Research Workshop: Day 1 in Montreal

Written by Vivienne Steele Today was Day One of two of the Preparing, Partnering and Participating in Fieldwork Workshop at McGill University in Montreal. Together with students from Dr. Harper’s, Dr. Berrang-Ford and Dr. Ford’s labs, we spent a full day sharing experiences, lessons and suggestions for working with communities in research. In a group setting, we generated definitions for global citizenship, privilege, and positionality in the context of research within IHACC’s partner communities. Many students had visited, or are planning to work in one or more of IHACC’s partner regions, and this provided a great platform and opportunity to share general pre-departure and arrival tips, for both urban and rural settings. The conversation generated excellent examples of the importance of building and maintaining relationships in communities, and being prepared to maintain these relationships when you return home. Budgeting, safety, contingency planning and solution-oriented problem solving in the context of international or different cultural situations were the discussion topics for the afternoon. We concluded the day with a series of “sharing circles.”  Today’s rich discussion was a great way to talk about the challenges and value of fieldwork, and we look forward to day two!

Wrapping Up: The End of Winter'15 Semester

We recently had our last lab meeting of the Winter 2015 Semester! The EcoHealth Lab will be seeing many students graduate this semester, and we want to say a big congratulations to each of them again! The students have all worked so hard this year, and the rest of the lab is very proud of them! Congratulations to all of you, and the very best of luck to each of you in your endeavours beyond Guelph!

Postcard from Vietnam: Steven in Hanoi!

Written by Steven Lam, MPH Student Prior to finishing my MPH degree, I was given the opportunity to come to Hanoi and work on a research project; an experience made possible through the Mitacs Globalink Research Award.

While I felt a bit terrified, just having basic knowledge of Vietnamese, and meeting my Vietnamese supervisors just once last year, I knew I would not let this opportunity pass up. It’s been a whirlwind of new experiences since I arrived in Hanoi just 3 months ago.

I am working on a project titled “health risks of agricultural intensification in Vietnam” with Sherilee Harper at the University of Guelph, Dr. Tran Thi Tuyet Hanh at the Hanoi School of Public Health, and Dr. Nguyen Viet Hung at the International Livestock Research Institute. Our research focuses on animal and human waste management, a growing concern among public and policy makers alike. Increased livestock production, combined with traditional technologies and management practices may present risks to humans and the environment. This international collaboration seeks to better understand what these risks are, explore challenges and solutions, and inform policy. Understanding and addressing waste management issues are needed for sustainable agricultural production while protecting human health and natural resources.

Through my research I have had the pleasure of interviewing key stakeholders and farmers to explore waste management issues, as well as explore traditional and innovative waste treatment systems on farms. Community members were very open in sharing their culture, practices and beliefs. Interactions with stakeholders have been quite motivating – it’s refreshing to hear from individuals passionate about their research/work.

In my free time, I like to explore Hanoi and surrounding cities by motorbike, try different street-food and practice my Vietnamese with locals. The latter has been extremely helpful, as eventually I was able to conduct some interviews partly in Vietnamese (Thank you Ms. Huong for helping with translation!).

The best parts of this experience are working with talented researchers, building long-lasting relationships, and connecting with local farmers and key stakeholders. I can confidently say that my brief stay in Vietnam so far has been one of the most rewarding experiences, to both my personal and professional development. While my stay in Vietnam is almost over, I look forward to focusing on data analysis and reporting, as well as share my experiences with friends, colleagues, and staff back in Canada.

Kate Bishop-Williams presented her work on AGI seasonality in Nunatsiavut at Yale's Global Health Innovations Conference

On Saturday March 28^th, Kate Bishop-Williams presented her research entitled Seasonal changes in prevalence of acute gastrointestinal illness and concurrent respiratory symptoms in Rigolet, Nunatsiavut, Canada at the Yale University Global Health Innovations Conference in New Haven, Connecticut. Kate’s abstract selected as one of only 65 student posters from hundreds of submissions from across the United States and around the world. Kate also had the opportunity to meet with former IHACC student researcher Joe Lewnard while at Yale University, and discuss experiences from past and present in Uganda!

Sierra Clark presented her work on AGI among the Batwa at the Geography Honours poster session at McGill

Sierra is presenting her honours thesis work looking at the burden and lived experience of self-reported acute gastrointestinal illness (AGI) in an Indigenous Batwa-Pygmy population in southwestern Uganda at the Geography Honours poster session today at McGill University.

We take this opportunity to congratulate Sierra on her thesis work!

