By Emily Morin
Sacred Valley Health Community Coordinator position open based in Peru
Sacred Valley Health is an NGO working to improve health care access and equity in Peru's Sacred Valley. Check out the Community Coordinator position here: Ayni Wasi_SVH Job description.
Erin Ryan, a current IH student, is doing her practicum there this summer. If you would like to talk to her about this NGO, please contact her at ryannk@bu.edu.
eHealth 12 week compensated internship with Global Health Fellows Program II
Global Health Fellows Program II
eHealth Intern
Office of Health Systems, Bureau for Global Health, United States Agency for International Development, Washington, DC
Location: Washington, DC
October 1, 2013 - December 24, 2013: Compensated 12 Week Internship
The Global Health Fellows Program (GHFP-II) is a five year cooperative agreement implemented and managed by the Public Health Institute in partnership with CDC Development Solutions and Management Systems International. GHFP-II is supported by the US Agency for International Development (USAID).
GHFP-II's goal is to improve the effectiveness of USAID health programs by addressing the Agency's immediate and emerging human capacity needs. The program seeks to accomplish this goal first through the recruitment, placement and support of diverse health professionals at the junior, mid and senior levels. These program participants include fellows, interns, corporate volunteers and Foreign Service National professionals. The program then provides substantial performance management and career development support to participants, including annual working planning assistance, and ensures that professional development opportunities are available.
Looking to the future, GHFP-II also seeks to establish a pool of highly-qualified global health professionals that will ensure the Agency's ongoing technical leadership and effectiveness. This objective is supported by an extensive outreach program that brings global health opportunities and specialized career advice to a diverse range of interested individuals, with a particular focus on those underrepresented in the field of global health.
INTRODUCTION:
The Office of Health Systems in the Bureau for Global Health works across the Agency's entire portfolio of global health and is responsible for technical leadership and direction in health systems strengthening. The Office focuses its efforts on health policy and governance, quality assurance, workforce policy, pharmaceutical management, information systems, health promotion and eHealth. Furthermore, the Office has primary responsibility for leading the Agency's efforts related to health systems strengthening.
The Intern will support the Office of Health Systems' eHealth Coordinator. S/he will assist in the coordination of eHealth/mHealth activities across the Bureau, and will provide direct support for eHealth/mHealth in the context of health systems strengthening. For the purposes of this position description only, "eHealth" is defined as the use of digital information and communications technologies for health (e.g., tags, sensors, sim cards, phones, tablets, laptops, desktops, servers). "mHealth" is a subset of eHealth and is defined as the use of "post-PC," highly mobile information and communications technologies for health (i.e., tags, sensors, sim cards, phones and tablets, but not laptops, desktops and servers).
LEARNING OBJECTIVE:
- Gain an understanding of the important role of eHealth/mHealth as a means for improving access, quality, affordability, sustainability and efficiency within health systems.
- Gain an understanding of the ways in which eHealth/mHealth can help achieve the goals of Universal Health Coverage.
- Gain experience in establishing an enabling environment for eHealth/mHealth at the global and country level (e.g. eHealth/mHealth evidence, interoperability, country ownership and financing).
ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Assist in assembling the literature on eHealth/mHealth for health systems strengthening in support of Universal Health Coverage.
- Assist in the preparations for a large-scale meeting on "e/mHealth for Improving the Performance of Facility-based Health Providers."
- Interns with the following backgrounds may be assigned additional tasks appropriate to their training and experience:
- Information technology: interoperability curriculum, open source policies, host country procurement toolbox, liaising with the developer/hacker community
- Economics or finance: mobile money (electronic payments) for health finance - use cases, development of an online community, review of Community Health Workers as mobile money agents
- Clinical medicine: eHealth/mHealth in support of performance improvement, including electronic health information systems (e.g., electronic medical records), mobile clinical decision support tools, and mobile job aids
- Policy and governance: eHealth/mHealth policies and standards, host country capacity strengthening
- Other tasks or responsibilities may be assigned based on organizational and programming need.
QUALIFICATIONS:
- US Citizenship is required.
