The Global Health Conference Midwest (GHCM) 2016, held in Omaha NE, provided the opportunity for professionals, faculty, and students to connect, collaborate, and engage on emerging topics in global health. For two ColoradoSPH@ CSU students, the conference served all of these purposes and further provided an exciting opportunity to present research. Tavia Mirassou-Wolf and Sara Adkins, current MPH students in the Global Health and Health Disparity concentration, presented original research that resulted from their practicum work abroad. Tavia’s presentation was on community initiatives, titled, “Public Health Needs Assessment and Proposed WaSH Solutions: Leadership Training in the Tro Pang Cho Commune, Cambodia”. Sara and Tavia co-authored the second presentation on the topic of interprofessional collaboration, titled ““An Evaluation of Mental Health Training in Rural Uganda: Successes and Recommendations for Future Implementation”.
After presenting, the pair took advantage of the opportunities available at the conference by attending breakout sessions and speaker sessions related to global health. These sessions provided exciting new evidence for health initiatives around the globe, and the opportunity to reinforce the value of working in the field. Reflecting on her experience, Sara said, “GHCM was an incredible opportunity to share the research we’ve been working on, and to meet others who are exploring innovative solutions in global health and international development.”
“The speakers were extremely engaging and knowledgeable!” said Tavia of her experiences at the conference. “My favorite part of this conference was attending the breakout session on ‘Uncovering the Structural Violence Causing Africa’s Poverty and Burden of Disease’. While I had previously learned about factors that continue to negatively affect developing countries, I now have enough working knowledge to explain these concepts to other people. I am so grateful that ColoradoSPH provided the funds, sponsoring me to attend GHCM 2016. It was a great experience.”