If you are interested in learning more about Sierra’s work, please read her latest article, published in Epidemiology and Infection in December 2014:

Clark, S., Berrang-Ford, L., Lwasa, S., Namanya, D.B., Edge, V.L., IHACC Research Team, and Harper, S. (2014).The burden and determinants of self-reported acute gastrointestinal illness in an Indigenous Batwa Pygmy population in southwestern Uganda. Epidemiology and Infection, [Epub ahead of print].

Congratulations Canadian Graduate Scholorship CIHR award winner Sierra Clark!

Congratulations to Sierra Clark for being awarded a CIHR Canadian Graduate Scholarships- Masters program awards. These awards are highly competitive and this is a major accomplishment.

Congratulations to Vivienne Steele!

A special congratulations to Vivienne Steele for winning a CoPEH-CAN Graduate Training Award ($1,000) to attend the 2015 EcoHealth Workshop and Field School.  This year, the course is hosted in Montreal and is entitled "the health of the St Lawrence: from yesterday to today."  Last year, lab members Ellen McDonald and Kate Bishop-Williams won the award. Congratulations Vivienne!

Kate Bishop-Williams Presents at the IECID in Spain

Kate Bishop-Williams presented her preliminary research findings from Rigolet, Nunatsiavut at the first ever International Conference on the Impact of Environmental Change on Infectious Diseases in Sitges, Spain on Monday, March 22, 2015. Kate’s research is entitled: Seasonal changes in prevalence of acute gastrointestinal illness and concurrent respiratory symptoms in Rigolet, Nunatsiavut, Canada. This research was supervised by: Dr. Sherilee Harper, Dr. Lea Berrang-Ford, and Dr. Victoria Edge, and conducted in collaboration with Dr. Kate Thomas, Dr. James Ford, Inez Shiwak and the IHACC research team. Kate’s trip was funded by a Latornell scholarship at the University of Guelph.

Rebecca visits National Geographic offices!

While on a trip to DC, Rebecca dropped by the National Geographic Society office to meet with representatives who helped fund her current research in Peru. It was a great opportunity to discuss her project, and to learn about the support offered by National Geographic to its grantees!

Update from the Field: Kate and Vivienne in Uganda!

Written by Vivienne Steele PART 5

Although we can hardly believe it, Kate and I are now nearing the end of our field work stay here in Buhoma.

In the past two weeks, we hit a major milestone for our data entry – we have entered all of the data we had aimed to enter, and are now working on entering data from years prior. In the last week, we have made great progress on the health records system report. We have interviewed staff at the hospital, as well as discussed proposed suggestions for the health records system via a focus group. During the focus group, we had a guided conversation about the health records system at BCH, including its uses, applications, strengths and recommendations for improvement. We used a participatory proportional piling activity to reach a group consensus on the best suggestion in terms of priority level, time allowance and cost. We used beans from a local store for the activity, as well as flip charts and markers to initiate and supplement the discussion.

As a follow-up to the interviews and focus group, we are preparing the transcripts which will help us set up and guide the discussion for our preliminary results presentation next Monday. We are now focusing on transforming the focus group discussion into report form, in order to provide some suggestions for BCH prior to our departure on Tuesday. We look forward to presenting our preliminary results in a hospital-wide session prior to our departure!

On the past couple of weekends, we have had the chance to see animals in three different National Parks. At Murchison Falls National Park, we had the chance to do a safari game ride across the savannah. We saw many animals: hippos, antelopes, elephants, buffaloes, giraffes, baboons, monkeys and rhinos. We also did a boat cruise along the Nile River, which allowed us to see crocodiles, many different birds and more hippos and elephants.

Mid-week, we visited Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, where we spotted a few gorillas preparing their nests for the night.

Last weekend we went to Queen Elizabeth National Park, where we saw even more animals. Our guide, Jack, brought us to a hyena den, where we got to see a mother and her week-old hyena. Although we did not see any fig tree- climbing lions as we’d hoped, we got to compare the subtle differences in geography and species within the parks.

During the week, we attended a pick-up football (soccer) game featuring the hospital staff. We also got to visit the Bwindi Orphans Development Centre, where a group of children performed traditional Rukiga songs and dances. With only a week remaining, we are open to any last chances to visit and learn more about Uganda.

Update from the Field: Kate and Vivienne in Uganda!

Written by Vivienne Steele PART 4

Kate and I have been completing field work here in Buhoma for three weeks now, and we are having a great time!

This week we hit a big milestone with our data entry - we achieved our goal of entering all of the data from 2014 and 2013! We have now moved onto a different data set, which is going quite well. This week we are also starting on a health records system evaluation project – we are looking forward to working on this.

