Activities, Methods, & Outcomes

The goals and objectives listed above were achieved through bi-weekly virtual Zoom meetings with the Program Director, Dr. Charles Nwobu. In these meetings he provided guidance and insight about the service population as well as organizational capacity and needs. Additionally, he provided recommendations on how to design our interventions in regard to Ghana’s healthcare system. With this guidance, I was able to identify challenges and barriers of HIV/AIDS and propose strategies to target the issues found, addressing the first goal.

Virtual meetings, roundtable discussions, drafting the grant proposal, and presenting the Injectable PrEP PowerPoint Presentation contributed to the goal of communicating audience-appropriate public health content both in writing and through oral presentation. The roundtable discussions covered a wide variety of global health topics including health systems, global burden of disease, maternal/child health, intercultural approaches to administering healthcare, and intercultural effectiveness and adaptability.

The Grant Proposal Draft, found in Appendix A, addressed the needs in Ghana by aiming to improve the quality of lives of PLWHA and prevent future transmission of the disease. Research inquiry involved conducting a literature review to identify factors that contribute to high rates of HIV, identifying evidence-based and culturally sensitive interventions, and ensuring culturally sensitive interventions. It also included an itemized budget for funders to review. Conducting the literature review helped identify barriers and challenges contributing to higher rates of HIV/AIDS in Ghana including lack of education and treatment adherence. Determining these barriers helped to shape the intervention to target those primary issues. SMART goals and objectives were then created and approved by Dr. Nwobu to guide the intervention program. Additional research was conducted to identify evidence-based and culturally sensitive interventions that could be implemented at PMLCH’s HIV/AIDS clinic to improve their services. The Grant Proposal Draft can be used to inform future project interventions, as an example for future CFHI students, or for funders to review so that the program can be implemented.

The primary purpose of the Injectable PrEP Presentation, found in Appendix B, was to raise awareness about Injectable PrEP, which is a new prevention method that has not been approved for administration in Ghana. The Injectable PrEP Presentation included statistics about HIV/AIDS in Ghana, an explanation of the current benefits and possible impact of the prevention method, an explanation of Injectable PrEP and current treatment so that the policymakers can appreciate and understand how the process works, and provided a thematic framework for analysis and discussion of evidence found to advocate and have a convincing argument for or against implementation of the new drug by policymakers in Ghana. Development of the presentation included a literature review to identify key populations affected in Ghana, the safety, efficacy, acceptability, hesitancy, feasibility, and cost effectiveness of the drug. The Injectable PrEP PowerPoint Presentation can be used to increase knowledge of current HIV/AIDS statistics, increase awareness of Injectable PrEP, as a basis to convince future policymakers, and as a guide for future intervention programs.

The Agency Report, found in Appendix C provides additional information regarding the purpose of the internship, benefits to CFHI and its service population, recommendations for CFHI and on how the deliverables can be utilized in the future.