Drs. Darby Jack (Columbia University, U2R Co-PI) and Jonathan Samet (Colorado School of Public Health, U2R Co-I) conducted a 4-day project initiation and implementation training workshop to the GEOHealth Hub team at Addis Ababa University (AAU) August 28-31, 2023. The workshop marked a key step in strengthening research capacity and advancing ongoing and new environmental health studies in Ethiopia.
Activities began on Sunday, August 27, with a strategic planning meeting involving the core senior investigative team from GEOHealth Hub–Ethiopia. The session focused on discussing objectives and deliverables of the training workshop.
The four-day training workshop (August 28-31) included a review of protocols and study materials for the relaunch of the Children’s Health Study (CHS) in continuation from Cycle I and the launch of the new Mother’s Health Study (paired with the CHS) and new occupational heat stress study, an overview of air pollution exposure monitors (Atmotube, Modulair, and UPAS), and training on the use of spirometers.
In addition to the training workshop, site visits were conducted at two primary schools to review the installation of BAM air pollution monitors from Cycle I. Other participants of the workshop included Agnes Nyabigambo from Makerere University (GEOHealth Hub-Uganda), 3 fellows from the AAU medical school, 3 spirometry data collectors, and 1 GEOHealth-sponsored PhD student at AAU (Sisay Shine). Sisay Shine also gave a presentation on his work, entitled “Maternal Exposure to Household Air Pollution and Pregnancy Outcomes in Rural Butajira, Ethiopia.”
