Extended Work-Based Placements in IAHS

Name – Sana Malik

Degree Programme – Master of Public Health

Placement Host Organisation – Dr. Brad Pearce (Associate Professor, Emory University Rollins School of Public Health, Epidemiology)

Details about your placement – Dr. Pearce's research focuses on the role of genetics and immune interactions in the etiology of complex disorders. The aim of the placement was to contribute to scientific literature through collaborating with team members on an important public health issue. My work involved strategic research planning and conducting a systematic review about the association of autoimmunity, atopy and 22q11.2 deletion syndrome. I gained experience in interpretation of diverse and complex information relating to 22q11.2DS and grasping a wider context of public health knowledge application.

Please describe a typical day in the life of your placement – I was able to first meet my supervisor at Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia (USA) to discuss my roles and responsibilities. This was a pleasant and encouraging experience to explore the department and learn more about the work carried out there. Most of the placement work was conducted remotely due to the nature of tasks and remote availability of resources. Weekly meetings were an important way to learn from others and discuss progress. Daily tasks involved conducting literature searches, learning to use new tools such as 'Covidence', manuscript writing and self studying to expand my knowledge of the disease. I acquired transferable skills which I believe will help me greatly in the future.

What was the greatest challenge you faced? – One of the main challenges I faced was managing two separate set of deadlines. To avoid feeling overwhelmed, it helped to modify time allocation and prioritize tasks in order to complete work strategically. Open communication with my team and supervisor helped immensely in completing my deliverable and placement successfully.

What was your greatest achievement/learning point? – The most rewarding part of my placement was being able to contribute to the group's mission to produce a systematic review and additionally, expand my knowledge on health related research concerning a complex chromosomal disorder. I am more confident in managing difficult sets of data and my ability to quickly adjust to new and unfamiliar settings.

Anything else you’d like to note? - This experience has been extremely valuable and I am grateful for the support of the Aberdeen teaching team, host supervisor and my team who encouraged me along the way.

Name – Ketan Bhatt

Degree Programme – Master of Public Health

Placement Host Organisation – PANDOS (Pain and opioids after surgery) Research Group and SIP (Societal Impact of Pain)

Details about your placement – PANDOS is a large, Pan-European observational study with the strategic priority of improving quality & safety of post-operative pain management. Data collected from eligible hospitalized patients will be used to describe the association of opioid use with surgical complications, persistent pain and quality of life.

SIP is a multi-stakeholder advocacy platform created by European Pain Federation EFIC and Pain Alliance Europe (PAE). It aims to reduce societal impact of pain by raising awareness of pain and changing pain policies. The platform’s key priority is to ensure every country in Europe has some form of national guideline and action plan for pain management and, monitor its implementation.

My tasks included preparing didactic documents, drafting letters for journal submission, writing advocacy content around position papers, maintaining consistent communication with all associated stakeholders & collaborators of SIP and PANDOS platforms, participating in PANDOS study meetings and attending focus group sessions with volunteering patients. Being exposed to these closely aligning responsibilities was critically essential in helping me understand the real-world implications of my contributions during the placement.

Please describe a typical day in the life of your placement – Advocacy was the common theme among all the pursued placement tasks and hence, the primary methodology adopted was to write didactic, dissemination texts to demonstrate our position on chronic pain management and appeal for relevant policy action. Since the end goal was to get my works published in medical journals, I had to provide a sound, scientific foundation to the advocacy propositions. This was done by searching for supportive evidence in online electronic databases such as PubMed, Medline and Google Scholar. Simultaneously, the literature search was also meant to unearth recent guidelines on chronic pain management that failed to involve patient perspectives. This would help us fill the void through our advocacy propositions aimed at achieving safe and effective perioperative pain management standards across Europe.

As a PANDOS collaborator, I was given the opportunity to participate in Focus Groups and attended the sessions in the capacity of an ‘Observer’. I also had the good fortune of attending a seminar on “inclusive design to widen opportunities for PPI” to acquire knowledge on ways to integrate patient views, of the disabled and people with lived pain experience, in pain research.

After thorough review by internal & external stakeholders from the SIP platform, the final works were carefully structured for submission to the shortlisted scientific journals for publications.

