Submitted by: Arielle Hernandez

Administrative:

• Recent hires in both NYC and Tamale
  • Amanda Olney, Education Project Coordinator
  • Abdul-Ganiu Konlan Abubakari, TEACH Project Manager
  • Farrukh Ishaque Saah, CDM Program Officer

• FLAIR (US Embassy):
  • FLAIR Awardees continue their academic/cultural exchanges in Tamale
  • Alex Azan (NYULH) working with Esther Amoako (UDS) on a project related to climate change resilience
  • Niyati Parekh (NYU Global School of Public Health) working with Francis Amagloh (UDS) on a project related to nutrition in peri-operative patients

Care

Chronic Disease Management (CDM) Program:

• Engaged the leadership of GHS in Tamale Metro on barbershop/hairdresser pilot project
• Held two-day orientation on strengthening chronic care clinics and wellness clinics with GHS and various district teams
• Cervical Cancer
  • Cohort 3 of the Cervical Cancer & Breast Cancer Prevention Program held from April 8th to April 17th
  • 13 nurses and midwives trained
  • 9 new facilities trained (8 in northern region, 1 in northeast region)

Education

OB/GYN

• 2 NYULH residents (PGY3, PGY4) participated in a clinical elective at TTH
  • Performed CTG boot camp workshops for > 30 staff
  • Performed USG gynae workshops for 10 staff
• 1 NYULH student did a research elective with Ob/Gyn department at TTH

Medical Student Exchange:

• Pre-departure preparation in progress for 8 students to come to the US (4 to NYULH, 2 to Temple, and 2 to IU)
  • Preparation included receiving vaccinations, applying for visas, preparing housing, etc.

Surgery

• 1 lecture was given to TTH surgical residents on the topic of weight management and bariatric surgery
  • Planning for a video review of a surgical case to discuss key steps of bariatric surgical operations

TEACH:

• TSIM
  • 10 faculty from UDS and TTH completed a weeklong NYSIM course on advanced techniques in clinical teaching, debriefing strategies, and the integration of simulation into curriculum development
• ECHO
  • Discussions are ongoing regarding the potential adaptation of the AMPATH Kenya POCUS ECHO model for AMPATH Ghana, as it could serve as a valuable platform for maintaining and expanding skills and competencies following in-person POCUS training
• TEACH Pilot Projects 2024
  • Carolyn Pearce (Brown) and Annette Cournooh (TTH) developed and led a two week in-person point of Care Ultrasound (POCUS) training for 18 people at TTH including 5 IM residents and 13 ED medical officers
  • Training faculty included Dr. Hussein Elias (Moi University/AMPATH Kenya), Dr. Daria Szkwarko and Dr. Odinaka Anyanwu (Brown University), two instructors from the Global Ultrasound Institute (GUSI), an Emergency Medicine resident from Korle Bu (Accra), and a specialist from Cape Coast Teaching Hospital.
  • Curriculum covered POCUS basics, extended FAST, limited cardiac ECHO, pulmonary, and renal ultrasound. A total of 160 scans were performed, 88 integrated into ED patient care, with 8 scans (9%) significantly impacting clinical management.
  • Supplemental learning included access to GUSI’s online Essentials and Additional Topics modules, and participation in a dedicated TTH POCUS WhatsApp group.
  • Ongoing support: Pearce’s team will conduct five virtual sessions over the next five months to reinforce and expand POCUS skills.
• TEACH Pilot Projects 2025
  • Onboarding completed, project procurement in progress, and teams are working to develop their pilot projects

Research

Research Proposals (in development or submitted):

• T-CHANGE
  • NIH R01 CVD Risk Factors/UPA Gardening awaiting review in June
  • Submission of proposal to Wellcome Climate Impacts Awards
• Family Planning Unit
  • Peer-to-Peer counseling at TTH proposal in development

Research Projects (Active, ongoing):

• • T-CHANGE Seed Grant
    • Received UDS IRB approval
    • Received notice of exemption from IRB review at NYU WSQ
  • Women’s Reproductive Health
    • 4 posters presented at CUGH were accepted for presentation at NYUGSOM DPH’s first annual Trainee Research Day
  • Chronic Disease Epidemiology and Environmental Health Survey
    • Analysis plans being developed
  • Diabetes
    • Manuscript being finalized
  • Extreme Heat
    • Manuscript submitted to Nature Scientific Reports, under review
  • MACH
    • Qualitative and quantitative analysis ongoing

Partnerships/ Communication / Engagement

• Meetings with
  • The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust to introduce Laud Boateng to new Program Officer, discuss partnership, and future plans
  • Lilly Foundation to discuss proposed reach metrics
• Continued to plan for first salon event on May 20th
  • Sent out invitations to existing and prospective donors
  • Met with team to discuss logistics and material preparation
• In conjunction with AMPATH Consortium
  • 3 team members, Arielle Hernande, Laud Boateng, and Abby Safirstein, represented AMPATH Ghana at AMPATH Global Partner Summit in Puebla, Mexico
    • The team presented priority topics in Ghana, engaged in collaborative project planning with AMPATH Global, and held strategic discussions with several corporate partners
• Communication
  • Submitted article for NYUGSOM IEHE newsletter on CUGH participation
  • Team presented AMPATH Ghana program updates staff at NYUGSOM DPH Town Hall