Our Students Make Us Proud

Published June 3, 2013, last updated on April 9, 2018 under Voices of DGHI

By Melissa Watt, Assistant Research Professor of Global Health and Associate Director of the MSc-GH

I first met Steve Kimani last September when he interviewed for a research assistant position with DGHI faculty member Christina Meade’s team. Eight months later, Christina and I traveled with Steve to Cape Town, South Africa, where he will complete 10 weeks of field research this summer for the Master of Science in Global Health. When we said goodbye, I was struck by the strong personal and professional bond that has developed among us this past year, and what an incredible opportunity was offered to all of us through the Duke MSc-GH program.

Building on the research of DGHI faculty, Steve is working on a two-year NIDA-funded study in South Africa led by Christina Meade. In this study, we are collaborating with the University of Stellenbosch to recruit 200 active methamphetamine users from the community in order to better understand HIV-related behaviors among this high-risk population. Participants complete a drug test, a clinical interview and a computer-administered survey. When they are done, they receive two coupons to recruit other people from their social network into the study (a procedure known as respondent-driven sampling or RDS). This preliminary study can help us understand the HIV risk behaviors of this under-studied population and whether RDS methods are feasible in this setting and population.

As a research assistant at DGHI, Steve helped us prepare this study to implement in the field. Throughout the academic year, he assisted in creating the study protocol, identifying appropriate measures, and designing the recruitment and referral process. He also introduced his own study idea to collect geospatial data from participants. He amended the study protocol to add questions about where they live, where they use meth, and where they received the study coupon. For his MSc-GH thesis, he’ll analyze this data to understand spatially the distribution of our sample and how individual meth users are connected to each other.

In the two weeks that Steve has been in Cape Town thus far, he has become a leader overseeing the implementation of the data collection. He arrives every day at our study office, which is located above the public library in the middle of the township, to greet participants, support study staff, manage data, and communicate back to us about the progress. As faculty members, Christina and I are benefitting tremendously from Steve’s hard work and engagement, and couldn’t be more proud to have him on the ground.

Steve has also shared with us that it is also an incredible learning experience for him. This week he sent us this email, reflecting on what he is learning.

Being on this side of the research process is definitely a unique experience, particularly seeing surveys transform into data. It has been one steep learning curve for me, but a fun one nonetheless. From managing team dynamics to communications and data handling, I have definitely been stimulated to think more about collaborative research as well as paying attention to some nuances that we barely think about when designing questionnaires. Realizing the REALITIES of drug abuse through such candid details has not gone without periods of reflection and a conflicting mixture of fear, empathy, self-doubt, and pride… I am happy with the structures that we have put in place, seeing that we have been able to address the challenges as they come along as well as anticipate others. The research staff are really charming, zealous and invested in not only safeguarding quality of data, but also seeing the success of the project. I am learning a lot from them.

I am proud of Steve’s work and efforts, and proud to call him my student, colleague and friend. He is an example of the caliber of students we are attracting to the Duke Global Health Institute and training as the next generation of global health leaders. As a faculty member and the incoming Associate Director of the MSc-GH program, I look forward to working with many more students like Steve! 

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