Ghana Platform

Northern/Pacific Global Health Research Fellows Training Consortium (NPGHRFTC)

2012 Fogarty Fellow, Nauzley Abedini (left), with co-worker in the pediatric unit, Suntresu Hospital, Kumasi, Ghana

• Funded by the Fogarty International Center (NIH), this five-year grant supports the research training of postdoctoral fellows from the health science fields. This Consortium, which is administered through the University of Washington (UW), is a partnership between UW and the University of Michigan as well as the Universities of Hawaii and Minnesota. It is one of four consortia to be funded under this initiative and involves more that 20 US universities as well as educational institutions in China, Ghana, Kenya, Peru, Thailand, and Uganda.
• Joseph Kolars, MD, Senior Associate Dean for Education and Global Initiatives at the U-M Medical School, serves as the Principal Investigator for U-M and will lead the education metrics portion for the Consortium.
• The funded consortium seeks to provide outstanding mentored research training to international and US global health researchers who will develop and implement new innovative interdisciplinary research to reduce the burden of infectious, chronic and preventable diseases.
• Seventeen awards were made in July 2012.  Read more here.

UMMS Contact

Cheryl Moyer, PhD, MPH
Research Investigator, Department of Medical Education and Managing Director, Global REACH, UMMS

PARTNER I Fellows enjoy a dinner party at the home of Co-I, Dr. Cheryl Moyer

Ghana-Michigan Postdoctoral and Research Trainee NEtwoRk (PARTNER I and II)

• The PARNTER ll project is funded by the Fogarty International Center of the NIH and housed within the School of Public Health (T. Robins, PI). PARTNER II is a five year expansion (2012-2017) of the PARTNER I program and pairs Ghanaian and U-M postdocs within several U-M schools and colleges including the Medical School to tackle global health research challenges. Training periods range from four-twelve months and cover interdisciplinary innovation projects such as: gender and health; innovative technologies; epidemiology and genetics of breast cancer; environmental and occupational health; and interdisciplinary approaches to oral and maxillofacial surgery.
• Ghanaian postdocs come from PARTNER institutions: the University of Ghana, Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), Ministry of Health, Navrongo Health Research Centre, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, and Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research.

UMMS Contact

Cheryl Moyer, PhD, MPH
Co-I and Co-Project Director, PARTNER
Research Investigator, Department of Medical Education and Managing Director, Global REACH, UMMS

Medical Education Partner Initiative (MEPI)

• This Fogarty-funded clinical training for Emergency Medicine physicians and nurses is training the first EM specialists in Ghana. The first class graduated in September 2012 and there are currently two classes of residents in training. Residents are being trained clinically by U-M faculty who spend 9 months per year on the ground in Ghana.
• More information is available here.

UMMS Contact

Terry Kowalenko, MD
Professor of Emergency Medicine, Director of Continuous Professional Development and Professor of Medical Education, UMMS

International Family Planning Fellowship Program (IFPFP)

• IFPFP is one of the first subspecialty training programs in Ghana and the first subspecialty training program in reproductive health in West Africa.
• This program trains obstetricians/gynecologists in Ghana to be experts in family planning. The program includes comprehensive contraception, abortion and reproductive health care training. The curriculum was grounded in medical education theory and adopted from an existing family planning fellowship program established in the United States. Key dimensions of the program included developing trainees’ clinical, research, and leadership skills, as well as institutional practices for assessing clinical competency.

• The long-term goal of the program is to determine the impact of specialized post-graduate training in abortion and family planning on women’s health in Ghana. The initial objective was to train a cadre of physicians in advanced abortion and family planning services, and to create effective leaders, who will train other clinicians, conduct research in family planning, advocate for policy change.

• The initial phase of the program has been successfully completed and may serve as a model and resource for other developing countries.
• A total of four fellows (two each from the University of Ghana and Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology) have thus far completed extensive training to improve their clinical, research, and leadership skills and now hold leadership positions at Ghanaian university and government hospitals. All have successfully applied for funding to support ongoing projects aimed at increasing the effectiveness and quality of abortion and family planning services.

