, Chris is also involved with opportunities for international medical students. Dalhousie University has been partnering with the International Medical University (IMU) in Malaysia since 1996, welcoming up to six IMU students. IMU students start their journey at Dalhousie with the IMU Link program, where they complete eight weeks of classes and four weeks of clinical skills before starting year three of medical school. The purpose of the Link program is to enhance their training so they can start their third year at Dalhousie with the necessary tools. The Link program is also a great mentorship opportunity for incoming IMU students and senior IMU students, to learn about the program and to adjust to life in Halifax.

How remarkable the IMU Link Program is, not only for Dalhousie, but also for Nova Scotia as a whole

Of course, COVID has added new challenges to the Link Program, but Chris says that they were able to successfully navigate the lockdown and public health requirements through “extensive collaboration and consultation with the NSHA, and weekly modification of the Link deliverables”. Thanks to the Centre for Collaborative Clinical Learning and Research (C3LR), they were still able to deliver integral clinical and simulated educational components during the spring of 2021. Despite the COVID-related challenges , Chris says that the global pandemic has shown how flexible and innovative we can be in our work. “Whether it is virtual meetings or supporting a student in crisis, we have adapted and found ways to be successful despite the meaningful ways COVID has impacted our lives”, Chris says.

One thing that Chris wants readers to take away is “just how remarkable the IMU Link program is, not only for Dalhousie, but also for Nova Scotia as a whole.” The IMU learners that join Dalhousie bring so much to UGME and the Faculty of Medicine at Dalhousie. “Our partnership with the IMU have strengthened and diversified the educational experiences with the FoM; the learners contribute academically, conduct research, and serve the health needs of Nova Scotians,” says Chris. Check out these links to learn more about the IMU students, and the UGME Curriculum Refresh.

Community Spotlight: Janelle Frail & the ACIC

February 11, 2020 Kayti Baur Leave a Comment

By: Kayti Baur, MSc Candidate in Community Health and Epidemiology

Janelle Frail, Training & Development Officer

In this week’s blog post we highlight an outstanding community organization and Dalhousie’s ongoing partnership with the Atlantic Council for International Co-operation.

Janelle Frail has been working at the Atlantic Council for International Co-operation (ACIC)for over 8 years and held many different positions with the organization, from networking and training to communications. Recently Janelle took over a position doing in depth needs assessment work with members as well as working and coordinating with the four provincial coordinators to offer support, set up programs and training with member organizations. These days, an average workday for Janelle involves a lot of meetings and conference calls with members and provincial coordinators, and includes other fun events like networking conferences with members where she can find out what ACIC can do to help and support them individually. Of course, there are bigger events like the ACIC symposium and International Development week which occasionally take over a day or week!

Janelle didn’t fall into this position overnight, however. She originally went to the Nova Scotia Agriculture College (now Dalhousie’s Agricultural Campus) where she focused on environmental studies. After receiving her Bachelor of Science, she went on to work for environment related non-profit groups. Feeling she could do more in the promotion of environmental causes, she went to NSCC (Nova Scotia Community College) for public relations. It was about this time that Janelle engaged in an International internship in Guatemala through Breaking the Silence, involving six weeks of training at the Tatamagouche Centre. This was a major eye opener into the world of environmental justice for Janelle.

“How are we supposed to save the trees if people need the trees to cook food to eat?” she says as an example. This led her to expand her interest into human rights as well as environmental rights, which brought her to ACIC.

Janelle says she loves many parts of working with ACIC including the brainstorming ideas sessions with fellow staff and supporting people to implement their ideas.

“Brainstorming really sparks the brain and allows you to throw out ideas; things get drawn out through conversation.” she says.

Janelle also finds the networking and training events, where she can connect with members, very rewarding. However, she finds maintaining relationships with government-funded groups challenging because under the previous government a lot of non-profit organizations lost funding and took regional offices out of the Atlantic provinces. This reduced membership of the organization, particularly large international groups. While they are slowly coming back it creates a very challenging environment because ACIC’s strength comes from their members. Despite the challenges Janelle loves working with the local community members and seeing the impact they can have.