As we had been warned, the first few rainfalls of the rainy season happened this week. We got absolutely drenched on our walk home from the hospital, where the dusty roads became tracked with mud and the passing cars hit the puddles and splashed us! It is also a little bit chillier here now, although it does not compare to current weather back in Canada.

We had a great weekend! On Saturday, our friend Julius invited us to visit Kigezi Cottages, a beautiful accommodation just outside of Kihihi. The drive there took nearly two hours, as we passed towns and villages whose names were familiar to us from data entry! Grace, a community researcher for IHACC, accompanied us and told us about the places we were passing on the way. We passed by the river which leads to the Congo! Once we got to Kigezi, we almost immediately went for a swim in the pool – it was great. Julius gave us a tour of the many cottage ‘bungalow’ accommodations, which are nestled into colourful foliage – birds of paradise plants, guava fruit trees, the nest of large birds, and many more. Before heading home, Julius also showed us around the food production system which was providing the food for Kigezi cottages. We watched as his staff fed the tilapia and catfish in the fish farm system, as well as the ducks and chickens in the pens.

On Sunday evening, we went to our friend Shallon’s home for a delicious (and huge!) supper. Bob, the IT manager at BCH, also enjoyed dinner with us and with his wife and child. It was a lovely experience to spend time with everyone there, and we were really grateful to have been invited for dinner.

We are looking forward to completing more data entry next week and counting down the days until we will head on a safari in Murchison Falls.

Kate Bishop gets UofG Media Coverage

"A grad poster presentation looking at prevalence of acute gastrointestinal illness (AGI) in Rigolet, Nunatsiavut, earned kudos at a recent Arctic Change conference. Kate Bishop-Williams, a PhD student in the Ontario Veterinary College’s Population Medicine department, placed second at the Arctic Change conference, an annual conference which brings together Arctic researchers, stakeholders and decision-makers... "  Click here for the full article...

Update from the Field: Kate and Vivienne in Uganda!

Written by Kate Bishop-Williams PART 3

 

In the second week, Vivienne and I were able to get started with the data, and we made great headway!

On Monday we had a variety of meetings that allowed us to set a finalized plan for data entry over the next number of weeks. The pace is different in Uganda, but we were very lucky to make progress in a single day. The hospital has set us up with office space to work in. We walk home through town and it is a great way to experience town and see what life here is really like.

Tuesday we began data entry. We used the binders to develop a template for data entry, collecting the variables that were important for research, but also what was important to the hospital for the records we would leave behind.

Wednesday was much like Tuesday, and we entered 4 more binders, 2 months of data records. We also met our new office mate! He is a red-tailed monkey and very friendly!

On Thursday we made our first visit to the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. It was lovely to see the park for the first time! It is about a 45 minute walk from the park to the hospital, and a nice way to spend a break!

Saturday, we went to the football (soccer) fields and played frisbee (disk) with many of the local children! For many kids it was the first time they had seen a frisbee, and it was fun to show them how to throw it! We played for almost an hour and a half, and even then it was hard to end the game. We are doing lots of walking, which allows us to meet many people here and see more of the town!

When we went back for dinner at the lodge, the cook at our lodge, taught us how he makes mixed vegetables here, over a small charcoal stove. It is very dark in the kitchen, and we are so impressed by what he is able to do in it! He also taught us how he makes chipatis. Chipati is a small wheat flour patty that is rolled very thin and cooked in vegetable oil. They are delicious and we had a lot of fun learning how to make them!

On Sunday morning we went to church in town. The music was vibrant and exciting and the dancing was a lot of fun! The service was in Rakiga, so we did not understand much of what was said, but the feeling in the room was alive and exciting!

We went in the afternoon to the small shops, about an hour’s walk from our lodge, to buy some souvenirs. We met many of the craftsmen in their shops, and some taught us how they make things! We met wonderful people and were impressed with the crafts. We are excited to go back! After the shops, we climbed the mountain to Silverback Lodge for supper.

We have big goals for our data entry, so we are off to start again!

Update from the Field: Kate and Vivienne in Uganda!

Written by Kate Bishop-Williams PART 2

 

In the morning on January 29th, Vivienne, Sheri and I left for Kihihi on an Aerolink flight. The flights are small, domestic flights in Uganda, that service many regions of the country. The plane was a “caravan”, even smaller than the twin otter planes we fly in to Nunatsiavut! The views from the plane were spectacular. We flew over Lake Victoria and many of its islands, as well as over the hills and then the mountains in the Southwest. We stopped briefly in a small town, then another 15 minutes brought us to Kihihi. From Kihihi, we drove about 1 hour to reach Buhoma, our new home for the next 6 weeks!

