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

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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 2-3rd, 2019, I attended the Robarts’ Graduate Student conference at York University, in Toronto. Then from May 9-11th, 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.

Canadian Conference of Global Health: Student Reflection

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By: Vivian Tan, Dalhousie Medical Student (Med 2)

This November, I had the opportunity to attend the three-day Canadian Conference for Global Health (CCGH) in Toronto.  The conference brings together researchers, policymakers, students, practitioners and stakeholders from health and humanitarian sectors to share their wisdom on how the global health community can drive change in fragile environments.

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There were experts from different regions around the world sharing their expertise and insight across a wide range of topics related to global health. Topics that I had a particular interest in included humanitarian development, infectious diseases, gender equality, maternal and infant health, politics of global health and health information systems. Being a part of conversations to improve the health of vulnerable and disadvantaged populations helped me develop a greater awareness of the social determinants of health and their effects on the causes, treatments and prevention of disease.

One of the highlights of the conference was a lunch talk with Helen Clark, the former Prime Minister of New Zealand. It was inspiring to hear her take on current healthcare issues particularly the advancement of women rights and the importance of intersectorial collaboration between humanitarian and developmental efforts for health.

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Learning about different healthcare issues and potential solutions at CCGH allowed me to understand the impact of different systems, policies and delivery of services on patient care outcomes.  This helps me recognize the strengths and weakness of our current system and become a better advocate for changes in health policy and health promotion in the future.

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Other blog posts in this series:

Keisha Jefferies: Student Reflections on the Canadian Conference on Global Health

Clare Howe: Strengthening knowledge and passion for global health at CCGH 2018

Rachel Ollivier: Highlights and Learnings from the 2018 Canadian Conference on Global Health (CCGH) and the Global Health Students & Young Professionals Summit (GHSYPS)

2017 Canadian Conference for Global Health – An Interview with MScN Candidate Rachel Olliver

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Written by Matt Jalink, MSc Candidate in Community Health and Epidemiology
Interview with CCGH Attendee Rachel Ollivier, MScN Candidate

Rachel had the opportunity to attend the three-day Canadian Conference for Global Health (CCGH) in Ottawa at the end of October. The conference brought together leaders in the global health field to present and discuss current challenges and various research projects and initiatives aimed to combat these challenges. I had the chance to sit down with Rachel Ollivier, a Master of Science in Nursing candidate at Dalhousie University, to ask her about her experiences at the conference.

What are you studying here at Dalhousie and how did your past and current studies influence your experience at the Canadian Conference for Global Health?

I’ve just begun my first year of the Master of Science in Nursing program here at Dal, and I’ll be working with Dr. Megan Aston and Dr. Sheri Price as my co-supervisors. My thesis research will aim to explore the experiences of postpartum childbearing persons with perinatal sexual health education using a feminist post-structural methodology. Before coming to Dalhousie, I completed my undergraduate nursing degree at the University of British Columbia’s Okanagan campus. While studying at UBCO, I had the opportunity to work as a research assistant with Dr. Kathy Rush on her work in Western Province, Zambia after completing my final nursing practicum there; an experience that spurred a keen interest in global health research.

What was your overall impression of the conference?

I really enjoyed it! There was a diverse range of topics presented and discussed; the content of the sessions was fairly dense, though very thought-provoking. I especially enjoyed the workshop sessions, some of which were in my area of interest, being maternal and reproductive health. Shawna O’Hearn [Director of the Global Health Office] co-chaired one standout session on allyship in global health partnerships.

What was your favourite session you attended? Who was presenting and what did you take away from the discussion?

It’s tough to choose one favourite, but one workshop that I really enjoyed was “From gender blind to gender transformative global health research”, lead by Rosemary Morgan from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Sarah Ssali from Makerere University in Uganda. We discussed how gender analysis should be incorporated into global health research. The ‘Allyship’ workshop was also a favourite because it explored the importance of acknowledging privilege and how that plays into fostering meaningful, impactful global health partnerships. It’s a topic that some researchers, such as my supervisor Dr. Megan Aston, have been promoting for years but remains ignored by many- it’s the elephant in the room. Allyship is a day-to-day practice and the presenters discussed how and why impact must be emphasized over intent when working with others, whether it be abroad or at home.

Did you meet any interesting people over the three days?