What was the greatest challenge you faced? – The scope of the work undertaken during the placement was limited because of the stipulated timeframe of the course itself. Managing work deadlines along with course timelines in order to deliver meaningful outcomes was a challenge. However, I more than relished working under this window period since I was truly passionate about the subject itself and wanted my inputs to support and complement the activities at both the platforms as quickly as possible.

What was your greatest achievement/learning point? – Consistent engagement and proactive participation in placement activities equipped me with new-found skills that would significantly impact professional prospects besides contributing to the development of critical thinking.

There were several key milestones along my placement journey. One of them was being appointed a PANDOS research group collaborator. But the highlight was the opportunity to submit my final works in indexed scientific journals such as European Journal of Cancer. One of my submissions has already been accepted by the British Journal of Anaesthesia for publication and two other submissions are currently work-in-progress.

Being able to contribute to creation of new knowledge through research, enquiry and collaboration was hugely rewarding and gratifying.

Anything else you’d like to note? - The placement course provides invaluable exposure and opportunity to learn new skill sets. The key is to identify personal aspirations prior to deciding on the specific area of interest and finalizing the placement with the host organization.

Name – Vijayalakshmi Ravikumar

Degree Programme – MPH

Placement Host Organisation – Prozymi biolabs

Details about your placement – My task is to create gluten awareness among public

Please describe a typical day in the life of your placement – My work is to collect datas about people affected by gluten related disease and create awareness among them by conducting survey.

What was the greatest challenge you faced? – Getting response for survey was more challenging.

What was your greatest achievement/learning point? – I came to know more about gluten free products and its availability.

Name – Anusha Sultan

Degree Programme – Master of Public Health

Placement Host Organisation – World Health Organization

Details about your placement – The World Health Organization (WHO) is the leading health agency of the United Nations which works to promote health internationally and envisions “the attainment of the highest possible level of health by all people."

My tasks while working for the WHO focused on assessing the role and success of the organization in tackling Non-Communicable Diseases as part of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Please describe a typical day in the life of your placement – My routine work at the WHO would be from 9 am - 3 pm, every day of the week. I would start the day with a meeting with my supervisor to discuss key health trends, past UN resolutions and policy guidelines regarding NCDs. He would then assign tasks to me which included data collection, literature review, report drafting, presentation delivery on NCDs and reviewing Excel sheets of UN mission budgets. Engaging in regional meetings in collaboration with the UNDP and Ministry of Health helped me witness commitment to national health targets whereas international WHO meetings would provide a great insight into global health affairs.

What was the greatest challenge you faced? – Travelling out of the UK was exciting but also initially challenging as it involved a time zone difference and adjusting to a new work environment. I also had to multi-task to keep up with my placement and classes of all semester courses at the university.

What was your greatest achievement/learning point? – The entire experience was a dream come true! My greatest discovery however was witnessing in person, the incredible function of the WHO in promoting health especially for the vulnerable.

Anything else you’d like to note? - A special shout out to Dr Heather, Toni and Emily and our WBP course staff for their wonderful support throughout my placement journey!

Name – Olorunfemi Kehinde

Degree Programme – Master of Public Health

Placement Host Organisation – Inclusive Care LLC

Details about your placement – During my placement at Inclusive Care LLC, I worked on a project titled "Expanding Beyond Instagram," which aimed to increase the organization's reach and reduce administrative burdens. Inclusive Care LLC is a small, LGBTQIA+ owned business specializing in evidence-based physical therapy services.

My project ran from May 22nd to July 31st, 2023, and involved tasks such as analyzing reach and impact, identifying improvement opportunities, and developing a strategy. I followed a structured work schedule over ten weeks.

My responsibilities as a student included following guidance, adhering to policies, time management, and maintaining professionalism. Inclusive Care LLC provided resources and feedback, and the University of Aberdeen supported my academic needs.

Overall, I applied academic skills and gained valuable project planning and collaboration experience.

Please describe a typical day in the life of your placement – During my placement at Inclusive Care LLC, a typical day involved a structured schedule encompassing meetings, research and reports, video presentations, feedback sessions, literature reviews, branding analysis, video refinement, and final reporting in a virtual setting.