As the Global Health Office (GHO) is a member of ACIC, Janelle has been working with us directly for about six years, with the GHO having been involved with ACIC in general for about ten. ACIC is a big supporter of the GHO’s Global Health Day. Janelle says she finds it important to participate in such events because it’s a great opportunity to see what members are up to and to connect with organizations like ours.

Janelle Frail at Global Health Day

Finally, when asked about why ACIC is so passionate and their sustainable development goals, Janelle said the whole organization saw them as exciting and important factors that so many non-profits in both local and international spheres are working toward whether they know it or not. She went on to say that it is exciting to see how these goals bring together organizations to make connections. Currently they are expanding into more women and youth-focused work than they had previously, which she says is a great opportunity with their changing membership. They are still gathering more of what is being done on the sustainable development goals (SDGs) and how to inspire other non-profits, countries or communities to do similar things. The SDGs will remain a large part of their focus in the future.

The Atlantic Council for International Co-operation is an important organization for global health and sustainability located here in Halifax. ACIC is an umbrella organization with members ranging from community development groups to international education departments from across the Atlantic provinces (including the Global Health Office!). They work in community development locally and globally to provide networking, training, capacity building workshops, fostering communication, and more. ACIC also works with government to express community needs and provides youth programming to increase global citizenship.

Connecting on Social Justice and Cutting Edge Matters: Qualitative Research Rocks!

July 22, 2019 Jennifer LeBlanc Leave a Comment

By: Keisha Jefferies, PhD candidate, Dalhousie School of Nursing

This blog post incorporates a reflection from two conferences that I attended in early May, 2019. From May 2-3^rd, 2019, I attended the Robarts’ Graduate Student conference at York University, in Toronto. Then from May 9-11^th, 2019, I travelled to Fredericton, New Brunswick to attend the Qualitative Analysis (Qualitatives) conference. Each of these conferences offered a uniquely rewarding opportunity to connect with researchers, graduate students and faculty conducting socially relevant and timely research across Canada.

The Robarts’ conference theme was: Canada on the Edge? People, Places and Perspectives, which provided a forum for Graduate students to present papers that critically examined contentious or emerging hot topics in Canada. Some stimulating and thought-provoking papers included mental health amongst Afro-Caribbean youth in Toronto, an autoethnographic account of abortion access in Toronto, “Smart City” technology in rural Nova Scotia and the potential use of Acoustemological Cartography. The Robarts’ conference was a great learning experience as I was able to gain insight from other graduate students, at various levels of their programs, whose research tackles challenging, critical issues in a variety of fascinating fields.

The Qualitatives was a jam-packed, three-day qualitative learning experience. The theme of the Qualitatives this year was: The transdisciplinary efficacy of qualitative methods: Studying everyday life, the empirical tradition continues. The conference was an opportunity for qualitative researchers, across many disciplines, to come together and share critical inquiry and socially oriented research. One of the opening concurrent session themes was Constructing Identity, which included intriguing presentations on other-than-human identities, the emergence of white nationalism in Canada and a critical discourse analysis of right-wing extremist groups. These presentations were captivating and generated stimulating discussion around inclusion, racism, sexism and heteronormativity in Canada. The research on white nationalism and the toxicity brewing in these groups used discourse analysis to examine social media (Facebook groups) and websites (chatrooms) in order to gain insight into the collective ideology. Most of the quotes included in the presentation clearly depicted a very toxic, racist, sexist hegemonic and overall oppressive ideology. Kudos to the students, especially Kayla Preston, a Dal Masters student, who are doing this research and exposing the hate that continues to exist in Canada. Follow Kayla Preston on Twitter (@KaylaPreston4)!

Another highlight from the Qualitatives was the opportunity to chair a very interesting and timely session on Media Representations, related to women and their bodies. This session included presentations on the issue of prostitution and legalization in Canada, the construction of faking orgasm in women’s magazines and the promotion of the “ideal” vulva through female genital cosmetic surgery (FGCS). Meghan Gosse, a PhD student at Dal, presented her very compelling and troubling Masters work that investigated how surgeon websites promote a female genital ideal to be achieved through female genital surgery. The discussion from this concurrent session raised many issues and concerns related to women’s bodies, their rights and harmful gender roles/ societal expectations that dictate and at times, prescribe what women can or should do with their bodies. Follow Meghan on Twitter (@MegGosse), as she continues this discussion on women’s bodies!

