Our group mentors numerous graduate students through the Rollins School of Public Health Global Field Experience Financial Award. Below are previous student projects conducted in collaboration with the group and our partners.
Sustainable development goal projections
Rachel Jackson, Jacob Clemente, Azmeh Khan, & Morgan Lane / IRCWASH / Netherlands / 2018
This research project worked closely with the monitoring, planning, and learning team of IRC in the Netherlands. The team of students developed projections of different possible scenarios for reaching (or not) the sustainable development goals in focus countries and districts. While the work was based on statistical analysis, it was embedded in a practical understanding of the challenges faced in the project context. The team became very familiar with the many factors and issues affecting water and sanitation service delivery in developing countries.
Quarterly monitoring of demand-side sanitation and hygiene promotion on sustained behavior change and health in Amhara, Ethiopia
Ashlin Rakhra / Emory Ethiopia / Ethiopia / 2018
Ashlin Rakhra worked in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia on the Andilaye project which seeks to develop and assess the effectiveness of an enhanced, demand-side sanitation and hygiene intervention on sustaining behaviors for the control of enteric and neglected tropical disease endemic to Amhara, Ethiopia. She assisted in quarterly monitoring data collection to assess longitudinal behavior change and fidelity within intervention communities. This research helped inform refresher trainings for health extension workers in the Andilaye project. The second round of quarterly monitoring will collect data from the enrolled Andilaye households that were not visited during the first round of quarterly monitoring.
Chicken Exposures and Enteric Pathogens in Children Exposed through Environmental Pathways (ChEEP ChEEP)
Frederica Lamar & Shaiana Oliveira / Mozambique / 2018
Frederica Lamar and Shaiana Oliveira collaborated with a veterinarian at Universidade Eduardo Mondlane in peri-urban Maputo, Mozambique to identify key high risk behaviors contributing to childhood exposure to chicken feces. They performed formative research to gain an understanding of the value chain related to chickens. Their work included interviewing farmers, veterinarians, laboratory scientists, restaurant owners, and government officials and conducting observations at small and large- scale farms and informal markets in Maputo. Based on this information, they will assist in proposing a grant for a larger study (as part of the animal feces exposure project) that will explore contamination hot spots to identify children most at risk and quantify microbial contamination.
Understanding behavior change uptake of a Nutrition and WASH intervention with CRS
Katie Micek / Catholic Relief Services / Kenya / 2018
Katie Micek worked in rural counties near Kisumu, Kenya on the Chakruok Makare project which aims to reduce stunting in children. She led qualitative data collection to understand difference in behavior change uptake among households in areas of high intervention fidelity. Her research engaged community members and local project staff in key informant interviews and focus group discussions to gain insight into the acceptability of the program, drivers and barriers to behavior uptake, and recommendations for program improvement. Her research helped inform the Chakruok Makare endline evaluation and provided evidence-based recommendations to inform future WASH and nutrition based-programs in rural Kenya.
Infant and Young Child Feeding in Tanzania with CRS
Sarah Sawyer / Catholic Relief Services / Tanzania / 2017
Sarah Sawyer worked with Catholic Relief Services in Mbeya, Tanzania to conductive formative research to inform the development of a validated approach to improve infant and young child nutrition as part of the Accelerated Stunting Reduction Project. The formative assessment included 24 focus group discussions, 26 key informant interviews, and 12 structured household observations to understand maternal and child nutrition knowledge and practices, as well as WASH practices. She also conducted a 40-day trial of an innovative feeding toolkit, focusing on the acceptability and feasibility for implementation in the Mbeya region. A total of 118 pregnant women and mothers with children under 2 years participated in the trial, and in-depth interviews were conducted at baseline, midline, and endline.
quantify the capabilities, opportunities, and motivations that influence maternal behaviors
Breanna Wodnik / Catholic Relief Services / Kenya / 2017
Breanna Wodnik worked with Catholic Relief Services over the summer of 2017 on the THRIVE II project in rural counties near Kisumu, Kenya. Using a theory-based approach, she developed a survey to quantify the capabilities, opportunities, and motivations that influence maternal behaviors in a pre-intervention baseline evaluation. The results have contributed to the development of the behavior-change intervention, which aims to address maternal WASH and nutrition behaviors that contribute to the outcome of stunting in children. She is using the data for her thesis in developing a scale to measure attitudes towards hygienic food preparation and good handwashing practices.
