2016-10-18

October 17, 2016

“One of the biggest challenges in our fieldwork experience has also been one of the most rewarding elements—balancing leading and following,” the members of one 2016 student research team reflected after the community health fair they’d helped organize in Naama, Uganda, had been deemed a success by all.

“We left the site with a great mixture of happiness, relief and exhaustion. We learned quite a few lessons we didn’t expect to learn, and we were in awe of the collaboration of so many diverse organizations.”

This team was a part of the Duke Global Health Institute’s (DGHI’s) Student Research Training (SRT) Program, a global health experiential learning program that engages undergraduate students in the development, implementation and assessment of a community-based project.

DGHI is now accepting applications for the program, in which teams of two to four students work with a partner organization from the local community under the mentorship of a DGHI faculty advisor. Program participants receive a grant to cover their fieldwork expenses.

SRT BY THE NUMBERS: 32 TEAMS, 110 STUDENTS, 11 COUNTRIES

Since its inception in 2011, the program has supported 32 teams—totaling more 110 students—in 11 countries. Projects have ranged from studying the mental health needs of orphaned and vulnerable children in India to assessing motor vehicle injury rates in urban Sri Lanka to conducting research on kidney disease in rural North Carolina.

Anna Bensley, a senior neuroscience and global health major who participated in the SRT program this past summer as a member of the India team, said that the experience helped her see herself “as part of a larger team of people globally who are committed to improving health.”

She drew inspiration from conversations with Kiran Modi, the founder of Udayan Care, where Bensley’s team was placed. “Dr. Modi’s spirit, passion and drive are admirable and contagious,” said Bensley. SRT teams have been working with Udayan Care for the past three summers.

Bensley said that the SRT program also helped her become a better researcher by providing her with a structured opportunity to plan her project, enter the field and analyze data.

The 2017 project sites include:

Haiti (Health Needs of Women in the Haitian Population)

Honduras (Saving Sight: Roatán)

India (Physical and Mental Health Support and Outcomes for Children in Residential Care Programs)

Kenya (Creating a Digital Marketplace for Family Planning)

North Carolina (Improving Outcomes for Chronic Kidney Disease in Southeastern North Carolina)

Uganda (Community Health in Rural Uganda)

SO WHAT’S THE SRT PROGRAM REALLY LIKE?

Although any student or faculty advisor will agree that there’s no such thing as a typical day in the SRT Program, the video below offers a glimpse into a day in the life of the 2015 SRT team based in Santa Cruz, Guatemala and highlights the ways in which students might interact with local community members.

[video]

The SRT program is funded by DGHI and The Laura Ellen and Robert Muglia Family Foundation.

LEARN MORE

•    Read about the SRT Program and this year’s SRT projects

•    Apply for the SRT Program

Research News



The 2016 SRT Uganda team take a moment to pose with members of the village health team.

Haiti, Honduras, India, Kenya, Uganda, United States

Since its inception in 2011, the program has supported 32 teams—totaling more 110 students—in 11 countries.

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