Office Of Global Health Education | |
Hello Moira,
Greetings from OGHE! We are delighted to share some of the highlights of our work during a challenging pandemic year. Travel was restricted but we pivoted to program models grounded in UNC's deep partnerships, the commitment of our faculty mentors, and students' and residents' courage to engage in new (and old) forms of Global Health practice. Some of the lessons learned will continue to inform and expand our work beyond COVID. We are cautiously optimistic about restarting some in-person opportunities in Spring and Summer 2022. Enjoy reading!
The OGHE Leadership Team (Martha Carlough, Moira Rogers, Sylvia Becker-Dreps and Justin Meyers)
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Local Health is Global Health:
Insights from our NC Farmworker Program
Emily's Journey
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Invisible
NC farmworkers do essential work to bring a bounty of fruits and vegetables to our tables. Yet, they remain hidden from the public eye - living in often substandard housing tucked away behind fields and farms as part of the trans-national back-breaking agricultural system that profits from their labor.
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Emily Aarons
A medical student from Raleigh, NC, Emily reflects on her experience with the Farmworker Program, and describes herself as "a good example of the sometimes hidden nature of NC's agricultural system from the suburban Triangle: growing up in Raleigh in a white family and a largely white neighborhood, never knew migrant farmworkers existed in NC--let alone 30 minutes from my childhood home. Throughout my education, I was fooled into thinking agricultural injustice was largely behind us."
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The Clinic
Emily joined a team of promotores and fellow UNC students and residents. "At the clinic, I saw patients who presented with musculo-skeletal injuries, snake bites, chronic disease, green tobacco sickness, as well as depression and anxiety," Emily writes. "The health impacts secondary to the grueling physical work are often removed from the US health system, manifesting years later in workers' home country where medical resources may be limited."
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A Patient's Story
On a hot summer evening, a 28-year old farmworker presented with a swollen wrist from overuse in the tobacco fields. "I examined his wrist, swollen and red, and wondered how he would recover from his injury while continuing to subject it to repetitive motion day after day. Physical pain was exacerbated by emotional pain. He became tearful as he described the heartbreak of separation from his family. In this moment of emotional vulnerability, we sat together....I learned about the hidden emotional suffering rendered by our agricultural system."
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The multiple hidden layers of migrant and seasonal farmworker health came into focus: the invisibility of their housing, the structures that force their displacement, the unseen long-term health effects, and the underrecognized toll of migration on mental health. | |  |
A highlight of this experience was working with the outreach team at NCFP, a group of dedicated and passionate people....the unsung heroes executing a behind-the scenes team effort of significant impact by providing migrants access to needed health services. | | |
I am deeply thankful to the NC Farmworkers Project for allowing me to learn from them as they model the disruption of injustice, consistent compassion, curiosity, and humility. | | |
Samples of Successful Virtual Program
OGHE awarded $23,000 to teams of global health faculty and medical students to pursue COVID-19 related research and service-learning. See three examples of how medical students stayed engaged and built their global health competencies.
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Takeaways and Tips for Future Students
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- Opportunities in global health are diverse and multifaceted
- Global health projects are a team sport: You need to have local & global partners on board
- Be adaptive: you will encounter unexpected hurdles
- Working virtually requires additional efforts to connect across borders
- Be ready to acquire new skills and be flexible -timelines will likely change unexpectedly!
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Global Health Scholars Cohort IV | |
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Amaya Martinez Mesa is from Havana, Cuba. Having worked as a doula before medical school, she hopes to continue exploring women's health near and far.
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Khar Dieng-Diatta is from Dakar, Senegal, West Africa. She is interest in infectious diseases and looks forward to creating and/or implementing a sustainable health project.
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Grayson Privette has a Master of Public Health. His first career focused on global disease control and hospital epidemiology in the US, South Sudan, Guatemala, and more. | | |
Adie Ramirez worked as a Cord Blood Collector at Duke University. Her interests lie in migrant health and Emergency Medicine. She hopes to continue advocating for health equity. | | | |
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Amita Rao Bollapragada has experienced India's healthcare system and is interested in exploring the unique factors that influence populations in a global context and strives to provide care in a comprehensive, culturally competent way.
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As we continue to navigate a disruptive and destructive global pandemic, we are cautiously optimistic about securing travel exemptions for global programs following rigorous screening and best health & safety practices. Please monitor our site for upcoming scholarships and detailed protocols for students and resident physicians.
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Office Of Global Health Education
1002 Bondurant Hall, CB# 9535
Chapel Hill, NC 27599-9535
moira_rogers@med.unc.edu
Phone: 919-962-6195 |
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