What was the greatest challenge you faced? – The greatest challenge I encountered during my placement at Inclusive Care LLC was the need to adapt to a virtual work environment and effectively collaborate with team members and mentors remotely. This required strong communication skills and the ability to stay motivated and organized while working independently.

What was your greatest achievement/learning point? – My most significant achievement and learning point during the placement at Inclusive Care LLC was mastering the art of project planning and execution. This experience allowed me to develop crucial skills in conducting situational analysis, identifying improvement opportunities, setting SMART objectives, and evaluating project effectiveness. Additionally, I learned how to apply academic skills in a real-world setting, which was invaluable for my personal and professional development.

Anything else you’d like to note? - I want to express that my placement at Inclusive Care LLC was a valuable learning experience that enhanced my project planning and collaboration skills in a virtual setting. The guidance and commitment to diversity and inclusion greatly contributed to my growth, and I'm eager to apply these skills in the future.

Name – Ayesha Shahid

Degree Programme – Master of Public Health

Placement Host Organisation – The FGM Education Project

Details about your placement – The FGM Education Project is a non-profit organization that works to educate frontline professionals about female genital mutilation (FGM). The organization was founded in 2018 by Dr. Heather Morgan, a lecturer in medical education at the University of Aberdeen.

The FGM Education Project offers a four-week online course on FGM for frontline professionals. The course covers the history, health consequences, law, and cultural aspects of FGM. It also teaches professionals how to identify and report cases of FGM.

I was placed with the FGM Education Project for 12 weeks in May 2023. During my placement, I helped to evaluate the online course. I also assisted with research on FGM and wrote articles for the organization's website.

I found my placement with the FGM Education Project to be very rewarding. I learned a lot about FGM and the challenges that frontline professionals face in preventing and responding to this practice. I am grateful for the opportunity to have worked with such a dedicated and passionate team of people.

Please describe a typical day in the life of your placement – A typical day on my placement with the FGM Education Project would start with a team meeting. We would discuss our plans for the day and any challenges that we were facing. I would also spend some time each day reading research papers on FGM and writing articles for the organization's website. I would also create social media content to raise awareness of FGM. My day would usually end with some time for reflection and planning. I would also take some time to unwind and relax.

What was the greatest challenge you faced? – The greatest challenge I faced during my placement with the FGM Education Project was the cultural and religious sensitivities surrounding the issue of FGM. FGM is a deeply embedded practice in many cultures, and there is often a lot of resistance to change. This can make it difficult to raise awareness of the issue and to challenge the practice.

Another challenge I faced was the lack of data on FGM. There is not a lot of reliable data on the prevalence of FGM, the health consequences of FGM, or the effectiveness of interventions to end FGM. This makes it difficult to develop effective programs and policies to address the issue.

Despite these challenges, I am optimistic about the future of the fight against FGM. I believe that education is the key to ending this practice. By raising awareness of the issue and educating people about the harmful effects of FGM, we can create a world where all girls and women are free from this harmful practice.

What was your greatest achievement/learning point? – I am proud to have played a role in creating this resource that is helping to raise awareness of FGM and to prevent this harmful practice.

Another learning point from my placement was the importance of cultural sensitivity. FGM is a deeply embedded practice in many cultures, and it is important to understand the cultural context before trying to challenge it. I learned a lot about the cultural and religious sensitivities surrounding FGM, and I am now better equipped to work with people from different cultures.

I also learned the importance of collaboration. The FGM Education Project is a team of dedicated and passionate people who are working together to end FGM. I am grateful for the opportunity to have worked with such a team, and I learned a lot about the importance of working together to achieve common goals.

Overall, I am grateful for the opportunity to have worked with the FGM Education Project. I learned a lot about FGM and the challenges that frontline professionals face in preventing and responding to this practice. I am also proud of the work that I did to raise awareness of FGM and to challenge this harmful practice.

Anything else you’d like to note? - I would like to say that I am optimistic about the future of the fight against FGM. I believe that we can end this practice if we work together

Name - Devyani Dhakate

Degree Programme – Master of Public Health

Placement Host Organisation – Health Services Research Unit (HSRU)

Details about your placement – I was reviewing abstracts regarding qualitative studies.

Please describe a typical day in the life of your placement - It was a lot of literature review and a very knowledgeable task.