Opportunities, discussions and knowledge sharing like this is just another reason why I love qualitative inquiry!

For more information on our Johnson Scholarship Foundation opportunities please visit the Diversity section of our website.

Experiences as an IMU: Taha Khan Interview

April 22, 2019 Madeline Kubiseski Leave a Comment

Written by: Madeline Kubiseski, Master of Health Administration Student

Taha Khan is a current IMU student graduating in April 2019. She is originally from Chennai, India and I was fortunate to sit down with her and discuss her experience at Dalhousie Medical School and her future career plans.

Looking back, how was your transition from IMU to Dalhousie?

Overall my transition was very smooth, and this was predominately because of the Link Program. When we first came here, we knew the system was very different in terms of how students enter medical school and the academic and life experiences that students in Canada have before entering medicine compared to us. For me, this was quite intimidating but after going through the Link program and entering classes in September I felt much more prepared and this was a really good feeling. Specifically, the clinical skills of the Link program were very helpful in preparing me.

What were you most excited about coming to Dalhousie?

Coming to Canada I was most excited about the winter! I had never seen snow before, so this was my first proper winter and I really enjoyed it. Apart from that, I was excited about transitioning to the North American system because of the clinical exposure you receive here. This is very different from the clinical experience you would get in the British or Australian system; the system here is more hands on and you are given much more responsibility which I have found to be true during clerkship. I have loved this!

In your opinion, which areas of your educational program at Dalhousie were particularly strong?

Overall, the program was very strong. Our hands-on skills were really emphasized throughout clerkship and I never felt like I was behind my classmates. We were supported through our gaps and if I didn’t know something or feel confident, I was always encouraged to go ahead and try it out. I remember my first call shift during clerkship I was terrified of being on call but throughout this experience I have gained more confidence and always felt very supported by the staff, nurses and residents.

Can you talk about some of your other goals coming in the Clerkship Program, and whether you’ve been able to reach them?

When I started clerkship, I found it hard to believe I would be a doctor in two years, and I didn’t think that would be enough time to prepare me for medicine. As I finish clerkship and as I have had the opportunity to visit teaching hospitals in the United States, I feel I am very well prepared even compared to their own students. This was reinforced by the physicians and staff in the U.S. who told me I was working like a first-year resident. I now feel more confident about my skills and my abilities.

Aside from medicine, I have goals for my non-profit, Child Awareness Project, which I started when I was 15. We are predominately youth run and focus on children’s right issues and youth empowerment and advocacy. I want to incorporate my medical training into this and hopefully conduct health awareness camps and health initiatives for children in India. My medical training at Dalhousie has helped me get one step closer to this. I plan to pursue child neurology in my residency which will help to give me enough knowledge about child issues in India.

Where are you currently going after graduating from Dalhousie?

Initially I was planning to do residency in Newfoundland. However, with recent changes in how Newfoundland accepts residents, I decided to change my career plan. I decided to pursue a Master of Public Health at Harvard University in September which is really exciting for me. I have always been interested in public health as a field, particularly because of my not-for-profit and interest in children’s rights. As a result, I have always been interested in expanding my medical training into public policy and other areas where I can work to improve children’s rights. Additionally, I want to expand my expertise in statistics and the ability to critically analyze and examine various papers and studies and I feel that the public health degree will help me to do that. This is a one-year program and then I plan to apply for residency next year. After I finish residency I hope to work in the field and get more experience and then eventually go back to India to work with my non-for-profit.

Can you share more about the Child Awareness Project?

Child Awareness Project (CAP) is a Chennai-based NGO that grew out of a campaign, that I started, at the age of 15, to help find a 5 year-old who was kidnapped from Marina Beach in Chennai in May 2011. This campaign, Search for Thamana, drew immense media attention and was instrumental in tracing the child. This played a key role in increasing surveillance in public areas. For this work, I received the International Diana Award, in memory of the Late Princess of Wales and a Silver Medallion and the 2012 Pramerica Spirit of Community Awards. Our story was also shortlisted as one of the top 10 stories in India, as part of Our Better World’s Good Story Pitch, to be pitched to filmmakers in Mumbai. Most recently, CAP was just featured on the Queen’s Commonwealth Trust’s Inspiration Page.

