SRT Program – Page 4 – Global Reproductive Health at Duke

From Dormmates to Research Collaborators

March 16, 2022April 3, 2025 by Aarushi VenkatakrishnanNo Comments

In fall 2019, when Rachel Mundaden and Ramya Ginjupalli (T’22) applied to spend the following summer in Kisumu, Kenya, as part of the Center’s Student Research Training program, no one could have predicted the COVID-19 pandemic, and the resultant global disruptions in almost every aspect of people’s lives. Travel and fieldwork were soon out of the question, but these two were able to pivot to develop the content expertise and skills in qualitative methods necessary to carry out an analysis of focus groups discussions designed to better understand stigma related to cervical cancer and human papillomavirus in Kenya. They spoke to DGHI about their experience and how it felt to have a published manuscript resulting from this work. Check it out here: https://globalhealth.duke.edu/news/dormmates-research-collaborators ...

Studying Global, Staying Local

October 7, 2020April 3, 2025 by Aarushi VenkatakrishnanNo Comments

By: Ema Kuczura and Sarah Hubner When we entered the Student Research Training Program, we were preparing ourselves to deal with many challenges, including learning new research skills and navigating cultural differences. Working with DGHI Doctoral Scholar, Kelly Hunter, our goal was to understand the impact of the Global Gag Rule on health care providers and non-governmental organizations in Western Kenya. The Global Gag Rule formally referred to as the Protecting Life in Global Health Assistance Policy, “aims to ensure that US tax-payer funding does not support foreign non-governmental organizations that perform or actively promote abortion as a method of family planning” (Michael Pompeo, US Secretary of State). We were planning on using our time in Kisumu to conduct in-person interviews with stakeholders in the reproductive health sector. However, when we heard the news that pandemic would make it impossible to travel to Kenya as we initially anticipated, we knew achieving the goals we set forth for the summer would require newfound...

What I Learned

September 4, 2019April 3, 2025 by Andrea ChalemNo Comments

It’s been about a month since I returned from Kisumu, where I spent eight weeks working on the development of an mHealth pilot study at the Duke Center for Global Reproductive Health. I really feel that I gained so much out of those two months, and I’m hoping to bring these lessons with me to my senior year at Duke. I was able to experience what it really means to do research in the field, and that a lot of the time this means being flexible and prepared for plans to constantly change. The local team at the Center taught me the importance of communication and planning ahead, but how to also be ready for scheduling changes when working with outside teams. More than that though, the team showed me how easily one can feel connected to a new group of coworkers that welcome you with open arms. I think I speak for myself and the rest of the SRT...

Learning Backwards

September 4, 2019April 4, 2025 by Emma MehlhopNo Comments

I traveled this summer to Kisumu, Kenya expecting to work on a project we had poured hours of work into through the Center for Global Reproductive Health. After much time spent discussing our project, conducting literature reviews, and finalizing on our in-depth interview guides, it was disappointing to learn that we would not have our necessary IRB approvals for our project until after our departure from Kisumu. While we are glad to know that our project is in amazing hands here at the Center for Global Reproductive Health, it was frustrating to come to terms with the fact that we would not be the ones to carry out the interviews we had worked so hard on. As I look back on my summer, I am compelled to reflect on why this change of plans changed my trip for the better. Much discussion around research, especially when it comes to global health research, focuses on the importance of flexibility. Figuring out what...

Learning Backwards

August 6, 2019April 3, 2025 by Emma MehlhopNo Comments

We came to Kisumu, Kenya expecting to work on a project we had poured hours of work into. After much time spent discussing our project, conducting lit reviews, and finalizing In-depth Interview questionnaires, it was disappointing to learn that we would not have our necessary approvals for our project until after our departure from Kisumu. While we are glad to know that our project is in amazing hands here at the Center for Global Reproductive Health, it was frustrating to come to terms with the fact that we would not be the ones to carry out the interview guides we had worked so hard on. As our time in Kisumu comes to a close, however, I am compelled to reflect on why this change of plans changed my trip for the better. Much discussion around research, especially when it comes to global health research, focuses on the importance of flexibility. Figuring out what to do when plans change and how to...