What was the greatest challenge you faced? - Reviewing the abstracts.

What was your greatest achievement/learning point? - That I was able to satisfactorily finish the given task and understand their importance.

Anything else you’d like to note? - It was a great support given by coordinator Dr. Heather and supervisor Dr. Katie.

Name - Haney Hamd

Degree Programme – Master of Public Health

Placement Host Organisation – Smart Gym

Details about your placement – Smart Gym is a fitness and well-being service tailored for parents/carers, that provides 1) Physical activity-based interventions, that are 2) low-cost or even free, including 3) free child-care, paired with 4) counselling (in some cases). These are the four main characteristics that differentiate their service from other fitness organizations.

My task was to review the scientific literature and determine how to measure the impact of physical activity on mental health in order to support their vision of identifying and addressing the root cause of Glasgow parents' poor health.

Please describe a typical day in the life of your placement - We had an online meeting every other day to review the literature to identify proof that physical exercise positively impacts the mental health of parents and their children. We collaborated with the IT team to develop an online questionnaire that clients may take before, during, and after a certain amount of time to evaluate the effectiveness of their programme on their mental health. This questionnaire will be available to clients at all three points.

What was the greatest challenge you faced? - Select a questionnaire among Nemours questionnaires that can be used to quantify the influence of physical exercise on mental health demands knowledge of how to gather important information and analyse it.

What was your greatest achievement/learning point? - I had no idea that working on a team with individuals I had never met would encourage my personal growth, but it did, and I am very grateful for the opportunity. Another advantage of teamwork is the reduction of stress due to the fact that we share the workload. The saying that "two heads are better than one" is fairly accurate, and when we collaborate, we learn new things more quickly.

Name - Salma Lopez Loeza

Degree Programme – MSc Global Health and Management

Placement Host Organisation – Asthma and Allergy Foundation

Details about your placement – The organisation aims to inform with scientific basis the population in Aberdeen about the risks impacting people with respiratory conditions. The organisation promotes health behaviours as a measure to encourage self-management.

Please describe a typical day in the life of your placement - I travelled from the city centre to the main office in Dyce. The first time was scary because of the long distance but it became a good strength to know the width of Aberdeen city. I arrived at the office and was greeted by the employees and co-workers. Signed my entrance and started to look for resources that helped the organisation. After two hours, we usually had a meeting with the CEO and public engagement manager. Later, we could discuss between the team more of what we intended to do during the week. After that we were invited to participate asthma workshops and promotion in primary and secondary schools. As co-volunteers we came back to the office and took the bus back to Aberdeen.

What was the greatest challenge you faced? - I had to be flexible while learning more about campaign strategies and advertisement. I had to look for ways to improve my worrying for press releases. The last challenge was difficult because I had to change my academic vocabulary to a more approachable style for the population.

What was your greatest achievement/learning point? - The biggest learning point was to work as a team with my colleagues. I had an experience working for a project management learning to collaborate and communicate in regards to the project development.

Anything else you’d like to note? - The course made me explore my leadership skills that I was not aware of having them.

Name - Jenika Myers-Jennings

Degree Programme - Master of Public Health

Placement Host Organisation – Aberdeen Centre for Health Data Science

Details about your placement - The ACHDS partners with key members and global influences involved in data science like the University of Aberdeen, NHS Grampian and NHS Research & Development North Node to pursue their vision which is to create innovative, interdisciplinary, data science solutions to the big challenges for health and health care, to improve health for individuals, local communities and internationally. During my placement, the project I was responsible for was to provide training and development resources for the IT Staff who work on teams who associate with the Grampian Data Safe Haven. To do that, I coordinated with the ACDHS Team to create a powerpoint presentation and multiple choice quiz for the IT staff audience.

Please describe a typical day in the life of your placement - As an international student in a different time zone, I was working remotely. A day in the life of my placement was scheduling  and coordinating with the team to obtain the data required to build and implement what ACHDS needed as their deliverables.

What was the greatest challenge you faced? - The greatest challenge was working through these deliverables without having a true testing phase. With training material being built with new content intended for new staff within a placement that's only a couple months is challenging if no new staff are starting on the team in that time. Feedback from the audience that this was intended for could have had an impact on the end result.