Today, CAP is a predominantly female, youth-led nonprofit, that advocates for children’s rights (from the UNCRC framework) and incorporates them with the relevant UN Sustainable Development Goals. Our main initiative in the Campus Ambassador Program, wherein we recruit students across India to conduct various pre-designed workshops in their own schools. We employ means of advocacy both online and on-the-ground. For about 6 months to a year, we select an issue affecting children and formulate a focused campaign. Our first major campaign tackled the issue of Child Abduction & Trafficking. Our upcoming campaign will explore Bullying. In addition to this, we run independent projects across India, such as the Soft Skills project and collaborate with UN Online Volunteers for research and publications. For more information, please visit our website. As our team is placed globally, we are constantly looking for young people passionate about children’s rights, around the world to join our team. Interested applicants can send us a CV and letter of interest at info@thecapro.org. They can also visit http://thecapro.org/careers to learn more.

Returning to the Birthplace of MicroResearch: Two Weeks in Mbarara, Uganda

March 5, 2019 Jennifer LeBlanc Leave a Comment

By: Shawna O’Hearn, Director, Dalhousie Global Health Office

While there is a high demand for training and learning about community-based research, there are few formal, structured training opportunities. Established in 2008, MicroResearch aims to add capacity to global community-based research by empowering communities to address their own unique health issues.

MicroResearch ensures small research projects will have a real impact on health. The training develops a local culture of inquiry while identifying and solving health problems. Collaborations are with institutions in Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania as well as new partnerships in Nova Scotia.

Group discussions, MicroResearch Uganda 2019

MicroResearch offers a two-week workshop with interdisciplinary trainees and local teachers who collaborate as instructors, coaches and mentors.

During the 2-week workshop, 20 to 30 participants are taught practical research skills in daily seminars. Small groups transform an idea into a research project with a knowledge translation plan
After the workshop, teams continue to refine their research proposal with their local and international coaches.
Proposals are submitted for review and upon approval, the teams begin their research.

While I have been involved with MicroResearch in various capacities and locations over the last eight years, this was my first trip to the birthplace of this program. In January 2019, I ventured to Mbarara, Uganda with Dr. Noni MacDonald to deliver the two-week training program to 30 eager emerging researchers.

Participants in the training program at Mbarara, Uganda

We worked with an incredible group of faculty connected to the Maternal Child Health Institute, including;

Jerome Kabakyenga is the former Dean Faculty of Medicine of Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Uganda and is presently Director of the Maternal Child Health Institute (MNCHI). He is also one of the founders of MicroResearch with Drs Noni MacDonald and Bob Bortolussi
Teddy Kyomuhangi is the Program Manager with the MNCHI and was introduced to MicroResearch as a participant in the 2010 workshop. She is now a teacher, coach, reviewer and onsite coordinator
Scholastic Ashaba is a psychiatrist who was also a participant in the 2010 workshop and now she is a teacher, coach and site coordinator
Francis Oriokot is a pediatrician who is a lead faculty member

Scholastic Ashaba and Francis Oriokot, Uganda 2019

During my time in Mbarara, I was honoured to work with experienced researchers and dedicated learners. I spent time with two individuals and documented some of our discussions capturing their passion for locally driven research and the importance of training and capacity building.

Odendi Gideon Robert

Manager of Mental Health Programs, Luzira Prison, Kampala, Uganda

Odendi Gideon Robert

Robert is trained as a registered psychiatric nurse and clinical officer. Through his work, he recognized the importance of mental health and completed additional degrees in counselling and clinical psychology. His educational knowledge is evident as we talked about his current role within the Ugandan Prison System. He is in charge of mental health programming for the only maximum prison (Luzira) in Uganda.

While this prison has a capacity for 1700 inmates, there are currently 4000 men and women housed here. There are visiting psychiatrists who are contracted to guide mental health treatment but much of this work is left to Robert and his team to assess, implement and evaluate.

With such a large clinical case load, his passion for research and evidence-based practice guided his commitment to be part of the MicroResearch training in Mbarara in January and February 2019.

Robert describes the MicroResearch training as detoxifing. He explained that

“during my education, teachers did their best but we did not develop well. We were in the hands of teachers who equally needed education. I grew up in a war area so didn’t receive the best education.”