Evaluating the implementation of a Nutrition and WASH intervention with CRS
Molly Linabarger / Catholic Relief Services / Kenya / 2017
Molly Linabarger worked with Catholic Relief Services and Uzima University to evaluate the implementation of an integrated early childhood development (ECD), positive parenting, nutrition and BabyWASH intervention in Homa Bay and Migori counties, Kenya. THRIVE II uses the care group model whereby care group volunteers are trained to deliver messages to and conduct home visits with their neighbors to deliver and reinforce behavior change messages. In order to evaluate the fidelity of this project, Moly trained a team of research assistants and together they conducted 32 in-depth interviews of key project staff and beneficiaries and 17 semi-structured observations of trainings. She is now analyzing the data as part of her thesis work on the fidelity of trainer of trainer (care group) models.
NUTRITION AND WASH IN ETHIOPIA WITH CRS
Jennifer Head / Catholic Relief Services / Ethiopia / 2016
Jennifer Head worked with Catholic Relief Services to explore the link between water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and undernutrition among women and children within Oromia, Ethiopia. This project is nested within CRS's 5-year Development Food Assistance Program (DFAP), which aims to increase the food security of families through implementation of interventions of one of two types: 1) health and nutrition only or 2) integrated WASH, health and nutrition. This summer, Jennifer helped develop and implement a household survey to compare anthropometric measurements and disease history of women and children under 5 years according to intervention type. She is now performing data analysis as part of her thesis work to quantify differences in outcome among DFAP beneficiaries by intervention type and to identify associations between specific environmental exposures and nutritional and disease outcomes.
EVALUATING THE IMPACT OF GENDER EQUITY ON WASH OUTCOMES WITH CARE GHANA
Sabah Ghulamali / CARE / Ghana / 2015
Sabah Ghulamali was hired by CARE (through the West Africa Water Supply, Sanitation, and Hygiene program) to complete an endline evaluation of their gender and WASH intervention in Upper West, Ghana. After training a team of enumerators, she conducted over 250 household surveys, 15 community surveys, and 16 focus group discussions to assess the relationship between gender equity and WASH sustainability. Sabah’s results will contribute to CARE’s future programming.
UNDERSTANDING THE NEEDS OF GIRLS IN SCHOOL IN NAIROBI, KENYA
Candace Girod / Sanergy / Kenya / 2015
Candace Girod worked with Sanergy in two informal settlements in Nairobi, Kenya. Using focus group discussions, key informant interviews, anonymous question classroom sessions, and surveys, Candace conducted research to understand how Sanergy’s current hardware and software programming meets the needs of girls who are menstruating in school and what improvements can be made to better serve girls’ needs. Based on this information, she created and piloted a teacher training module on menstrual hygiene for Sanergy’s WASH teacher training, wrote a resource guide for girls and teachers based on questions she collected, and made recommendations for changes in Sanergy’s toilet design.
SUSTAINED USE OF ARBORLOO LATRINES IN THE EAST AND WEST HARARGHE ZONES OF THE OROMIA REGION
Erin Swearing / Catholic Relief Services / Ethiopia / 2014
Erin Swearing focused her summer practicum on the sustainability of the arborloo latrine in the Oromia region of Ethiopia by assessing barriers and drivers to sustained use. She conducted a qualitative research study utilizing focus group discussions and in-depth interviews. Her work contributed to Catholic Relief Services' WASH efforts in Ethiopia.
HYGIENE CLUB SYSTEMATIZATION FELLOW
Kelsey McDavid / Save the Children / Bolivia / 2014
Kelsey McDavid spent summer 2014 in Bolivia working with Save the Children. She worked on systematizing hygiene clubs and health committees implemented in public primary schools around La Paz. Her contributions are part of Save the Children International's organization-wide efforts to systematize all programs by October 2014.
COMMUNITY LED TOTAL SANITATION
Sara Hoffman / Catholic Relief Services / Uganda / 2014
Sara Hoffman evaluated the effectiveness of Community Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) in achieving and sustaining household Open Defecation Free (ODF) Status in the Bukwo District in Eastern Uganda. Her research utilized in-depth interview research methods. Her project contributes to Catholic Relief Services' (CRS) evaluation of its Integrated Water Resources Management project in Uganda and future CRS programming using CLTS.