Three Tips for when Research Plans Change

August 1, 2019April 3, 2025 by Suzanna LarkinNo Comments

This summer, I embarked on a trip to the lakeside city of Kisumu, Kenya to work with Dr. Megan Huchko and the Center for Global Reproductive Health on the development of a survey tool to measure cervical cancer and HPV stigma among HIV-positive women and health care providers. The first step in the research study would involve in-depth interviews (IDIs) to develop a framework for our survey tool. In preparation during the spring semester, fellow researcher Emma Mehlhop (T’21) and I produced four IDI guides which would lead the interviewers through our exploratory questions, and we even attended a training on qualitative interviews. I was eager to see our preparatory work come to fruition during the summer, as I was certain the study would continue moving forward at our intended pace. When our study on cervical cancer stigma had hiccups with the IRB approval and left us unable to move forward with the IDIs, Emma and I joined another study --...

Expect the Unexpected

July 18, 2019April 3, 2025 by Andrea ChalemNo Comments

Exactly six weeks ago I spent my first full day in Kisumu, Kenya after a day’s worth of travel, an earlier than expected arrival, meeting my two Canadian housemates, and being so disoriented I didn’t even know where to get a meal or buy groceries. Now, with only two weeks of my time left, it’s almost laughable thinking back on how little I knew of how this city works. I now know which water to buy (the refillable 5L jugs with the handle), how much a tuk tuk from home to the office costs (100 KES, which is the equivalent of about 1 USD), and how to catch the best sunsets every night (rooftop of the building at our complex at 6:30pm). Despite my confusion on just about everything when I first arrived, the one thing I expected to be relatively straight forward was the research project I was set to be working on. I was told to be ready to...

A Qualitative Research Training Session at the Center for Reproductive Health in Kisumu, Kenya

July 2, 2019April 3, 2025 by Emma MehlhopNo Comments

Last week the office at the Duke Center for Reproductive Health in Kisumu held a two-day qualitative research training session led by facilitators Cyrilla Amanya and Muli Emmanuel from ACE, Africa. Attendees included the Duke Reproductive Health Center’s Kisumu staff, a DGHI master’s student, and members of the Duke Global Health Institute’s (DGHI) Student Research Training Program (SRT). The members of SRT (Andrea Chalem, Suzanna Larkin, and I) are here in Kisumu, Kenya for 8 weeks working on two different studies concerning cervical cancer awareness, screening, and prevention. Andrea is working on an mHealth study with Jacob Stocks, a master’s student at DGHI, and Suzanna and I are working on a stigma study. We used the In-Depth Interviews (IDIs) created for the stigma project as a jumping off point for discussion and role play during the qualitative training session. On day one, we learned helpful tips on how to make interviews conversational and comfortable for the participant. These included using the...

Summer SRT team joins Kisumu office

June 4, 2019April 3, 2025 by Megan Huchko2 Comments

This summer the Center office in Kisumu will be hosting three students through a Student Research Training (SRT) summer program. They will be joined by a Masters in Global Health student, an ob/gyn resident and a post-doctoral fellow, all researching various aspects of cervical cancer prevention and health systems strengthening for reproductive health. They've just arrived in Kenya, and I've asked them to share some of their plans and expectations for the summer. Follow this page to see updates on their projects and reflections throughout the summer. Emma Mehlhop, T'21 Since this summer will be my first experience in field work of any kind, I have much to anticipate. First, I am looking forward to reflecting on not just why I am passionate about Global Health, but what I am personally able to contribute to the field. During the Global Health Ethics course, we spent time reflecting on the work of Boniface Mwangi, a Kenyan photojournalist, who asks Global Health workers and...

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