He continues to explain that research was not part of education and grew to have doubts about his role in research.

As he looked around at the academic posters on the wall, he reflected that

“I didn’t even know what I didn’t know. When I look at these posters, I can see the research process and steps that we must follow. This training has removed doubt, allowed me to think more maturely and develop confidence in my ability to be a researcher. It has cleansed me to be an advocate for research and built my confidence that I can integrate evidence into my work.”

Robert has always believed that the community is the starting point for any part of change. Shaping the research questions with the community from the beginning will result in relevant research on local health problems. The second part of community engagement is returning to the community with results as part of the feedback loop. These steps are essential to successful research and addressing health disparities. He credits MicroResearch for giving him the tools to integrate knowledge translation into his work.

Robert continues to be driven by the question:

“what can I do to contribute to influence change and to improve the quality of life for those living with mental illness?”

Through this training, he expresses a sense of hope, direction and a future that includes an active role in research to guide his work supporting inmates with mental illness within Uganda’s criminal justice system.

Beatrice Katusiime, RN

Intensive Care Unit, Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital

Beatrice Katusiime

Beatrice is enthusiastic, committed, and driven to understand research as it applies to communities and health. Her eagerness to learn is contagious making her a perfect fit as a new faculty member within the MicroResearch program in Mbarara.

In 2018, she participated in the MicroResearch training and was part of a team that explored prevalence of self-prescribed medication in postnatal mothers. She was the leader of her team and speaks passionately about the development of the proposal. At the time, she was completing her Bachelor in Public Health and she credits MicroResearch as strengthening her research skills for her university training which resulted in her receiving the highest scores.

A year later, Beatrice is teaching in the program and a coach for one of the teams. She is driven to improve her teaching and research skills as she seeks feedback from her peers and students. She acknowledges her strengths and identifies areas for further work as she continues in this journey. Self-reflection and continuous quality improvement are key to a successful health and research career.

Beatrice references MicroResearch as a “knowledge reduction process.” She explains that individuals join the program with their unique lens, focus and specific knowledge. As they begin to work in teams, they start to learn from other professions and recognize that their approach to the problem is only one part of understanding the complexity of the issues. They must begin to reduce their commitment to their unique discipline and begin collaborating across professions. They begin to conceptualize the problem with the team.

“People arrive with many textbooks in their head but as they work together they synthesize and begin to develop one comprehensive resource to understand the problem and work with the community.”

We also discuss the results of research and we recognize that it is not uncommon to see results shared in international journals with high impact factors and community members do not benefit. MicroReseach is a tool to guide community needs with findings that can be translated into policy. It looks for solutions to local problems.

Beatrice is passionate about the voice of community in the research process.

“You have to go to the community, understand the problem and draft the proposal with their input. You cannot assume you know the problem.”

Beatrice is a registered nurse who works in intensive care at the regional referral hospital. She plans to start a Masters in Public Health. The MicroResearch community is fortunate to have a new faculty member with a foundation in community driven research who is committed to working in collaborative teams to address health inequities in Uganda.

To learn more about MicroResearch please visit the National MicroResearch website or the MicroResearch Nova Scotia website.

Thank you to the support from Academics Without Borders

Every woman, every child – global health and ensuring the protection of children in conflict

March 20, 2017 Jennifer LeBlanc Leave a Comment

On March 7, the Canadian Red Cross in partnership with Dalhousie University’s Global Health Office hosted a panel discussion in Halifax on the challenges and successes in strengthening the lives of women and children in conflict and fragile settings.

The Red Cross has a blog post that summarizes the highlights of that discussion.

We are planning future collaborative events with the Red Cross to be hosted here in Halifax.

Please check the Global Health Office website regularly to stay updated.

Healthcare in Chaos: Social Media Roundup

April 13, 2016 Maria Wilson Leave a Comment

On March 30th 2016, the Dalhousie Global Health Office collaborated with the Canadian Red Cross and the Government of Canada to present “Healthcare in Chaos: Best Practices in Global Humanitarian Health Work.” This event consisted of a global health fair, where organizations from the Halifax area shared discussed their global health experiences, a global health themed photo booth, and a panel discussion. The panel was moderated by Pauline Dakin of CBC NS, and featured Dr. Jason Nickerson, Dr. Lynda Redwood-Campbell and Dr. Matthew Hunt.

