As this academic year comes to a close, so does my two-year tenure as the Duke Global Health Institute Doctoral Scholar working with the Center for Global Reproductive Health. I have been so fortunate to be mentored by Dr. Huchko and the staff both here in Durham and in Kisumu. A true highlight has been collaborating with community partners as well as undergrads and grad students here at Duke. Pei-Yu Wei, another PhD student and I started a project investigating the impact of economic sanctions on women’s rights and maternal mortality, which we recently had the opportunity to present at a national conference and two academic workshops. Economic sanctions are policy instruments used to influence the behavior of another international actor. While generally a less harmful method for countries to settle disputes compared to military force, sanctions still have the ability to adversely affect the civilian population in the targeted state. Much research has been done on the negative consequences of...
Amid the familiar bursts of color and warm breezes that call us back outdoors for another glorious North Carolina spring, there are signs of a return to a pre-pandemic way of life. In light of increasing vaccinations and decreasing case numbers, Governor Cooper lifted the mask mandate at the beginning of May, with a plan to end most of the Covid-related restrictions in June. Duke was able to hold an in-person graduation, and is committed to having all students back on campus in the fall. So, while there is still a long road ahead of us, it’s reassuring to see some tangible plans for a return to normalcy. As we start to recover from the pandemic, this quarter’s newsletter focuses on what true healing looks like. Although everyone’s experience was unique, the pandemic undoubtedly brought some loss to all of us, whether in the form of isolation, missed opportunities, or, for too many of us, the loss of family or loved...
Sara LeGrand Serving as an Associate Research Professor of Global Health and as the co-director of the Duke Sexual and Gender Minority Health Program, Sara LeGrand has done incredible work in exploring health care disparities worldwide through her research and her teaching. Across her 10 years at Duke, Dr. LeGrand’s research has investigated HIV prevention & disparities among sexual and gender minorities and developed digital health interventions to improve antiretroviral adherence. Her research on sexual and gender minorities also explores social determinants of health that affect mental, physical, and social health outcomes globally. Recently, Dr. LeGrand has recently been published in the International Journal of Transgender Health in the study “Mental health and challenges of transgender women: A qualitative study in Brazil and India”, exploring the lived experiences of transgender women in low - and middle - income countries with high rates of transphobia and gender-based violence. Elizabeth Turner In her work as the Director of Duke Global Health Institute’s Research and Design...
The empowerment of women and girls in low and middle-income countries has long been recognized as a cornerstone of sustainable development. Yet despite billions in foreign aid spent on development projects annually, the international community is falling short on meeting the sustainable development goal (SDG) to achieve gender equality. The gendered impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have provided further setbacks for women. However, incorporating mechanisms aimed at increasing women’s empowerment into existing and future development projects is one potential solution to close the gender gap. Indeed, interdependencies of the SDGs can encourage positive spillovers or downstream effects; efforts targeted at one SDG can also impact another. Following this assumption, it is possible for interventions aimed at SDG 3 (ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages) to, for example, impact SDG 5 (achieve gender equality and empowerment of all women and girls). My dissertation project leverages these interdependencies and exploits an external health intervention targeted at women...
Today, March 8, is the International Women’s Day (IWD) a global day to celebrate the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. It’s also the date that the Duke Center for Global Reproductive Health launched three years ago. This year’s theme for IWD is #choosetochallenge. Reflecting not only the immense challenges of the past year, but many of the longstanding gender and other biases that impact our world, the organizers have called on people around the world to challenge and call out gender bias and inequality while seeking out and celebrating women’s achievements. You can join the challenge here. Gender bias alone is not the only challenge impacting women’s health, health equity and equal participation in the workforce. February and March are Black history and Women’s history months, respectively. This past February, twenty leading health organizations released a statement designating February 28 and March 1 as dates to acknowledge the three enslaved women, Betsey, Lucy and Anarcha, who were experimented...