- Enrolled in, or a *recent graduate of, a master's program in a health- or IT-related field.
- Experience in an eHealth/mHealth/health IT setting, domestic or international is strongly preferred.
* 'Recent graduate' is defined as obtaining his/her degree no more than one year prior to the internship anticipated start time.
To Apply: Detailed information, including an online application and instructions, is available on our website at www.ghfp.net. All applications
Article by IH Alumnae Published in the Online Journal of Public Health Informatics (OJPHI)
The article “Steps to a Sustainable Public Health Surveillance Enterprise,” co-authored by BUSPH grads Nabila Mirza (’13) and Tera Reynolds (’11), was published in the latest issue of OJPHI released on June 30, 2013. The paper presents the recommendations of a Sustainable Surveillance Workgroup convened by the International Society for Disease Surveillance (ISDS) to identify strategies for building, strengthening, and maintaining surveillance systems that are equipped to adequately promote and protect the public’s health.
The citation of the paper is: Mirza N, Reynolds T, Coletta M, Suda K, Soyiri I, Markle A, Leopold H, Lenert L, Samoff E, Siniscalchi A, Streichert L. Steps to a Sustainable Public Health Surveillance Enterprise. Online Journal of Public Health Informatics. 2013;5(2). doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.5210%2Fojphi.v5i2.4703.
The article is available for viewing and download at http://ojphi.org/ojs/index.php/ojphi/article/view/4703.
Congratulations to both Nabila and Tera for this publication! We encourage all BUSPH students to disseminate the article and its key messages to the broader public health community, specifically to public health practitioners and decision makers at all levels, in order for it to have maximum impact.
WiseMama Zambia and Babies Breathing Better-support IH faculty in the Saving Lives at Birth challenge!
Department of International Health faculty have been selected as finalists for the Gates Foundation-funded “Saving Lives at Birth” project. Their two proposals are described below. Unlike most of the peer-reviewed competitions we enter at DIH/CGHD, there is a “popular choice” option in this competition.
WiseMama Zambia: Feasibility, Acceptability and Preliminary Effect of Wireless Technology to Improve Adherence to Antiretroviral Therapy in Pregnant and Postpartum Women:
Antiretroviral therapy (ART) improves health and long-term survival of people living with HIV, but only if high adherence is maintained. Several studies have found perilously low ART adherence in pregnant and postpartum women (PPPW), the consequences which are dire: disease progression and death in women; HIV infection, death and orphanhood for babies; and a rise in drug resistant HIV. To improve ART adherence in PPPW, we will test the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of the use of wireless technology by PPPW and women's support networks in Zambia. Our integrated approach taps the potential of wireless technology to monitor adherence in real time and engages PPPW and their support networks to use the data generated to improve adherence. Women will use a pill container that wirelessly monitors adherence and automatically sends a text message reminder to women who fail to take a dose on time. Women's support groups will then use the monitoring data to provide follow up counseling and support. Demonstration of impact on adherence combined with cost data will enable us to evaluate the potential of this approach to help PPPW and all people living with HIV achieve the full life-saving benefits of ART. Our study will, for the first time, yield rigorous data on the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of a novel ART adherence intervention that harnesses breakthrough wireless technology, women's empowerment, and community-based service delivery to achieve healthy outcomes for mothers and babies.
Babies Breathing Better:
Indoor air pollution from burning biomass fuels increases the risk of low birth weight, prematurity, and pneumonia. With ≈1% of the Zambian population having access to improved stoves, most pregnant women and neonates are unprotected from indoor air pollutants. Little effort is invested in identifying interventions to reduce exposure of pregnant women and neonates to fine particles and carbon monoxide. Air quality interventions in homes of pregnant women and neonates have the potential to substantially reduce several causes of neonatal mortality (low birth weight, prematurity, and pneumonia). Among pregnant women, new mothers, and household decision-makers, we will evaluate acceptability and willingness to use/pay for structural interventions, such as improved stoves and solar fans, and behavioral interventions to reduce time spent near stoves. We will then evaluate the impact of an acceptable set of air quality interventions on maternal and neonatal exposure to air pollutants (PM2.5 and carbon monoxide). We will also assess feasibility of implementing recommended strategies, yielding information crucial to scale-up. This project is innovative in its goal to tackle the substantial risk posed to pregnant women and newborns by poor indoor air quality.