If you were unable to attend, and are wondering what you missed, have no fear! See our social media round-up below, which includes photographs from the event by David Grandy, and select tweets. More photos can be found on the Global Health Office Facebook page, and event tweets can be found by searching #FacesofHumanity.

The Healthcare in Chaos panel ready to begin discussion; from left to right: Pauline Dakin (moderator), Dr. Jason Nickerson, Dr. Lynda Redwood-Campbell, Dr. Matthew Hunt.

Global Health Office Director, Shawna O’Hearn, introducing the evening’s panelists.

Full house at the Healthcare in Chaos event, held in the Paul O’Regan Hall at the Halifax Central Library.

Photos from the Accessing Safe Deliveries in Tanzania (ASDIT) Research Project Launch

December 8, 2015 Maria Wilson Leave a Comment

By: Maria Wilson

Global Health Office Outreach Assistant

Monday November 23^rd marked the Halifax launch of the five-year Accessing Safe Deliveries in Tanzania (ASDIT) global health research project. Dalhousie University researchers will collaborate with partners from the Tanzanian Training Centre for International Health (TTCIH) and the Morogoro Regional Hospital in Tanzania to improve access to, and the performance of, emergency maternal care across the country.

The event was held in the newly renovated Tupper Commons. Speakers at the launch included Dean of the Dalhousie Faculty of Medicine Dr. David Anderson, Dr. John LeBlanc, who is leading the Dalhousie team and Zabron Abel of the TTCIH. You can read more about the ASDIT project, as well as Zabron’s time in Halifax, in our last blog post. For now, here are a few photographs from the research launch!

Dr. David Anderson giving opening remarks at the ASDIT launch.

Dr. John LeBlanc, Dalhousie ASDIT project lead, explaining the project outline and goals.

Zabron Abel representing the TTCIH, explaining his role within the ASDIT project (pictured with Said Msabaha of the Global Health Office and Dr. John LeBlanc).

Some of the ASDIT project launch attendees listening to Zabron Abel’s speech.

Members of the ASDIT project team (from left to right): Tanya Bilsbury, Marsha Campbell-Yeo, Doug MacMillan, Gail Tomblin Murphy, John LeBlanc, Heather Scott, Findlay Muir, Chris Wirz, Ron George, Zabron Abel, Shawna O’Hearn, Krista Mallory, Suzanne Sheffield and Chad O’Brien.

For more information on global health at Dalhousie University, check out our Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Website.

Partnerships in Global Health: The Accessing Safe Deliveries in Tanzania (ASDIT) Project

December 1, 2015 Maria Wilson Leave a Comment

Zabron Abel of the TTCIH pictured on his last morning in Halifax (with snow on the cars).

By: Maria Wilson

Global Health Office Outreach Assistant

Funded by Global Affairs Canada, Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC), and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), Dalhousie University is one of 20 teams of Canadian and African researchers, alongside African decision makers who will join forces to identify, test, and deliver life-saving interventions to secure the future of pregnant women and children.

Dalhousie University researchers are collaborating with partners from the Tanzanian Training Centre for International Health (TTCIH) and the Morgoro Regional Hospital in Tanzania. The 5-year project entitled “Accessing Safe Deliveries in Tanzania (ASDIT)” aims to improve access to, and the performance of, emergency maternal care across the country.

The team of Dalhousie University researchers is led by John LeBlanc and comprised of Doug McMillan, Heather Scott, Ron George, Marsha Campbell Yeo, Gail Tomblin Murphy and Shawna O’Hearn. The project has incredible support from Pat Rodee, Jennifer Morawiecki, and Chris Wirz with International Research and Development and Suzanne Sheffield at the Centre for Teaching and Learning.

TTCIH is a health training institution, established under a public-private partnership between the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, the Novartis Foundation and the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute. The main goal of the TTCIH is to support the Tanzanian government’s national health reform policy for strengthening human resource development through providing quality health training, facilities and services.

Each month, the Global Health Office blog will be profiling one of our partners. We were fortunate enough to have Zabron Abel from TTCIH join us in Halifax for two weeks. I had the opportunity to have lunch with Zabron last week and asked him a few questions about the ASDIT project and his time in Halifax. I am including some of the information from our discussion, as well as from the launch of the ASDIT project on Monday November 23rd.