SUSTAINABILITY OF WATER AND SANITATION INTERVENTIONS IN RURAL COMMUNITIES OF NORTHERN MOZAMBIQUE
Claire Still / CARE / Mozambique / 2014
In the summer of 2014, Claire Still worked with CARE to conduct research on the link between sustainability of water and sanitation interventions and governance in rural communities of Northern Mozambique. Claire utilized both qualitative and quantitative methods, through the use of 11 focus group discussions and 66 surveys. This research is nested within CARE Mozambique's governance and sustainability work since CARE HAUPA's interventions concluded in 2011.
ASSESSING SOCIAL CAPITAL AND WATER POINT SUSTAINABILITY IN ETHIOPIA
Margaret Person / Catholic Relief Services / Ethiopia / 2014
Margaret Person conducted a study assessing social capital and sustainability in rural Ethiopia. Her study measured social capital using household surveys and water point functionality and governance using observations and key informant interviews. Her project was conducted in partnership with Catholic Relief Services - Ethiopia's Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene team.
GROWING UP IN TAJIKISTAN: A QUALITATIVE ASSESSMENT OF STUDENTS' PERCEPTIONS, EXPERIENCES AND KNOWLEDGE OF PUBERTY TO INFORM THE DESIGN OF CULTURALLY APPROPRIATE PUBERTY BOOKS
Gloria Sclar / Save the Children / Tajikistan / 2014
Gloria Sclar worked with Save the Children’s School Health and Nutrition (SHN) team in Tajikistan to conduct interactive focus groups with adolescent schoolgirls and boys in order to understand their experiences with puberty. Puberty education provides students with the critical skills they need to confidently face the changes that take place during this transition from child to adulthood. Yet in many countries, like Tajikistan, puberty is a taboo topic that is rarely addressed at home or in school. The findings from the focus groups were used to design gender-specific puberty books that fit the Tajikistan context. The SHN team hopes to use these books in their own programming and to one day integrate them into the national school curriculum.
GENDER EMPOWERMENT AND WASH
Zimo Banta / CARE / Ghana / 2014
Zimo Banta conducted the midterm evaluation of the gender empowerment component of the West Africa Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (WA-WASH) program for CARE in Ghana. Using a mixed methods research design, she assessed whether including a gender empowerment approach in WASH programming improves gender equity and water point governance and functionality. Her findings will inform future CARE WASH programming.
RESEARCH ON THE SUSTAINED USE, UTILIZATION, AND DIFFUSION OF THE ARBORLOO IN RURAL ETHIOPIA; CATHOLIC RELIEF SERVICES AND EMORY UNIVERSITY COLLABORATION
Dionna Fry / Catholic Relief Services / Ethiopia / 2013
Dionna Fry conducted research with the the arborloo research project that aims to assess the sustained use, sanitation utilization, pit utilization, diffusion, and health behaviors associated with the arborloo in Catholic Relief Services' (CRS) arborloo intervention areas of Oromia region, Ethiopia. The arborloo is a shallow, narrow composting pit latrine, which is filled within 1 year and moved to a new location to allow the old pit's waste to decompose. As part of this research project, the team collected household surveys, GPS data, and in-depth interviews. The current research project is nested within a broader collaboration between Emory University (PI: Matthew Freeman, Assistant Professor of Environmental Health) and the partners of the Millennium Water Program in Ethiopia (MWA-E), of which CRS is a member. See Dionna's poster for the Rollins Outstanding Practicum Fair here.
EXPLORING THE POTENTIAL OF CHILDREN AS CHANGE AGENTS IN THE CONTEXT OF WASH IN ZAMBIA
Sara Bresee / SPLASH Project / Zambia / 2013
Sara Bresee conducted research exploring the potential for WASH behavior change communication through school children in rural Eastern Zambia. She utilized qualitative methods and participatory learning activities to understand communication channels in regards to WASH between parents and their children. This work was conducted in the context of the SPLASH project. See Sara's poster for the Rollins Outstanding Practicum Fair here.
