Pictured from left to right are Maddie Kitts, Joel Kibonwabake, director of Kalangala Sickle Cell Clinic and Namata Perroni, a research associate at the clinic in Uganda June 2024. (Submitted by Kearsley Stewart)
Published October 14, 2024 under Education News
Maddie Kitts recalls feeling a change in the way she thought about her peers in DGHI’s Master of Science in Global Health (MS-GH) program after attending last year’s Global Health Research Showcase. Many of the students presenting at the event were a year ahead of Kitts in the program, and she knew some as teaching assistants for her classes.
“I viewed them as researchers,” says Kitts, now in her second year of the MS-GH program and one of more than 40 students who will present posters at this year’s Showcase event. “I said to myself, ‘Someday, that will be me.’ It felt so far away then, but now, it’s here.”
Showcase, DGHI’s annual event highlighting global health research conducted by Duke undergraduate and graduate students, will take place on Oct. 21, from noon-1:30 p.m., in the Trent Semans Center for Health Education on Duke’s campus. The event is free and open to the public.
During the free-flowing event, students will present data and observations from summer research projects covering a broad range of global health topics, such as the impact of climate change on the spread of infectious diseases, the rising incidence of chronic conditions such as hypertension in low-income countries, disaster preparedness, and interventions to support the mental health of people living with HIV. Their projects include work done in 16 countries, including China, Singapore, Cambodia, India, Kenya, Tanzania, Guatemala and the United States.
Kitts will present her thesis research, which examines the facilitators and barriers to screening newborns for sickle cell disease in the Kalangala District of Uganda. Only one clinic provides care for those living with the disease in the district, and treating it is a multilayered problem. Some hide their diagnosis for fear of stigma and the availability of treatment from the government is inconsistent, so much so that healthcare workers often pay for medicine themselves. In 2021, the Uganda Ministry of Health announced an initiative to reduce the disease burden in the country, but a formal plan to achieve that goal hasn’t been implemented.
“In the country, there wasn’t a precedent of screening newborns for the disease when they are born unless the mom knew she had sickle cell disease,” Kitts says, noting Uganda has the fifth highest burden of the disease in Africa. The blood disorder can cause severe pain and other symptoms that can be debilitating for patients.
Kitts recalls a young boy who came to the clinic during her fieldwork in Uganda. He had traveled on his own for several hours to seek help, paying for a boat to take him to Kalangala, which is on an island in Lake Victoria.
“His parents didn’t have enough money to go with him,” Kitts says. “Treatment is a luxury in Uganda many can’t afford, especially if most of their income is spent on travel to the clinic.”
Kearsley Stewart, Ph.D., a professor of the practice of global health and cultural anthropology who advised Kitt’s research, commended the project for how it analyzes sickle cell disease from multiple perspectives.
“Maddie immediately approached the challenge of reducing the burden of sickle cell disease in Kalangala by trying to understand the full lived experience of a sickle cell patient and their family at home, at the clinic and in the community,” says Stewart. “She was exceptionally committed to building respectful and collaborative relationships with everyone in the community.”
Stewart, who has mentored student research for more than a decade, says it’s always inspiring to see students’ growth as researchers at Showcase.
“I come away from the Showcase in awe of, first, the range of topics that our students are tackling at a high-level of engagement and, second, their clear commitment to research that produces evidence for change in global health practice and policy,” Stewart says. “Showcase is a fantastic opportunity for undergrads and first-year MS-GH students to envision their own next steps towards a career in global health.”
Kitts hopes her work will assist the Uganda government in expanding its screening and treatment for those living with sickle cell disease. Although she is nervous about presenting her work publicly, she is also excited.
“I’m ready to support my friends and the rest of my cohort presenting,” she says. “I appreciate this space to present my work in an environment that appreciates what students do.”
See the full list of this year’s presenters at the 13th Annual Global Health Research Showcase here.