On Saturday morning, we went to Bwindi Community Hospital, and we met with one of our new research partners. He was excited to have the data we are interested in, entered into computers for a new digital database. In return for the data, we will do a small-scale evaluation of the surveillance system and databases for the hospital. Our meetings went very well, and we are excited to begin our work! In the afternoon, we said goodbye to Sheri, as she headed back to Canada, but we were so grateful she had been able to help us establish quick partnerships and begin working early!

Sunday is a day of rest for most people in Uganda, and was a chance for us to do so as well. The time change to Uganda from home is 8 hours, and we were still quite tired. In the afternoon, we went for a walk, to explore our new surroundings. We are so excited about the beauty of Uganda, and so impressed by the greenery we see in every direction!

On Sunday night we went out to a lodge for dinner. We went to Silverback Lodge, for a gourmet meal. Silverback Lodge is located near the top of one of the mountains, and the seating area for dinners overlooks the valleys and surrounding mountains. It is right at the edge of the forest, so the birds are plentiful and sing beautifully.

Update from the Field: Kate and Vivienne in Uganda!

Written by Kate Bishop-Williams PART 1

On January 27th, 2015, we embarked on the journey of a lifetime, headed into fieldwork in Uganda for 7 weeks. Vivienne Steele, Sheri Harper and I, left Guelph at 6:00 PM, for a 10:00 PM flight to London. We travelled on a red-eye flight into Heathrow, for a short stop-over, and very shortly after we were headed to Entebbe, Uganda!

It was late when we arrived in Uganda, but when we retrieved our bags, we were greeted by our Ugandan partners from Makerere University in Kampala. They took us to the hotel we were staying in, about 40 minutes away. My first impression on leaving the airport was the incredibly beautiful, floral smell of Uganda. It is green and vibrant, and the flowers are always in bloom here!

The next morning, in Kampala, we met with our researcher partners again. We met at the University, and found a table under the shade of a tree for our meeting. During the meeting, Vivienne and I explained our tentative plan for the fieldwork, and happily accepted any insights, wisdom and advice that was provided to us. We were also invited to see our research partner’s office, which was very important for us. From there, we spent a busy day in Kampala preparing for the rural area we would be working in. We needed to purchase internet dongles, telephone minutes and SIM cards, a power cord and adapter and so on. It was a very full day, but we got what we needed and headed back to Entebbe for the evening.

On the way to Entebbe, we passed Lake Victoria, and it was as beautiful as I had imagined! I was excited to see the lake, and had looked forward to it for weeks. Once in Entebbe, we arrived at Karibu Guest House, a beautiful boutique hotel for the night before we embarked to Kihihi in the morning.

We were so excited to leave for Buhoma and begin our adventures in our new home!

IHACC Work in Uganda!

We made it to Uganda this week!  IHACC is working on a project in collaboration with Bwindi Community Hospital in Buhoma, Uganda.  Team members from the Harper and Berrang-Ford lab traveled to meet with the IHACC Ugandan leads at Makerere University, and then to south-western Uganda.

Infographics Symposium 2015

Written by Kate Bishop-Williams Today was the EcoHealth Community of Interest and the KTT/KMb Graduate Student Learning Circle’s first ever Infographic Symposium! More than 70 people joined us throughout the day, with 15 presenters and 10 excellent judges! What a great networking opportunity!

The Symposium was funded primarily through a generous grant from the Student Life Enhancement Fund (SLEF), and in part also by the Centre for Public Health and Zoonoses (CPHAZ), the Institute for Community Engaged Scholarship (ICES) at the University of Guelph and the EcoHealth Community of Interest (EHCoI)- Guelph.

Fifteen graduate students representing 5 of the 6 colleges at the University of Guelph participated and presented exceptional infographics! Ten judges came to help us choose the winners (who won cash prizes!) and represented the Public Health Agency of Canada, CPHAZ, ICES, Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food (OMAF) and the private consulting sector! We were so grateful for their commitment of time and effort to this event!

Below, you can see the 2 infographics I presented, as well as the amazing organizing team (Andrea Lamarre, Megan Racey, Tylar Meeks and Ellen McDonald (not shown)) and the poster winners!

The infographics presented today will be PUBLISHED on the CPHAZ website soon, and will be invited to present at the CPHAZ Symposium in the spring!

Congratulations to all of our presenters, especially our winners! Thanks to the many people who stopped by, asked questions and voted!