Link to proposals and voting: http://savinglivesatbirth.net/news/13/07/18/press-release-round-3-finalists-announced
Partners in Health position: Rwanda Curriculum and Training Specialist for GSK Project
Learn more here!
Volunteer opportunity with “Saturday’s/Sunday’s Bread” in Boston
Great way to volunteer your time this summer in Boston!
Saturday’s/Sunday’s Bread is a program that serves free hot meals to people in need in Boston every Saturday and Sunday at the Church of St. John the Evangelist, 35 Bowdoin Street, Boston
More info: Saturday's Bread
Volunteer opportunity for person with web development experience to help with a local NGO’s website
United for Health Abyssinia is a small nonprofit organization working to control and treat Tuberculosis in Ethiopia. We are currently working to create a brand for our organization, and through that process need to revamp our organization's website. We are in search of someone with website development experience who would like to volunteer to help us accomplish this goal.
This is a great opportunity for someone looking to expand their portfolio and gain experience working with a nonprofit. Please contact Kim Morgan at kimm@healthforabyssinia.org with any questions or interest! Thanks!
Coordinator of Community Engagement with Fenway Health’s Violence Recovery Program
Fenway Health’s Violence Recovery Program (VRP) provides counseling, support groups, advocacy, and referral services to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender and queer (LGBTQ) victims of bias crime, domestic violence, sexual assault, and police misconduct.
Coordinator of Community Engagement and Outreach [Job ID #442]
The Coordinator of Community Engagement and Outreach will primarily serve as a liaison to and resource for state and community based victim service and survivor led organizations; maintain a presence and create awareness in underserved LGBTQ communities by providing outreach and education regarding interpersonal violence and victimization; and collaborate with other VRP staff in the provision of direct services to clients.
Typical duties include: providing outreach and maintaining a presence in Latino/a, People of Color and other underserved LGBTQ communities; scheduling, coordinating and executing public speaking engagements, trainings, and community forums; collaborating with partnering agencies and community groups to develop public awareness campaigns; working with police and other criminal justice agencies to make them more accessible to LGBTQ crime victims, and advocating for needed follow-up services. Additional duties include developing and maintaining a referral network of service providers and criminal justice professionals; training and educating community groups and professional agencies about violence issues; and organizing meetings with law enforcement, criminal justice, and other community service providers to the effort to protect and ensure the civil rights of the LGBTQ community.
Direct services to clients include: providing intake, screening and assessment of new cases; providing individual counseling for clients who have experienced recent victimization; informing clients of rights, options, and available services; coordinating services for clients, including consultation with other agency departments; assisting clients in accessing the criminal justice system and/or securing counseling and social services, and accompanying clients to court and/or police, as appropriate.
Note: Applications or resumes without a cover letter expressing interest in employment at Fenway Health will not be accepted.
Requirements:
- Bachelor’s degree required.
- Minimum of one year experience in community organizing and outreach required.
- Knowledge of and experience with advocacy in the legal and criminal justice systems required.
- Strong interpersonal and public speaking skills required.
- Demonstrated commitment to working to respond to and to end violence within and against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer communities required.
- Bilingual English/Spanish strongly preferred.
- Familiarity with communities of color and marginalized populations preferred.
- Ability to work harmoniously with diverse groups of individuals and ability to work independently required.
- Experience working in an ethnically, culturally and racially diverse environment preferred.
- Flexibility with work schedule required.
When applying for this position, please reference the job title and job ID #442
Fenway Health is an Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Employer.
Link to Fenway Health’s employment website:
http://www.fenwayhealth.org/site/PageServer?pagename=FCHC_abt_about_employment#442
BUSPH Career Services Annual Fellowship Fair-September 26th!
Save the date-Career Services Annual Fellowship Fair being held on Thursday, September 26th, from 4-5:45pm