What was your greatest achievement/learning point? - My greatest achievement here was strengthening my understanding about health data science and the various components (like DaSH) then using that to develop key resources for staff that require the content for their roles at the organization. Throughout this experience I was able to meet with, learn from and strategize with a great team to pursue this achievement.

Anything else you’d like to note? - Coming from a different industry and working with this team helped to show me that there are many similarities across industries. Learning in this way with this organization helped clarify questions that I did have in how that would work and I'm grateful for the experience.

Name - Devi Santhosh Pillai

Degree Programme - Master of Public Health

Placement Host Organisation – Public Health Scotland (PHS)is the national public health body for Scotland. Fully exercising its functions from 1 April 2020 as Scotland's leading national agency for improving and protecting the health and well-being of all of Scotland's people, it is jointly sponsored by COSLA and the Scottish Government, and collaborates with third sector organisations. Its role is to increase healthy life expectancy and reduce premature mortality. Areas of focus are COVID-19, mental health and well-being, community and place, and poverty and children.

I was placed in the Drug Team and my task was to conduct a rapid evidence review assessing the current evidence base on models of service/care/support provision/intervention to reduce harm and /or to reduce the risk of drug related harms in the short term at known points of transition (police custody, hospital discharge, detox and prison release).

Please describe a typical day in the life of your placement - I was working remotely during the placement as I was studying in the University of Aberdeen and the office was situated at Edinburgh, so it was a two and half hour drive. I had to attend the team meeting once in a fortnight and I had meetings with my organisational and clinical lead once in a week. I worked independently on the evidence review. I followed the evidence review methods that were recommended by the NHS HEALTH SCOTLAND’s GUIDANCE FOR UNDERTAKING EVIDENCE REVIEWS on behalf of the EfA Development Group, Updated July 2017 with support from my Team lead. I divided my work based on the timeframe and followed an organised timetable thus I really enjoyed doing the work. There were days I had to multitask but I was able to manage it well with a good planning. I framed the search strategy myself and included keywords like ‘care’, ’service’, ’support’, ’harm reduction’ and transition services. I then searched four databases (Medline, Embase, Cochrane and PubMed) to identify published systemic reviews, qualitative studies and further articles providing and strengthening evidence of current practice/services in drug-related harm reduction at points of vulnerability. Articles published till date of search “20th June 2022” were included. Titles and abstracts were screened based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria, with further exclusion of articles at full-text screening. Evidence and conclusions from six articles are included in this review. Quality was appraised using CASP Systemic Review Checklist and Qualitative Study Checklist. Data extraction was done to summary statements on evidence.

What was the greatest challenge you faced? - I think the placement went very smoothly and I was able to meet the expectations of my organisation. I received very good feedback from my organisation leads. There were times where I had to manage the placement along with my other research project and thus I had to provide separate time schedules to avoid mixing up the tasks. I was passionate about my both works and thus this did not worry me much.

What was your greatest achievement/learning point? - The greatest achievement was that I was able to contribute very well into my organisation’s functions. I would consider that my learning point was that I got to understand what evidence the policy makers were looking for and also how to contribute well into a public health of a country from Scotland’s National Public Health body.

Anything else you’d like to note? - Overall, I am happy with my placement. I wish to make better contributions to the country in the future.

Details on the final outcome of Devi's placement can be found here.

Name - Henry Uro-Chukwu

Degree Programme – MSc Clinical Nutrition

Placement Host Organisation – National Obstetric Fistula Centre, Abakaliki, Nigeria

Details about your placement – The organization is a public health care facility committed to treating women with leakage of urine / faeces from the vagina after birth. I was tasked with supporting the nutritional care plan for the patients.

Please describe a typical day in the life of your placement - Daily I participated in clinical review of patient’s nutritional status, the nutritional care plan, counselling, technical advice to management and supportive supervision for the nutritionists and patients.

What was the greatest challenge you faced? - Multitasking. Supporting poor patients in nutritional care after discharge.

What was your greatest achievement/learning point? - Establishing an evidence-based nutritional care policy for the organization; establishing a supervisory / technical monitoring committee on nutritional care for the organization; learning self-enhancing skills in areas such as finance, leadership and IT.

Anything else you’d like to note? - Continuous professional development interface with the University.