The past eight months have been a time of unexpected and often stressful changes as we navigate life with Covid-19 amidst a period of social and political unrest in this country. As the year comes to a close, we’ve chosen to focus this newsletter on the changes we’ve experienced over the past semester—what we’ll keep, what we’ve learned and how this has been a powerful catalyst for our work. At this stage in the pandemic, the changes that felt temporary have become engrained into our daily lives—it’s natural to grab a mask before leaving the house, standing six feet away is the norm and it’s assumed that when we set up a meeting, it will be by Zoom. While most of us can’t wait to resume more normalcy in our social and personal lives, some of these necessary changes have turned out to have unexpected benefits. Personally, I get to see my kids a lot more than I did before...
What originally sparked your passion in global sexual and reproductive health? I was originally interested in child welfare issues and realized how closely related that is with women’s ability to realize their reproductive intentions. Have you had any mentorship opportunities that brought you to where you are today? I didn’t get into SRH work until after my PhD, while working at FHI 360. I can’t say there was one particular mentor—more like a committed environment of like-minded individuals dedicated to social and reproductive justice issues. Do you have any guiding principles that keep you on track? I’m an applied researcher. At the end of day, I have to see how any project I’m working on will impact practice or policy—not “someday” but within a tangible time period. That usually means very close collaborations with my research partners endure past the end of the funding. Do you have any advice for students intending to follow the same professional pathway? If you’re interested in global SRH, know the countries/regions...
Last week, we heard from three amazing speakers Nikki Mahendru, Dr. Chemtai Mungo, and Dr. Megan Huchko about the impact of race and socioeconomic status in women’s health and gynecology in an event held by Duke University’s Center for Global Women’s Health Technologies. As an undergraduate student, Nikki spoke about the perspective she gained on this topic from shadowing an OB/GYN as well as her own mother’s experiences. She provided great insight to the importance of an OB/GYN’s office as the birthplace of a woman hating or loving her body. Dr. Huchko detailed her experiences in Niger working on a surgical team to repair fistulas. Despite their great work, one woman suffered an unnecessary surgery due to the biased views of the doctors; today, this experience motivates Dr. Huchko to recognize and fight against implicit biases that may impede optimal care for a patient. On the other hand, Dr. Huchko noted the recent positive shifts away from racism with more of an emphasis on centering the patient in care. Next, Dr. Mungo...
By: Sandra Yvonne Oketch COVID- 19 is a public health crisis that has ravaged the health and economic situations and magnified the disparities and inequality that already exists in many women, adolescents and children. This impact has led to disruptions in health services that include: management of acute malnutrition, provision of family planning and immunizations, antenatal and postal care, HIV/ AIDS care and many other services. The Lives in the balance a COVID 19 virtual summit held on the 1st and 2nd July 2020 was hosted by Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health (PMNCH) and Core Group bringing together key stakeholders to discuss the impact of COVID- 19 on the health and wellbeing of women, children and adolescents. The highlights from key note speakers: The first keynote speaker, was the WHO Director and he emphasized on the need of having multi-stakeholder platforms in the response to the COVID- 19 pandemic. “First, we need to advocate for an intersectoral approach informed by rights- based and...
By: Angela Huang Across the past 6 years with Duke, Dr. Joy Noel Baumgartner has done incredible work within the fields of global mental health, studying maternal mental health, psychotic disorders and HIV/RH services in low resources settings across the world. She acts as the Director of the Evidence Lab and the Global Mental Health Working Group in Duke’s Global Health Institute. Furthermore, she acts as an Associate Research Professor of global health teaching classes related to maternal and child health. She also collaborates as a Faculty Network Member of the Duke Institute for Brain Sciences. She has conducted research everywhere from Tanzania to Jamaica, exploring how various community interventions may improve mental health and reproductive health. To highlight her recent work, she’s worked with other researchers in Duke and Guatemala to examine the factors that may prevent or promote implementing a perioperative patient safety program in the Roosevelt Hospital in Guatemala. They found that limited resources, leadership engagement, and knowledge were...
