Posted: 4/6/2009
Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing (JHUSON) assistant professor Sara Groves, DrPH, MPH, MS, RN, CS, is in Uganda to facilitate needs assessments and assist in teaching public health nursing at the Makerere University (MU) Department of Nursing.
Groves’ trip is part of a multi-tiered program aimed at improving health outcomes in Uganda and East Africa. The initiative is funded by a $4.97 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and is facilitated through the Johns Hopkins Center for Global Health. Part of the project includes developing a decade-long strategic plan for the MU College of Health Sciences and conducting pilot collaborative research studies.
“A majority of my work will focus on facilitating and coordinating with the Makerere project teams and preparing the strategic plan,” notes Groves.
Groves, who is a member of the JHUSON Department of Community-Public Health, will also teach public health at MU and help develop a curriculum in nursing.
“The overall goal of this grant is to improve the health of people in Uganda,” Groves added. “We need to understand their needs and help [Makerere University] to be the center of research and education.”
The project builds on a long history of Johns Hopkins collaboration with Makerere University, including seminal HIV/AIDS research and training through the Rakai Health Sciences Program and the Makerere University Johns Hopkins University Research Collaboration; innovations in health systems and policy translation through the Future Health Systems consortium; and the establishment of the Infectious Disease Institute.