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Close to 6,000 women in Uganda die each year from pregnancy-related complications, and up to one third of women deliver their babies at home without a skilled birth attendant present. Several of these women also unknowingly pass HIV onto their children.

In a joint international partnership with colleagues at Bridge to Health Medical and Dental, and Kigezi Healthcare Foundation (KIHEFO), Dr. Michael Silverman, chair of Infectious Diseases at Schulich Medicine & Dentistry, set out to find a way to encourage more of these pregnant women in rural Uganda to attend prenatal care. Through this work, the group’s aim was to diagnose and address pregnancy complications that could be fatal to mother and baby. They also hoped to screen for HIV and begin treatment to prevent mothers from passing on the infection to their child.

“Our hypothesis was that if we could offer free ultrasounds, so that women could see their unborn baby, more women would come forward and attend the antenatal clinic,” Dr. Silverman explained. “Who doesn’t want to see their unborn baby? It’s like magic.”

The use of portable ultrasound machines in this work is extremely beneficial, as they allow health care professionals to screen for serious anatomical problems, such as the baby being positioned in the wrong way. They are also fairly inexpensive to maintain, and it is easy to train people to perform a simple obstetric ultrasound.

When women present to the clinic for an ultrasound, they can also be screened for the infections that are known to lead to severe complications.

After their initial strategy to use word-of-mouth messaging failed to work, Dr. Silverman and his colleagues decided to move toward radio advertisements in hopes that it would legitimize their message about free ultrasounds, as radios are common in rural Ugandan households. Radio advertising for free ultrasounds in rural Uganda increased the number of pregnant women who attended modern medical care by 490 per cent.

With an increase in the number of women who present for prenatal care, the international research team hopes that health providers can show expecting mothers that their clinic is safe, friendly and trustworthy, and also essential for their health and wellbeing.

Schulich Medicine & Dentistry’s 2017 International Summer Program brought together learners from every corner of the globe for two weeks of collaborative sharing and education. A joint initiative between the Internationalization Office, the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics and the Western English Language Centre, the Program exposed the medical and health studies graduate trainees to research projects and learning focused on global health issues.

The second annual International Summer Program’s theme was Introduction to Global Health. Students looked at global health from a multidisciplinary and multi-professional perspective. They received a high-level overview of global health-related topics with the overarching goal to develop a broader understanding of major clinical and public health issues around the globe.

The goal was to provide the students with opportunities to gain a deeper appreciation of medicine and health care issues, enhance their English language skills, learn about the Canadian education system and culture, and meet other international students.

With its continuous success, the summer school will be hosted again in 2018.

In 2012, a team of physicians from the Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery went on a medical mission to Guyana. It was the first step in the establishment of a partnership between the Department and a team of doctors working at Georgetown Hospital in the South American country.

Initially, the team, including Drs. Leigh Sowerby and Murad Husein, was treating patients, but soon they became involved in supporting the plans for the design of a new postgraduate program in Otolaryngology. This work continued upon their return to Canada, when Dr. Sowerby and a senior resident began weekly Skype sessions with Dr. Shawn Legall, a Guyanan physician who was interested in pursuing advanced training.

Dr. Legall was then invited to complete a fellowship in London to continue his learning and enrich his skills. During his time with the Department, Dr. Legall gained insight into the workings of a large clinical department and how to improve care to patients overall.

Following the completion of the fellowship, Dr. Legall returned to Georgetown Hospital and stepped into the role of Program Coordinator for a new postgraduate program. He is charged with getting the program off the ground, and continuing with his own training. Drs. Sowerby and Legall are looking forward to continuing this important partnership.