Could you briefly describe the history of the TTCIH?

TTCIH is the Tanzanian Training Centre for International Health located about eight hour drive from Dar es Salaam in a town called Ifakara. Established 50 years ago, TTCIH provides quality training programs, facilities and support services for the strengthening of human resource development in Tanzania

What is your role with the TTCIH?

I am the e-Learning and Marketing Manager which involves coordinating marketing, promoting the TTCIH and attracting new partnerships. The e-Learning part of my role includes designing, developing and delivering training using information and communications technology. We use these materials to train health workers in a variety of disciplines.

You have partnered with Dalhousie before. How would you describe your previous experience?

TTCIH has had a long-standing partnership with Dalhousie University since 2005. TTCIH believes that the driving force of success is partnership. There have been a number of successes in this partnership, including training through faculty development, microresearch, and hosting Dalhousie medical, nursing and pharmacy learners as part of their training.

Could you describe the current ASDIT project and your role within the project?

The ASDIT project is focused on maternal and newborn child health. The project aims to evaluate the scale up of a training program for emergency obstetrical and neonatal care in Tanzania. The training upgrades the skills of associate clinicians, midwives and nurses to perform emergency care. The project will explore the barriers and enabling factors to scaling up CEMONC which will assist in policy and planning at the regional and national level. My specific role is to provide post-training support and mentorship by creating e-learning resources for the health care team to use when they return to their rural clinics.

What is your favorite thing about Halifax, and Dalhousie University?

Halifax is a really cool city. The people are humble and there is not as much pressure as you see in bigger cities. As for Dalhousie University, I like the organization, faculty and programs.

Other than seeing snow (the last time Zabron visited was in the month of April so he didn’t get to experience Halifax in the winter), what are you excited for on this trip?

The TTCIH believes in partnerships, and I am excited to be able to explore more areas of partnership, and expand our current partnership with Dalhousie University.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

I would like to thank Dr. Pemba (Director of TTCIH) for his vision, and believing that partnerships are instrumental to success. He has been key in the success of both the TTCIH and myself. Dalhousie University should keep thinking of developing countries for open collaboration, partnerships, visibility and benefits for students on both sides.

Thank you to Zabron for having lunch with me (at Pete’s in the SUB – yum), participating in an interview, and for braving the cold to take a brief tour of Dalhousie upper campus.

Safe travels back to Tanzania, and hope to see you again in the future as the partnership between the TTCIH and Dalhousie University grows!

For more information on what we at the Dalhousie Global Health Office do, visit our Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Website.

One community in Tanzania: QE Scholars udpate

June 8, 2015 Jennifer LeBlanc Leave a Comment

Dalhousie’s Braden Kingdon has now been with PASADA, in Tanzania, for a few weeks and is alread describing his time as an “experience of a lifetime.”

Dar es Salaam is offering Braden the opportunity to immerse himself in Tanzania’s exciting culture and community and we are pleased to share his latest blog post with you. Congratulations Braden – we can’t wait to read more!

In Tanzania though, the local citizens are a very close-knit group as a whole. Often while working at PASADA and wondering around Dar Es Salaam I hear girls being called sisters, boys being called brothers, and elderly women being called mamas. It is very common in Tanzania for a younger generation to approach each elderly woman with the respect of calling them mama, regardless of their relation to the women. In return these mama’s will help in anyway they can. Tanzanian’s have formed a shared identity in which everyone is considered family and part of one community.

To visit Braden’s blog please follow this link.

Mr. Simon Yohana, Executive Director PASADA and Mr. Braden Kingdon, Dalhousie University student

Category: International Students

By: Christina Torrealba (she/her), Graduate Student in Community Health and Epidemiology

By: Kayti Baur, MSc Candidate in Community Health and Epidemiology

By: Keisha Jefferies, PhD candidate, Dalhousie School of Nursing

Written by: Madeline Kubiseski, Master of Health Administration Student

By: Shawna O’Hearn, Director, Dalhousie Global Health Office

Odendi Gideon Robert

Manager of Mental Health Programs, Luzira Prison, Kampala, Uganda

Beatrice Katusiime, RN

Intensive Care Unit, Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital