2011 Grant Recipient 
Peru
MSN/MPH Program, School of Nursing & School of Public Health
This research placement will incorporate students into an ongoing community based study relating early childhood infections, particularly enteric infections, with subsequent child growth and cognitive and emotional development. This placement will allow for the immersion of student into the "real world" of community based longitudinal studies, and the reality of early childhood, in a popualtion living in extreme poverty in the Peruvian Amazon. Personal Narrative:
Like many students in the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, I desire to help others and to make a difference, living out the mission of the school, “Protecting Health, Saving Lives, Millions at a Time.” Also like many students, I am just beginning my career in public health and have limited knowledge about how to pursue work in global health. Armed with a lot of classroom knowledge and having attended many seminars where others have shared their wisdom from experience in the field, none of this can take the place of the knowledge that I gained from having my own hands-on experience. For this, I am grateful to the Center for Global Health and Dr. Margaret Kosek and Pablo Yori for volunteering to mentor a student and provide me with a one-of-a-kind global health field placement. Arriving in Iquitos, Peru, I was filled with hopefulness that this experience would satisfy my goals to learn more about Peruvian culture, the Spanish language, child health research, and, most importantly, whether or not a career in global health was for me. Anxious anticipation mixed with my idealistic plans for my eight-week stay in Iquitos; I had no idea of what to expect. Landing in the bustling city of Iquitos in the middle of the Peruvian Amazon, I was surprised by both the modernization of many areas of the city and the poverty and under-developed nature of many other areas. Linked to the world only by riverboat or airplane, Iquitos maintains a unique, slow-paced charm. Although I arrived with modest goals and aspirations, I came away with much more than I could have expected. First and foremost, I am most grateful for the valuable mentorship I received from Dr. Kosek and Pablo Yori. To me, they are role models in the field of global health, demonstrating not only how to conduct research and implement programs with high ethical standards, but also how to establish a quality research center and foster strong, mutually respectful relationships with staff members and with members of the community. The staff, namely all of the fieldworkers, was also like mentors to me. I was most inspired by the creativity, flexibility, and integrity with which all of these individuals carried out their daily work out of a desire to help improve the health in their community. While resources were limited and occasionally the power would go out or the water supply would shut off, these men and women kept working and continued collecting data for the study. Secondly, I gained valuable research skills that will help me whether I decide ultimately to work domestically or abroad. Throughout my time in Iquitos, I was able to participate in many aspects of the public health research process, from assessing current health issues, to conducting background literature review, to designing and planning for data collection, to evaluating collected data and making adjustments to improve data quality. From the perspective of a student, there is no price that can be placed on the excitement and fulfillment of being given the independence and the opportunity to do so much hands-on fieldwork. Lastly, I accomplished my goal of learning about Peruvian culture and acquiring more Spanish language skills. Already since returning, both of these pieces of my field placement experience have helped me while doing clinical work in the Baltimore community. Cultural competence is a mounting priority in health care in the United States. As I continue to pursue my dual-degree at Johns Hopkins University in both nursing and public health, it is increasingly apparent to me that having a better understanding of other languages and cultures is an invaluable element of being an effective and successful health care practitioner. Among the many things I brought away from my field experience, I am very thankful to Dr. Kosek and Pablo Yori for encouraging me to take part in the local culture and to try hard to learn the language as I believe this will also help me in my future career, no matter what path I follow. For me, it was an honor to be awarded a global health field placement through the Center for Global Health. I will always be grateful for the generosity of others who provided me with this opportunity. Through first-hand experience with the challenges of global health work, I developed a very sincere appreciation, respect, and admiration for the hard-work, dedication, and innovative approaches of my colleagues and predecessors in the field. While I continue to make plans for my future career, I know from this experience that I have a passion for research, for confronting challenges in health, and for specifically addressing those challenges that impact the health of children worldwide. I think the greatest testament to how positive and meaningful my field experience was to me can be expressed by how difficult it was to leave Iquitos. Not only did I learn valuable lessons and gain a new skill set, but I also found that I was finally doing something that was meaningful and enjoyable to me and that I was leaving not just colleagues and mentors, but individuals who had become friends. It was not lost on me that there are hardships and frustrations associated with day-to-day work in global health, but by collaborating with others with similar motivation and similar passion, there are also great rewards in the little day-to-day accomplishments that could become the next great advancement to save millions of lives.
Photo Album:
 | A visit to collect 24-hour dietary recall data for the MAL-ED study in Iquitos, Peru. In this photo, one of the fieldworkers, Victoria, and I are interviewing the mother regarding the baby’s food intake using wooden figurines, a picture book, and the mother’s cooking utensils. |  | This photo shows the wooden figurines and laminated picture book used to collect 24-hour dietary recall data as part of the MAL-ED study in Iquitos, Peru. |  | “Comida Típica” This photo depicts popular local foods, such as yucca and a variety of plantains, being sold in the market near the MAL- ED study field site in Iquitos, Peru. |  | This photo depicts a typical day’s work at the field site near Iquitos, Peru. I am reviewing some of the methods used to collect 24-hour dietary recall data and ensuring that all figurines and photos of food have weights. |  | The outstanding field site staff in Iquitos, Peru. |
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