News
August 16, 2021
Peripartum youth report pilot social media support group is acceptable and useful in supporting mental wellness
Categories: Research
The IMAGINE study team recruited research participants through popular social media platforms, Facebook and Instagram.
August 3, 2021
Researchers study text messaging to improve retention and viral suppression in prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission programs in Kenya
Categories: HIV, mHealth, Publication, Research
Credit: Ivan Samkov/Pexels
Over the years, Global WACh utilized the Mobile WACh mobile health (mHealth) system that allows for both automated sending of tailored health-related short message service (SMS) text messages and two-way SMS interaction between participants and a health care provider in low- to middle-income countries for an array of maternal-child health (MCH) research studies. The system sends messages through mobile phones, which have the potential to enhance access and reach of crucial health service interventions and to improve health outcomes.
Researchers of the Mobile Strategies for Women’s and Children’s Health: Optimizing Adherence and Efficacy of PMTCT/ART (Mobile WACh X) randomized clinical trial, funded by the National Institute of Health and led by Principal Investigator Grace John-Stewart, adapted Mobile WACh to reach pregnant and postpartum women living with HIV at six MCH clinics in Kenya. Previous research has shown that interactive SMS can improve early antiretroviral therapy (ART) retention in perinatal women, but it was unknown whether long-term interactive SMS systems can durably improve retention and viral suppression in preventing mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT).
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Global WACh Certificate student Michelle Bulterys leverages global estimates for international forums focused on the health and wellbeing of HIV-exposed-uninfected children
Categories: Certificate Program, Conferences, HIV, Research, students
Before Michelle Bulterys enrolled in the Epidemiology PhD program and the Global WACh Graduate Certificate, she interned with the Strategic Information and Evaluation Department of the Joint United Nations AIDS Programme (UNAIDS) in Geneva, Switzerland, where she learned about the complexities of gathering and validating country-level HIV estimates and synthesizing data into global reports to be used by clinicians, policy makers, and researchers around the world. She gained strong mentorship from Dr. Mary Mahy, who leads the Epidemiology Team at UNAIDS. Michelle and Dr. Mahy have continued to collaborate on various projects, including Michelle’s Certificate capstone—a 90-hour project designed for students to gain hands-on experience in the field of global health.
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August 2, 2021
Dr. Erica Lokken receives ‘First Prize Oral Presentation – Young Investigator’ Award at HIV & STI 2021 World Congress
Categories: Awards, HIV and Co-Infections, Research
Dr. Erica Lokken, Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Global Health, received the ‘First Prize Oral Presentation – Young Investigator’ Award at the STI & HIV 2021 World Congress for her talk titled, “Vaginal washing behavior and fecundability in Kenyan women planning pregnancies.”
July 30, 2021
Researchers share latest science at 2021 International AIDS Society Conference
Categories: Conferences, HIV and Co-Infections, PrEP, Research
Researchers share resources to support measuring costs and benefits to multi-sectoral nutrition interventions at 2021 ANH Academy
Categories: Conferences, Nutrition, Research
Researchers of the Strengthening Economic Evaluation for Multi-sectoral Strategies for Nutrition (SEEMS-Nutrition) project participated in virtual workshops and oral presentations at the 2021 Agriculture, Nutrition, and Health (ANH) Academy Week held in late July and early July. The ANH Academy Week is a series of annual events that bring together the community of researchers, practitioners and policymakers working at the intersection of agriculture, food systems, nutrition and health.
July 14, 2021
Research Assistant Anna Larsen virtually presents analysis of depressive screening tools among postpartum Kenyan women
Categories: Conferences, students, Talks and Events
Global WACh Research Assistant Anna Larsen (2nd row, left) presented research findings at the Society for Epidemiologic Research in June 2021.
Anna Larsen, Global WACh Research Assistant and PhD Candidate in the Department of Epidemiology, participated in a panel entitled, “Mental Health: Recent trends, advances in measurement, and racial/ethnic patterns” at the 2021 Society for Epidemiologic Research on June 23, 2021.
Her presentation entitled, “Epidemiologic evaluation of three depression screening tools among postpartum Kenyan women,” highlighted results from a comparative analysis of three depressive symptom screening tools used in the PrEP Implementation for Mothers in Antenatal Care (PrIMA) study. The Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale [CESD-10], Patient Health Questionnaire-2 [PHQ-2], and Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale [EPDS] were utilized by the study team to screen for depressive symptoms among postpartum Kenyan women. (more…)
June 16, 2021
Global WACh welcomes new Implementation Science faculty hires
Categories: faculty
We are thrilled to officially announce our new faculty in Implementation Science! These outstanding candidates from our faculty search in Fall 2020 bring valuable skills, research and training experience, and talents to positively contribute to advance our Center’s mission to make scientific discoveries, cultivate leaders, and bridge disciplines to advance the tightly connected health and well-being of women, adolescents, and children. They will lead and grow the footprint of implementation science within our Center and we are eager to collaborate with them on current and future research and training endeavors.
May 21, 2021
Researchers receive award to develop community-based SMS text intervention to improve neonatal health
Categories: Awards, mHealth, Research
Principal Investigator Dr. Keshet Ronen (UW DGH) with Site Principal Investigators, Dr. John Kinuthia (Kenyatta National Hospital) and Dr. Isaac Holeman (Co-Founder of Medic Mobile)
In Kenya, like many other resource-limited settings, neonatal mortality remains unacceptably high. Community health volunteers (CHVs) are a large cadre of lay health workers whose work has the potential to address a critical gap in efforts to improve neonatal health in resource-limited settings. Incorporating mobile health (mHealth) tools and remote contact with clients into CHV workflow may be an effective strategy to pave the way for enhanced care in the high-risk neonatal period.
Dr. Keshet Ronen, Acting Assistant Professor of Global Health, is leading a new five-year study titled, “CHV-NEO: Community-based digital communication to support neonatal health,” funded by the National Institutes of Health. Collaborators include Drs. John Kinuthia (Kenyatta National Hospital), Isaac Holeman and Beatrice Wasunna (Medic Mobile), and Jennifer Unger (Women and Infants’ Hospital, Brown University). (more…)
New Community of Practice supports Neglected Tropical Diseases Program Managers in Africa
Categories: Gut Health and Child Survival, Research
Kikundi, meaning “group” in Kiswahili, is a new online platform for NTD African Program Managers to work towards eliminating neglected tropical diseases. The logo is a West African Adinkra symbol signifying togetherness.
The Global WACh Gut Health and Child Survival team, in partnership with the University of Global Health Equity in Rwanda recently launched Kikundi, a Community of Practice (CoP) for Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) Program Managers in Africa. Kikundi is the Kiswahili word for “group,” which fittingly describes this CoP that aims to foster connection among Program Managers, and ultimately help them in achieving national and global NTD elimination benchmarks.
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