WASH SUSTAINABILITY AND STAKEHOLDER RESPONSIBILITY IN ETHIOPIA
Grace Tang / Catholic Relief Services / Ethiopia / 2013
In summer 2013, Grace Tang worked with Catholic Relief Services of Ethiopia to conduct research on indicators of sustainability and how perceived and actual responsibilities of stakeholders affect water schemes across the Oromia region. Over 3 months, Grace created open-ended surveys, collected data in the Great Rift Valley and Ethiopian Highlands, and started analysis of the stakeholders responses compared to the national WASH Implementation Framework.
EVALUATION INTERNSHIP WITH UNICEF MALAWI
Phyllis Frimpong / UNICEF / Malawi / 2013
Phyllis Frimpong worked with UNICEF during the summer of 2013. She designed an evaluation tool and appraised school hygiene promotion campaigns in 3 districts. She also worked with the Dowa district health officer on data collection of diarrheal disease prevalence for children under five in 4 local government clinics. She assessed district data management challenges for 6 local districts and proposed lines of action for improvement. Lastly, she worked with a consultant on a pilot study to assess the use of hand washing facilities in one district.
RESEARCH ON HYDRATION STATUS AND COGNITIVE PERFORMANCE
Kaleb Price / SPLASH Project / Zambia / 2013
In partnership with SPLASH Zambia, Kaleb Price piloted methods for the assessment of hydration status and measures of cognitive performance. Results from this pilot study were used for a larger trial in Eastern Province, Zambia to evaluate the effect dehydration has on children's cognitive performance. See Kaleb's winning poster here.
ASSESSING GOVERNANCE INDICATORS OF WATER POINT SUSTAINABILITY IN NORTHERN MOZAMBIQUE
John Kaufman & Andrea Martinsen / CARE / Mozambique / 2013
The summer of 2013, John Kaufman and Andrea Martinsen gathered field data for an evaluation of a water and sanitation project for CARE in rural northern Mozambique. The evaluation focuses on the sustainability of water points managed and maintained by community WASH committees. They developed two survey tools, one focused on community governance, finance, and maintenance of water points, the other on women's experiences with WASH interventions. In total they interviewed 143 WASH committees in 103 communities.
CHOLERA RESEARCH PROJECT IN NEW YORK CITY WITH UNICEF
Annum Khan Shaikh / UNICEF / New York / 2013
Annum Khan Shaikh's summer practicum was spent working in UNICEF's country office in New York City. Theproject was in response to the cholera outbreak last year in Sierra Leone when information from the past cholera outbreaks in that same region could not be tracked. The recommendation was made to create a framework that outlines the critical decisions and decision-making data required by each stakeholder in the first steps of a cholera outbreak emergency response. This framework would then guide possible future creation of a centralized database that would house these critical pieces of information for all past and future cholera outbreaks. The research focused on interviewing various interlocutors from different levels of UNICEF and external stakeholders involved in a cholera outbreak response. See Annum's poster for the Rollins Outstanding Practicum Fair here.
HOUSEHOLD-LEVEL DETERMINANTS OF USING AN IMPROVED WATER SOURCE FOR DRINKING AND COOKING IN RURAL ETHIOPIA
Jacqueline Chan / Millennium Water Program / Ethiopia / 2012
Jacqueline Chan focused her thesis on household-level and waterpoint-level determinants of exclusively using an improved water source for drinking and cooking. Her research utilized mixed research methods. Her project contributes to the Equity of Access to Water Supply Study within the Millennium Water Program: Support for Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning Project.
ASSESSING DIFFERENCES IN CHOLERA RISK BETWEEN MIGRANT HAITIANS AND DOMINICANS LIVING IN THE DUARTE PROVINCE, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC.
Andrea Lund / Dominican Republic / 2012
Andrea Lund‘s thesis focuses on how risk profiles for cholera involving water and sanitation practices and cholera knowledge may differ across migrant Haitian and Dominican demographics in a rice-producing region of the Dominican Republic.
UNDERSTANDING HOW KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDES, AND BELIEFS OF MENSTRUATION INFLUENCES THE BEHAVIOR OF ADOLESCENT BOYS IN GICUMBI DISTRICT, RWANDA
Gauthami Penakalapati / UNICEF / Rwanda / 2012
Following with her summer research in Rwanda, Gauthami Penakalapati‘s thesis focused on how the knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs surrounding menstruation influences the behavior of adolescent boys. Her research utilized qualitative research methods and the project contributes to the WinS4Girls Project.