Absolutely, there were so many great global health leaders to meet and connect with. I was able to reconnect with Dr. Fastone Goma, my colleague from the University of Zambia. We got to know each other better and finally meet in person after many emails back and forth throughout the summer! I also had the chance to meet Dr. Vic Neufeld from the University of Victoria through the Canadian Coalition for Global Health Research. Dr. Neufeld is a wonderful, passionate mentor and is great at facilitating relationships and partnerships in the global health field. Dr. Sarah Ssali from the Department of Women and Gender Studies at Makerere University in Uganda was also an amazing person to connect with and shared very valuable insight.

What are your future career plans and how did attending the CCGH influence this plan?

I will be applying to bridge into the PhD in Nursing program here at Dalhousie as the next step in pursuing a career in global health research! I’m incredibly fortunate to have mentors both here in Canada and abroad to help facilitate future work in the field. One of my many reasons for choosing Dalhousie for my graduate studies was the opportunity to become involved with the WHO/PAHO Collaborating Centre for Health Workforce Planning & Research, where I am currently working as a research assistant with Dr. Gail Tomblin Murphy, the Centre’s Director, and Janet Rigby. I am also planning to apply for the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Scholarship, which would allow me the opportunity to travel to either Ifakara or Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, from May-August 2018, to assist with research, likely in the area of maternal and newborn health.

I would like to thank Rachel for sitting down with me to share her fantastic experience at the Canadian Conference for Global Health, and we wish her the best in her future studies and research career!

For more information on this annual conference please visit the CCGH website.

2017 Canadian Global Health Conference – Day 1

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Written by Matt Jalink, MSc Candidate in CH&E

Canadian Global Health Conference – Day 1 – October 29, 2017

It is exciting being at my first Canadian Global Health Conference here in Ottawa! The first day of the conference opened up with a stellar line-up of global health celebrities including Partner’s in Health Co-founder and internationally recognized humanitarian Dr. Paul Farmer, former MSF (Médecins Sans Frontières) director Dr. James Orbinsky. Fellow panelist Shakira Choonara walked everyone through a simulation of what visually impaired individuals have to experience when taking their own medicine, which involved a blindfold and the reading of a prescription.

 

Dr. Paul Farmer giving the keynote address

Dr. Paul Farmer giving the keynote address

 

(left to right) csih cochair Erica Di Ruggiero, Shakira choonara, Basimenye Nhlema, Paul Farmer, James orbinsky, Julia Sanchez

(left to right) csih cochair Erica Di Ruggiero, Shakira choonara, Basimenye Nhlema, Paul Farmer, James orbinsky, Julia Sanchez

 

(right to left starting on podium) Justus Nsio (minister of public health DR Congo), Nicola Gailitis (PhD McMaster), Ali Tejpar (law, UOttawa,), Dr. Salim Bahramand (red crescent Afghanistan), Dr. Salim Sohani (international operations Canadian red cross)

(right to left starting on podium) Justus Nsio (minister of public health DR Congo), Nicola Gailitis (PhD McMaster), Ali Tejpar (law, UOttawa,), Dr. Salim Bahramand (red crescent Afghanistan), Dr. Salim Sohani (international operations Canadian red cross)

 

Dr. Salim Bahramand

Dr. Salim Bahramand

 

The concurrent sessions throughout the day were informative, educational, and captivating! Discussions about building capacity in different country contexts, implementation research in the context of HIV and HCV, and insights into community engagement in the context of Ebola were all fantastic symposiums and workshops to learn and talk about global health issues.

Tomorrow’s program looks just as impressive as today’s, and I am looking forward to more exciting, interesting, and creative discussions about global health!

For more information on these sessions please see the Conference Program.

Tuberculosis Detection: Rats with an MD?

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Written by Matt Jalink, MSc Candidate in Community Health and Epidemiology
January 2017

In October 2016 we published an article about the innovative Apopo HERO rats and their application to tuberculosis (TB) diagnosis and landmine detection. Today we are focusing in on the TB detecting rats, and their uncanny ability to diagnoses TB with their keen sense of smell.

The Apopo TB detection program began modestly in 2007 with 4 government partnership clinics, but has since expanded to 28 collaborating clinics in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and in Maputo, Mozambique. Tanzania and Mozambique are among the World Health Organization’s 22 high-TB burden countries, which can be partially attributed to inefficient TB diagnostic techniques. The Tanzanian national standard diagnosis via sputum microscopy is only 40-60% accurate, and can be even lower among HIV positive individuals. As a result, many individuals infected with TB aren’t captured by current diagnosis techniques and are sent home where they can infect anyone who comes into close contact with them. Thus, Apopo seeks to improve TB diagnosis, operating as a second-line treatment.

