Around 40 researchers – mostly PhD students working in Global Health – submitted poster contributions to Global Health Norway Conference 2018. The posters were hung in the muster area where they were manned by their producers during conference breaks and the poster session. Conference participants were encouraged to circulate and “like” the posters, as well as to discuss the work with the presenters.
A three-person committee – Johanne Sundby, Anne Hatløy and Ingvar Theodor Evjen Olsen - was charged with the task of selecting the 2 best. In particular, the committee evaluated whether the poster was well-designed, attractive and appealing, and most importantly that it had a clear, understandable message.
First Prize
First prize went to Bezawit Temesgen Sima, a PhD student from the Department of Community Medicine and Global Health, Institute of Health and Society, at the University of Oslo. Together with her colleagues in Ethiopia at Jimma University, Sima created a poster entitled, “Traditional Healers involvement in tuberculosis (TB) control in pastoralist community in Ethiopia”
The poster described research that concluded that Traditional Healers are able to contribute to TB control in pastoralist community settings, provided they are given appropriate training and support. The research project also recommended that Traditional Healers be trained inTB case referral and case identification. In addition, they could also be trained in TB prevention and control activity in pastoralist community settings.
Second Prize
The second place poster prize was given to Alex van Duinen, Registrar in General Surgery at St Olavs Hospital, Trondheim University Hospital, and a PhD student at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim. The poster by Duinen and colleagues was entitled, “Number of caesarean section in Sierra Leone before, during and after the Ebola outbreak”.
Duinen is originally from the Netherlands. His PhD research involves a large prospective study examining the quality of surgical care provided by non-physician clinicians. This work involves a collaboration between NTNU, St Olavs Hospital, the Princess Christian Maternity Hospital in Freetown Sierra Leone, and CapaCare, a non-profit humanitarian organization dedicated to medical education and training in developing countries. High maternal and neonatal mortality are associated with low rates of caesarian sections. Duinen’s study showed that government hospitals in Sierra Leone were able to double the number of caesarian sections that took place in the period between 2012-2016 despite the significant negative impact of Ebola outbreak.
Watch a YouTube video where Duinen describes some of his Sierra Leone experiences.
