Research

Global Research

As a research University such as Emory University, a highly effective means of increasing the global content of courses comes from support of the global research of faculty, PhD students

‍Guatemala

Combustion of plastic waste and human health effects in Guatemala (NIEHS; 1 R01ES032009-01A1, Thompson, contact PI; Saikawa MPI): 2021-2026

Cluster randomized trial is the first implementation science study to develop and evaluate community-level working groups that aim to reduce household burning of plastic waste, a common exposure in rural low-income communities globally. Findings will be used to develop impactful community-driven public health actions in socially- and environmentally-disadvantaged communities in rural Guatemala. It fosters collaboration between research and community groups in the conduct of community-engaged research that aims to improve household and ambient air quality.

‍India

Using repeat surveys to assess the impact of COVID-19 on household energy use in Jharkhand, India (NIH/Fogarty International; Thompson, contact PI; Pillarisetti MPI): 2020-2022

Tanzania

EMPHASIS - Emory-Muhimbili Partnership for Health Administration Strengthening and Integration of Services

Ethiopia

‍Saving Little Lives at Birth – This project addresses minimum care package at labor and delivery; minimum care package at the NICU, and Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC)

Sponsor – UNICEF

Partners - Ethiopian government MOH, AAU, Amhara Regional health bureau, Amhara public health institute

Optimizing Care for Newborns and Children – This project is focused on building strong leadership and engagement of key stakeholders focusing on (1) building health provider capacity through training, (2) influencing demand and improved self-care behaviors through targeted health education, behavior change communications, and social mobilization, and (3) building capacity of district health systems and communities to continuously improve care through joint planning, performance monitoring, evaluation, mentoring and supportive supervision, and data for decision making.

Sponsors – UNICEF/KOICA

Partners - MOH, Benishangul and Afar regional health bureaus

Maternal vaccination in Ethiopia: understanding vaccine acceptance among pregnant women and exploring provider and practice-based barriers - Explore factors related to maternal decision-making surrounding maternal vaccination uptake during pregnancy; Assess antenatal health care providers’ perceptions, current practice, and barriers faced in regard to maternal immunization uptake.

Sponsor - Global Health Office of Pediatrics at Emory (GHOPE)

Partner - Amhara regional health bureau and Amhara region public health institute

Talk With Me Baby (TWMB) - developing early language nutrition program for vulnerable low birth weight infants at AAU and SLL hospitals; developing tools to measure maternal and infant neurocognitive and mental health.

Sponsor - Emory Global Health Institute

Rwanda

Determinants of Delayed First Presentation for Antenatal Care in Gasabo District Rwanda. (Emory Global Health Institute, Patricia Moreland): 2019-2020. Mixed methods study to identify the socio-demographic, cultural, obstetrical, and health system factors related to delayed attendance to antenatal care. Findings will be used to identify modifiable risk factors to facilitate the development of targeted interventions.

Community Outreach and Resources

Facing the Sun

Facing the Sun gives voice to South Florida’s agricultural workers confronting heat related illnesses, and follows a team of researchers and community advocates working to protect their health. Researchers at Emory University partnered with the Farmworker Association of Florida to conduct collaborative research on heat related illness in Florida through The Girasoles Study. Produced in collaboration with La Isla Network, this film provides a first-hand view of the experiences of agricultural workers interwoven with the story of The Girasoles Study. Facing the Sun documents the problem of heat illness, the research addressing it in Florida, and the goal of working with employers to make workplaces safer through the development and implementation of sustainable interventions.

The Invisible Ones

Community Resources

In the News

Vox | The disturbing hypothesis for the sudden uptick in chronic kidney disease

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Study Team and Research

Emory University Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing

Linda McCauley, PhD, RN Principal Investigator
Valarie Mac, PhD, RN Investigator
Vicki Hertzberg, PhD Investigator, Lead Statistician
Lisa Elon, MS, Data Manager
Jacqueline Mix, PhD, Post-Doctoral Researcher
Roxanna Chicas, RN, Graduate Student
Abby Mutic, PhD, MSN, CNM

Farmworkers Association of Florida

Jose Antonio Tovar-Aguilar, PhD, Principal Investigator
Joan Flocks, JD, Investigator
Jeannie Economos, Health and Safety Coordinator
Nezahualcoyotl Xiuhtecutli, Research Coordinator

To learn more about this study please contact Valerie Mac at Valerie.mac@emory.edu.

Publications

Flocks, J., Tovar, J. A., Economos, E., Mac, V. V. T., Mutic, A., Peterman, K., & McCauley, L. (2018). Lessons learned from data collection as health screening in underserved farmworker communities. Progress in community health partnerships: research, education, and action, 12(1), 93-100.

Mac, V. V. T., Tovar-Aguilar, J. A., Flocks, J., Economos, E., Hertzberg, V. S., & McCauley, L. A. (2017). Heat exposure in Central Florida fernery workers: Results of a feasibility study. Journal of agromedicine, 22(2), 89-99.

Hertzberg, V., Mac, V., Elon, L., Mutic, N., Mutic, A., Peterman, K., ... & McCauley, L. (2017). Novel analytic methods needed for real-time continuous core body temperature data. Western journal of nursing research, 39(1), 95-111.

Mutic, A. D., Mix, J. M., Elon, L., Mutic, N. J., Economos, J., Flocks, J., ... & McCauley, L. A. (2018). Classification of Heat‐Related Illness Symptoms Among Florida Farmworkers. Journal of nursing scholarship, 50(1), 74-82.

Mix, J., Elon, L., Vi Thien Mac, V., Flocks, J., Economos, E., Tovar-Aguilar, A. J., ... & McCauley, L. A. (2018). Hydration Status, Kidney Function, and Kidney Injury in Florida Agricultural Workers. Journal of occupational and environmental medicine, 60(5), e253-e260.

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Farmworker Family Health Program

The Farm Worker Family Health Program is an interprofessional, in-country cultural immersion service learning experience.

Each summer in June, select undergraduate and graduate students from the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, University of Georgia School of Pharmacy, Georgia State University and Brenau University Departments of Physical Therapy, Clayton State University and Central Georgia Tech College Departments of Dental Hygiene spend two weeks delivering vital health care to farm workers and their children in a farming community in southwest Georgia.

Learn more about the program

Nursing Students On Site at an outreach event

Partnering with The Ellenton Clinic, the program is centered in agriculturally rich southwest Georgia. Students are housed in the Hampton Inn in Moultrie, Georgia in Colquitt County. Counties served by the Ellenton Clinic are Colquitt, Cook, Brooks and Tift. Each day students deliver preventive care (screenings and well child physicals) to children of migrant workers attending a county sponsored summer school. Evenings are spent delivering episodic care to farm workers at farms or housing areas.

UNDERGRADUATE COURSE CREDIT

Undergraduate students are registered for the NRSG 405 Rural Health elective. The class is required in order to attend the two week immersion experience.

GRADUATE COURSE CREDIT

Graduate students are registered for NRSG 680 Basics of Dermatology elective. This course offers clinical hours and is required in order to attend the two week immersion experience.

PHOTO GALLERY

View photos from the Moultrie Family Farm Worker Program.

STUDENT PRESENTATIONS

All undergraduate students who participate in the Moultrie Family Farm Worker Program present their community assessment projects as a group in the Spring of their senior year.

ALL students are required to pay $150 to defray the cost of the hotel. Students are responsible for their own transportation and some meals.