Field Experience
Students in most UM SPH masters degree programs are required to complete an internship or some type of field experience between their first and second year. Many students focus their internship in global health. For details on finding a field placement visit a specific UM SPH department. Resources are also available at the Office of Academic Affairs.
A Sampling of Recent Projects
Julie Vaishampayan, M.D.,
center at left with her epidemiology section, is the first UM SPH Preventive Medicine Resident to rotate at the Tianjin Centers for Disease Control in China. She observes, "Imagine a 6-lane road (3 lanes each direction) with 2 lanes on each
side covered with drying corn and sunflower seeds. Who owns all this
food? How do they pick it all up when it's dry? Just sweep it up with a
broom? I watched cars run over the edges, children run through, dogs
squat in the middle, flies and spiders crawling through the food. Do
they wash it later?" Read more about foodborne illness, mumps, and the incredible generosity of Chinese people on her blog from the fall of 2007.
More blogs from students in China:
 Sara Schmidt of Health Behavior and Health Education spent summer 2007 in Kenya, working with the Tropical Institute of Community Health and Development. In addition to traveling and taking stunning views of Africa, she blogged about a world where "HIV is a part of diabetes work, a part of domestic violence work, a part of every aspect of service provided because it has to be." Read more excerpts from the blog.
 Josh Karnes of Health Management and Policy left in late spring 2005 to do NGO water sanitation planning in tsunami-devastated Indonesia. He observed:
"Hello, family and friends. I started this blog to chronicle my experiences as a relief worker and logistics delegate with an international NGO working in Banda Aceh, Indonesia. This is the area that was so totally devastated by the tsunami which happened on December 26, 2004. Some villages in the province have had up to 95 percent mortality. The town of Banda Aceh, where I live, lost over 80,000." Read more excerpts from his blog, which concludes: "I found it extremely gratifying to watch a concept paper become a proposal and then become a vibrant program. To look at village “before and after” pics and say . . . I had something to do with that!"
 Epidemiology student Laurie Dixon spent the summer of 2005 in Padre Cocha, near a tributary of the Amazon outside Iquitos, Peru. Her field work assessed "Behavioral Risk Factors and Knowledge Assessment of Leptospirosis in Padre Cocha, Peru," and she displayed a poster and talked about her experiences at her department's poster day the following fall. More from 2007's poster day.
 David Cantonwine from Environmental Health Sciences interned during the summer of 2005 with
The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Divisions of Violence Prevention and International Emergency and Refugee Health Branch. He learned:
”Violent and non-violent injuries are a major contributor to the world disease burden (~12% globally) though in about one-half of the world’s countries, no methods are in place to accurately capture information. During the late 1990s and early 2000s the CDC and PAHO piloted an emergency department based injury surveillance system in Nicaragua and El Salvador to assess the feasibility of creating a regional system termed: CAREISS (Central American Regional Emergency Department Injury Surveillance System.) With no formally tested method to evaluate the quality of the data generated, my task was to design, pilot, and implement an assessment of CAREISS’s data in the country of Nicaragua. Working closely with key staff in the local hospitals and our collaborators at the CDC we were able to obtain a clearer picture of the obstacles that impeded collection of accurate injury data. Given the freedom to spearhead the design and data collection was an unparalleled educational experience allowing me to live and work among the population that would benefit the greatest from my work.”
 Margaret Eichleay from Epidemiology interned during the summer of 2004 with
Centro De Pesquisas Aggeu Magalhaes in northeast Brazil. Marga conducted a study on the spacial and temporal distribution of dengue fever and mosquito presence in Recife, working with ministry of health data to prepare an article for publication. The research dealt with the of effects of major urbanization occurring, and the resulting existence of poverty and slums. The reintroduction of species of mosquitos and resistant forms of disease, through international commerce, in combination with conditions in peoples homes presents a potential public health issue. Traveling with community health workers Marga discovered that people in Brazil in general know how to prevent dengue fever due to community health programs. Through her experience there she was exposed to accomplished researchers, practiced cross-cultural communication and Portugese, honed data skills, and clarified career goals.
 Shirin Madjzoub Celebi from Health Behavior and Health Education interned during the summer of 2004 with
the William Mmutle Masetlha Foundation in Chisamba, Zambia
and the World Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland.
"With the the William Mmutle Masetlha Foundation I worked in the health education program developing a baseline study of their program. This entailed an investigation of the general health and HIV/AIDS infrastructure, design of a questionnaire to measure knowledge, attitudes and practices, the training of interiewers and focus group moderators, and supervision of implementation. The people were great and very collaborative, and the experience taught me a lot about the pros and cons of the contributions of multinational corporations. Successful efforts need to take into account the longterm effect of interventions on native practices.
"For the World Health Organization, in Geneva, I assisted the medical officera and liason for internal HIV/AIDS activities with establishment of a mechanism for internal coordination of HIV/AIDS activities among departments of the WHO. Being there was very stimulating. It provided a good overview of the macro HIV/AIDS epidemic, exposure to the inner workings of the WHO, and fantastic networking opportunities. I worked with a great team and preceptor, and it made me realize one can really contribute to big organizations with grassroots experience."
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