UK Public Health Gains New Insights From Africa
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 3, 2014) — Four University of Kentucky graduate students from the College of of Public Health spent one month in Zimbabwe this past summer working with local nutritionists and teaching courses at Africa University.
Located near the city of Mutare, Africa University (AU) enrolls nearly 1,200 students, representing 22 African nations. The private university was established in 1988, and hosted the UK students for the duration of their stay.
For Stephanie Courtney, a second-year public health student, this experience was her first time traveling out of the United States.
"It was a big culture shock," Courtney said. "It was funny because I had to reverse 24 years of looking left, right, left to cross a street because in Zimbabwe, they drive on the opposite side of the road."
In addition to taking public health and leadership courses at AU, Courtney worked on a project that identified primary interests in chronic disease with district and provincial nutritionists. With local nutritionists, Courtney participated in a Vitamin A supplementation program, where she focused on controlling micronutrient deficiencies.
"It was really interesting to see how culture plays a role in healthcare delivery," said Courtney. "Not everyone approaches the same problem in the same way."
Kevin Schuer, a PhD candidate – and his family who joined him for the month – appreciated learning about Zimbabwe's culture. For three weeks, Schuer co-taught a course at AU to students pursuing their master’s degree in public health. The class consisted of 25 students; one-third of which were from Zimbabwe and the other two-thirds were from around the continent.
"One difference that I noticed was that most of my class was predominantly older male students unlike students in my classes at UK who are usually female and recent graduates," Schuer said. "Many of the students at AU had careers in the medical field before coming back to continue their education. All of the students were not only very knowledgeable, but they were interested in improving the health of their country. It really meant something to them."
During their time in Zimbabwe, the students also toured Victoria Falls and brushed up on their Shona (a native language) speaking skills. All of the students were fortunate to gain more insight into the health and cultural practices of Zimbabwe.
"I felt privileged that the UK College of Public Health and the College of Health Sciences allowed for this opportunity to happen," said Schuer. "This experience was life-changing and I really look forward to going back and being apart of this relationship between UK and AU."