UMMS Contact

Vanessa Dalton, MD, MPH
Assistant Professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, UMMS

Post-graduate Training Program in Fetal Maternal Medicine

• This nascent program aims to train specialists in Ghana to become experts in maternal fetal medicine. The initial training program will take place at Korle Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra.

UMMS Contact

Frank Anderson, MD, MPH
Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, UMMS, Clinical Associate Professor of Health Behavior and Health Education, School of Public Health

Perinatal Mental Health Prevalence and Needs Assessment in Ghana, West Africa

• This Global REACH-funded project relies upon closely-mentored U-M medical students to collect primary data to determine the prevalence of postpartum depression among mothers presenting with a sick infant for care at an urban teaching hospital. The project includes follow-up research dedicated to a needs assessment of key community stakeholders to determine maternal perinatal mental health and opportunities for care.

UMMS Contact

Katy Gold, MD, MSW, MS
Assistant Professor of Family Medicine and Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, UMMS

Ethnic Differences in Triple Negative Breast Cancer

• This study explores the relationship between African Ancestry and higher prevalence of triple negative breast cancer, using samples of breast tumors taken from women in Ghana, Detroit, and Ann Arbor.

UMMS Contact

Lisa A. Newman, MD, MPH, FACS
Professor of Surgery, UMMS, and Director, University of Michigan Breast Care Center

Facility-based Delivery in Rural Ghana

• This project involves an assessment of attitudes toward facility-based delivery among pregnant women in rural central Ghana. It also addresses the issue of midwife mistreatment of women in labor using qualitative methodology.

UMMS Contact

Cheryl Moyer, PhD, MPH
Research Investigator, Department of Medical Education and Managing Director, Global REACH, UMMS

Sociocultural Factors Influencing Delayed Identification of Neonatal Jaundice in Rural Ghana

• This project is being conducted by a former PARTNER fellow who has returned to her clinical post in Kumasi. It seeks to address community-level understanding of neonatal jaundice, as well as to identify the social and cultural factors that impact identification and treatment.

UMMS Contact

Cheryl Moyer, PhD, MPH
Research Investigator, Department of Medical Education and Managing Director, Global REACH, UMMS

Stillbirth and Early Neonatal Deaths in Northern Ghana (SANDS)

• This study combined quantitative data from the Navrongo Demographic Surveillance Site and qualitative data from interviews with more than 250 community members and healthcare providers to explore the prenatal, perinatal, and postnatal periods in rural northern Ghana. While the initial emphasis was understanding the first seven days of life – given that 40% of under 5 mortality occurs within the first week after birth – the study expanded to include additional assessments of such things as clean delivery practices, infant nutrition, community perceptions of infant illness, and the role of grandmothers as healthcare gatekeepers.

UMMS Contact

Cheryl Moyer, PhD, MPH
Research Investigator, Department of Medical Education and Managing Director, Global REACH, UMMS

Initiative for Research and Innovation Management (iRIM)

• This NIH-funded initiative partners the UMMS grants office with investigators at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) to develop a grants management office at KNUST. This project seeks to improve the provision of grants management at KNUST by establishing a university-wide Office of Grants and Research (OGR) through continued collaboration with the University of Michigan (UM). Specific aims are to: develop an Institutional Research Policy and Management Plan, establish an Office of Grants and Research (OGR) at KNUST - including the development of 5-year strategic plan and a 1-year implementation plan for the office, develop and implement customizable training modules that can be deployed across the institution and beyond, and develop a research proposal roadmap to guide researchers through the expected path from conceptualization to program completion, as well as to provide resources for faculty and staff in accomplishing each anticipated step.

UMMS Contact

Joseph C. Kolars, MD
Senior Associate Dean for Education and Global Initiatives and Professor of Internal Medicine, UMMS