New Publication: The Burden of Diarrheal Disease for Indigenous Ugandan Batwa

The burden and determinants of self-reported acute gastrointestinal illness in an Indigenous Batwa Pygmy population in southwestern Uganda

S. CLARK, L. BERRANG-FORD, S. LWASA, D. B. NAMANYA, V. L. EDGE, IHACC RESEARCH GROUP, & S. HARPER Epidemiology and Infection, FirstView Articles http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?aid=9464752

ABSTRACT: "Acute gastrointestinal illness (AGI) is an important public health priority worldwide. Few studies have captured the burden of AGI in developing countries, and even fewer have focused on Indigenous populations. This study aimed to estimate the incidence and determinants of AGI within a Batwa Pygmy Indigenous population in southwestern Uganda. A retrospective cross-sectional survey was conducted in January 2013 via a census of 10 Batwa communities (n = 583 participants). The AGI case definition included any self-reported symptoms of diarrhoea or vomiting in the past 2 weeks. The 14-day prevalence of AGI was 6·17% [95% confidence interval (CI) 4·2–8·1], corresponding to an annual incidence rate of 1·66 (95% CI 1·1–2·2) episodes of AGI per person-year. AGI prevalence was greatest in children aged < 3 years (11·3%). A multivariable mixed-effects logistic regression model controlling for clustering at the community level indicated that exposure to goats [odds ratio (OR) 2·6, 95% CI 1·0–6·8], being a child aged < 3 years (OR 4·8, 95% CI 1·2–18·9), and being a child, adolescent or senior Batwa in the higher median of wealth (OR 7·0, 95% CI 3·9–9·2) were significantly associated with having AGI. This research represents the first Indigenous community-census level study of AGI in Uganda, and highlights the substantial burden of AGI within this population."

Arctic Change 2014 Conference

Reflection by Vivienne Steele Friday was the fifth and final day of the 2014 Arctic Change Conference in Ottawa. A shorter day, the schedule included a morning of plenary sessions and topical sessions, and a brief afternoon session centered on “Next Steps” in Arctic research.

The first presenter was Denis Didier-Rousseau, of the French Arctic Initiative (FAI), who presented the objectives of the FAI, all of which focus on the need to implement an interdisciplinary type of project to address the impacts of climate change in the North. The initiative will address these impacts in the environmental, societal and economic and political spheres under which they fall. The FAI also focuses on incorporating Indigenous knowledge systems in each and every one of their research projects.

An engaging presentation on “permafrost as a priority” by Dr. Warwick Vincent from Laval University followed. Dr. Vincent works with the Arctic Development and Adaptation to Permafrost in the Tundra (ADAPT) group. Highlighting the recurrence of permafrost-focused posters and presentations throughout the conference, he re-iterated the importance of understanding and adapting to the changing landscape of permafrost in Canada’s North. Permafrost makes up 50% of Canada’s landscape and is the “foundation and underpinning of infrastructure in the North.” Dr. Vincent explained that we need to develop an integrative strategy for adapting and moving forward with coping strategies to climate change impacts.

The third presenter was Marc-André Bernier, from Parks Canada, who spoke of the momentous discovery of the H.M.S. Erabus, one of Sir John Franklin’s ships. The exciting discovery was made in September 2014, in Nunavut, waters, near King William Island, a mere 11-meters below the surface! Marc-André and his team used maps based on evidence from “the English” and the Inuit. He said that the information provided by the Inuit was key to finding the location. Many archaeologists in the past have tried unsuccessfully to find the H.M.S. Erabus, because they had had relied on solely the “English” evidence.

Next, our lab group dispersed to different topical sessions. I attended several speaker presentations, which revolved around the topic of housing in the North. The session was entitled: “We Don’t Need Housing, We need Homes: Social, Economic, Environmental, Cultural, Health and Well-being Dimensions of Housing Needs in the Arctic.” Presenters Caroline Inglis, Ron Baker, Marleny Bonnycastle, André Cassault, Marc Blouin and William Semple talked about the Inuit sense of “home” as opposed to house, and how these feelings should be incorporated into the design of homes in the North. The researchers asked the communities what they wanted in a home: space to cook and prepare meals, room for families, and proximity to one another and to the land. The architects showed designs featuring outdoor space for preparing country food, extra rooms for fostering children and circular neighbourhood shapes which brought people close to each other and to the ocean, the wildlife, and the sun.

After five intensive days of plenary, topical and social sessions, we prepared to head back to Guelph. The Arctic Change conference was a wonderful exposure to the incredible multitude of research projects underway in the North. Highlights included Peter Mansbridge’s presentation of the $1 million Arctic Inspiration Prize, the rich variety of presenters, researchers and community members, and especially the engaging topical sessions on Indigenous health and climate change.

Congratulations to Kate Bishop!

Congratulations to Kate Bishop-Williams for winning second place ($600) in the Social and Health Science category at the Arctic Change 2014 Conference.