 

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In order to ensure accurate diagnosis, Apopo HERO rats are trained through a comprehensive five-step program outline below:

  1. Socialization
    • The rats open their eyes at 4 weeks of age and are immediately socialized to develop a comfort for being routinely handled.
  2. Click Training and Scent Conditioning
    • The rats learn to associate the clicking noise to a food reward.
  3. Scent Discrimination
    • Trainers offer rats a choice between positive and negative sputum samples. When the rats pause above a positive sample, they are rewarded with a food reward and clicking noise.
  4. Multiple Sample Evaluation
    • The rats progress to evaluating multiple samples in sequence. The samples are orientated in a linear bar containing ten sputum samples. Here the rats are learning how to evaluate large numbers of samples in a short amount of time.
  5. TB Rat Accreditation
    • The final test the rats face is to pass an internal accreditation process before joining the work force. The test is conducted under blind conditions, and to pass the evaluation, the rat must identify every TB positive patient in order to ensure high sensitivity. When rats indicate samples that were previously tested negative, the suspected sample is confirmed again in the lab. The Hero rats have caught almost 3000 wrongly diagnosed TB patients in just the past few years.

 

 

 

Once the accredited rats are ready to work, they fall in as a second line treatment for TB diagnosis, meaning they are used to confirm or discredit previously tested samples. The process begins when patients are tested at a collaborating clinic or hospital for TB using sputum microscopy. Samples are labeled with their test result, stored, and collected by Apopo on a regular basis. Apopo collects both positive and negative samples and the respective correlating patient codes. Although the rats are immune to most tropical diseases, the samples are still denatured in an autoclave to ensure the samples are no longer contagious. The samples are now ready for rat inspection, and are placed in a linear sequence under sniffing holes. The rat MDs pause and scratch at samples they think are positive for TB. A single rat can screen 100 samples in approximately 20 minutes, a process that would take a lab technician more than 2 days to process. The samples identified as positive by the rats are then confirmed via culture in the lab. All results either confirmatory or dissenting are sent back to their respective health centres to advise patient treatment.

So far, Apopo TB detecting rats have positively identified 10,671 cases of TB, screened more than 390,485 samples, and stopped 81,390 potential infections.

Apopo was ranked the top-rated non-profit on GreatNonProfits for 2nd year in a row and were awarded the opportunity to exhibit work at the World Innovation Summit for Health on TB-detecting rats.

For more information on the Apopo rats please visit their website.

World Health Day 2016: Beat Diabetes

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April 7th marks the World Health Organization (WHO) World Health Day. Each year, a different theme is chosen, in hopes of raising awareness of pressing global health issues. In 2014, WHO tackled vector-borne diseases; in 2015, they took on food safety [1,2].  The 2016 World Health Day theme is Beat Diabetes, a condition that affects about 422 million people worldwide [3]. In order to contribute to raising awareness of diabetes, the Global Health Office has put together the following fact sheet!

diabetes sheet

What is Global Health? Towards an Updated, Universal Definition

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By: Maria Wilson

Global Health Office Outreach Assistant

Global Health is an attractive and high profile field. We encounter global health issues on a daily basis, often without even realizing. In 2014, the West African Ebola outbreak was sensationalized in the media for months, featured heavily on every major Canadian media outlet. Several of the world’s largest charitable organizations – which you may work with, donate to, or benefit from – target global health issues. Poverty and health inequities continue to affect both our local and global communities. Students are being encouraged more and more to engage in international experiences in order to become well-rounded “global citizens.” Global health is all around us.

But what does “global health” really mean? If we asked five experts in the field to define global health, chances are each would provide a different response. Why? Because global health has grown over the years to encompass a variety of ideas and notions, including interdisciplinary cooperation, infectious and non-infectious disease, international development, social justice, food security, maternal and newborn child health, and environmental issues…and the list goes on. Global health is broad in scope, and each one of us may approach our work in slightly different way.

Academics have tried to define global health in past. Perhaps the most well-known and widely accepted definition of global health is that of Koplan et al. from 2009:

“Global health is an area for study, research and practice that places a priority on improving health and achieving equity in health for all people worldwide” [1].

While this definition touches on many important aspects of global health like equity, and a worldwide reach, it fails to address the “how.” We can study, research and practice global health, but what are the best ways to engage in our work? How do we find common ground?

I must admit, I don’t have the answers to these complex questions (yet), but I’m hoping that in the near future the global health community comes together to arrive at a solution. Until then, these are questions we should all be cognizant of when we approach our work in global health. Just like Koplan et al. called for the adoption of a common definition in global health in 2009, I am calling for an updated, universal definition of global health in 2016.

Why is it important to come to a consensus on what global health means? As global health continues to grow and become a part of our everyday lives, we must come together to determine a more clear purpose, and path for the future. With everyone working with a common framework in mind, towards shared goals, we will achieve the best outcomes moving forward.

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

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By: Maria Wilson
Global Health Office Outreach Assistant

Monday November 23rd 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 at the ASDIT launch.

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

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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).

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).

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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

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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.

  1. 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

  1. 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.

  1. 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.

  1. 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.

  1. 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.

  1. 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.

  1. 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.

Community interventions: what is mHealth, and how can it help to improve maternal and newborn child health in developing countries?

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By: Maria Wilson
Global Health Office Outreach Assistant
From November 5-7, 2015 Montreal hosted the Canadian Conference on Global Health.  A delegation from Dalhousie participated in the many opportunities, and we will be publishing a series of blog posts from the students who attended.

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Before I begin this blog post, I must disclose something to everyone reading – until November 5th 2015, I had never heard of the term “mHealth.” In fact, if you go look at my Twitter feed from earlier this week (shameless plug @_marianicole), I improperly stylized it as “MHealth.” Somebody had already re-tweeted my tweet (thanks @QueensGlobalHealth) by the time I recognized my error, so I didn’t want to delete and correct it. Fun fact: you cannot edit a tweet.

Sure, I had (briefly) heard of using mobile technology to address global health issues in one of my classes; however, mHealth as a concept is new to me. But hey, that’s what conferences are for: learning new things and gaining new perspectives. On the off chance that you, the reader of this post (if there are any of you out there), also have no idea what mHealth is, let me attempt to enlighten you! Because hey, conferences are also for sharing ideas and information (essentially, conferences are full of benefits).

Last Thursday at the Canadian Conference on Global Health (CCGH), there was a group of oral presentations on mHealth interventions geared toward improving maternal and newborn child health (MNCH) in developing countries. For this post, I’ve tried my best to blend information from this session, along with background information from a brief literature search on the topic of mHealth to pass along one of the many useful things I learned today, to all of you (hi mom, thanks for reading).

The first question that I know is burning in your mind: WHAT DOES THE M STAND FOR?!?! I may have spoiled that earlier in this post (sorry), when I talked about mobile technology to address global health issues, because the “m” is for “mobile.” The large photo of various mobile devices at the start of this post also probably gave that away (again, sorry).

mHealth is an emerging field of global health in which mobile and wireless devices are used to generate, aggregate and disseminate health information. Around the world, mobile networks are keeping people connected daily, even in the most rural of areas. mHealth is particularly important in the context of developing countries, where cost-effective solutions are necessary to improve healthcare systems and delivery.

One of the presentations, given by Kristy Hackett, at the CCGH outlined community health workers’ (CHWs) motivation during an mHealth intervention trial to improve MNCH in Singida, Tanzania. CHWs, who have enormous potential to improve MNCH in hard-to-reach communities, were provided with either a smartphone or paper-based protocols to use in household visits. The smartphone used an application that would guide and support CHWs throughout each visit with prompting questions, tools to help calculate important indicators such as gestational age, and help them decide if a clinical referral was necessary. Findings from qualitative interviews indicated that mobile phones initially incentivized and simplified the CHWs’ work, but difficulties arose with charging and airtime. The study findings highlight the need to continue to refine and improve mHealth approaches in order to move toward more efficient health delivery and better health outcomes.

Some of the many other applications of mHealth include reminding patients to take medications through notification systems and conducting disease surveillance. The 2015 mHealth Summit is currently underway in Washington DC (November 8-11). You can check out their website here: http://www.mhealthsummit.org/.

Look for more blog posts from Dalhousie delegates at the 2015 CCGH over the next few weeks. As always, for more information on the Global Health Office you can check our Twitter, Facebook and Website. We have also recently started an Instagram account, and I am going to shamelessly and directly ask (beg) you to follow us because (a) we have been and will be posting some really awesome pictures and (b) we currently only have 13 followers, which is an increase of 225% since Thursday when we only had 4. Happy Tuesday everyone!