Global Health Travel Grant Awardees

Congratulations to the spring awardees of the global health Student and Trainee Travel Grants! The MUSC Center for Global Health offers annual opportunities for international travel grants in low and middle-income countries of up to $2,000 each to MUSC students and resident trainees. The goal of the awards is to assist recipients in furthering global health research or training projects in low- or middle-income countries.

Learn about MUSC Center for Global Health funding opportunities.

Spring 2022 Awardees

Michelle Hunt
College of Health Professions, Physical Therapy
Improving Ugandan Capacity and Proficiency for RoughRider Wheelchair Assembly (Uganda)

In Uganda, very few of the people who have a mobility impairment have access to a wheelchair – a device that can provide an important step towards employment, social inclusion, and participation. The broad purpose of this project is to improve access to wheelchairs for Ugandan adults and children that have mobility limitations. This project will deliver at least 30 RoughRider wheelchairs to individuals with disabilities over the week and educate Masindi Kitara Medical Center staff members in wheelchair assembly and maintenance. 

With this new service-learning opportunity, I hope to develop a deeper understanding of community and culture, in the effort of becoming intentional in everything I do as a pediatric physical therapist.  

Meghan Andrews
College of Health Professions, Physical Therapy
Evaluating the Benefits of Wheelchair Mobility on the Socioemotional Growth of Children with Disabilities in Uganda (Uganda)

MUSC faculty and students will travel to Masindi, Uganda, and operate a wheelchair (WC) clinic for patients with mobility limitations. This project focuses on pediatric wheelchair delivery and evaluating how wheelchair mobility and socioemotional growth improve for children with disabilities.

I have a lot of background and interest in pediatric therapy and have witnessed many health disparities among children and their families in need. After recently doing a literature review on mobility for children with disabilities, I discovered that their socioemotional growth is greatly affected. In fact, much literature suggests that the development of social and motor skills may be codependent. Thus, upon getting this opportunity to travel to Uganda to deliver wheelchairs, I thought it would be a great idea to conduct a study on just how much socioemotional growth can be gained through improved mobility from wheelchairs.

Austin Dixon
College of Health Professions, Physical Therapy
Use of Video and Educational Pamphlets to Improve Compliance and Efficiency During Wheelchair Fitting and Mobility Evaluation in Uganda (Uganda)

MUSC students and faculty volunteers will travel to Uganda for 10 days and host a manual wheelchair seating and mobility clinic at the Masindi Kitara Medical Center. During this clinic, the team will assemble, deliver, fit, and train these individuals to properly and safely operate their new wheelchairs.

One of the challenges of the program is continuity – as many of the visiting students and local Ugandan employees change from trip to trip. To address this challenge, participants will capture a variety of videos and pictures across the different stages and procedures of the wheelchair seating and mobility evaluation, and create a resource of training videos and written materials for future students and Ugandan employees to improve the efficiency and sustainability of the clinic.

The trip will have a tremendous impact on my career development as a physical therapist. I will improve my patient care skills, increase my compassion, and learn how to teach functional activities more effectively.

Breanna Grant
College of Health Professions, Physical Therapy
Mission in Masindi: A View from their Seat (Uganda)

This project will use visual data from windshield tours and photovoice to capture physical and social barriers and facilitators for individuals with mobility limitations who have received a RoughRider wheelchair. It involves documenting how these wheelchairs will be used across home, school, and community environments, and comparing changes from before and after wheelchair delivery. The purpose of the project is to inform, develop, and deliver a plan for social change to the Ugandans Disabled Persons’ Union.

Before beginning the MUSC Doctorate in Physical Therapy program, I worked as a health educator at the SC state health department, advocating for improved health outcomes and quality of life for citizens in the communities I served. I worked in two rural counties which allowed me to see firsthand the inequities that exist and the need for change. Unfortunately, disparities are not isolated to my country and community; they exist all over the world and especially in those considered low-resource. Although I grew up in the South facing racial discrimination, I recognize that I come from privilege as compared to many individuals across the world. Having the opportunity to travel to a country like Uganda and witness global disparities would expand my perspective and inform all of my future work serving under-resourced communities whether nationally or internationally. By carrying out the wheelchair clinic and photovoice project I hope to create an opportunity that allows people to use their voices to create social change and as a result, impact social awareness and change for Ugandan individuals with disabilities.

Charlene Chalmers. M.D.
Resident, Pediatrics
Efforts in Global Health and the Importance of Sustainability (Tanzania)

This four-week global health rotation in Arusha, Tanzania through two local community hospitals will entail co-managing pediatric patients on the wards and rounding on newborns in the NICU, as well as participating in outpatient clinics, and teaching local medical students and residents about primary care topics in pediatrics. 

My primary goal for this time abroad is to learn about a health care system that is under-resourced and underserved and work alongside the local physicians to support their existing infrastructure. I also hope to improve my skills in public health so I can better understand how to effectively provide medical care in an international capacity. I am pursuing this educational experience because I previously lived in Tanzania as an English teacher and I hope to one day establish a healthcare program here that is impactful and sustainable.

Cassandra Stegall, D.O.
Resident, Pediatrics
How Culture and Systems Affect Health (Tanzania)

This four-week global health rotation in Arusha, Tanzania, will entail providing medical care at two local community hospitals that function as training facilities for Tanzanian medical providers. The medical team will assist in managing neonatal ICU and pediatric admissions and hospital care. 

The program at the Medical University of South Carolina was my number one choice for residency because of the Global Health track. This rotation will allow me to learn how to practice evidence-based medicine in a resource-limited setting and gain exposure to a wide range of pathology. My goal is to expand my knowledge both from medical treatment and cultural empathy standpoint, so I can best care for diverse populations and provide equitable care. I look forward to learning about the Maasai community and cultural values, and how within the healthcare system we can best preserve culture. I also hope to gain exposure to how structural healthcare systems affect quality and access to care.

Allyson Elrod-Bloom
College of Health Professions, Occupational Therapy
Beyond Traditional Practice- The role of occupational therapy in community development. (South Africa)

The purpose of this two-week project in Cape Town is to explore the role of occupational therapy in community development via a framework that guides the work of therapists in this emerging practice setting. This project entails learning the cultural and environmental context that guided the framework development and observing students implementing occupational therapy in community development strategies at community partner sites and with local organizations.  

Prior to MUSC, I worked with organizations that serve individuals experiencing homelessness and families experiencing food insecurity. I believe that marginalized populations deserve the opportunity to engage in meaningful activities that contribute positively to their well-being. Conditions that constrain the opportunity to engage are inherently relevant to occupational therapy practice. I am learning a framework that will enable me to continue to work alongside marginalized communities, as an occupational therapist.

Meghan Dempsey
College of Medicine
Compliance and Health Equity in Tacna, Peru (Peru)

Undetected hearing loss is a significant issue in Peru, particularly for children. Many children with hearing loss or significant hearing issues are never detected because there is no system in place to detect and help these children. The project will utilize a Shoebox audiometer, which is portable and an extremely valuable tool for detecting children with hearing loss. Several medical campaigns will be organized within the city of Tacna, Peru in order to develop a system for adequately screening children within the city.

I am passionate about health equity and serving the underserved, and am particularly interested in health access within South America because I grew up in Brazil.

Ayesha Vohra
College of Medicine
Assessing the Impact of Social Determinants of Health on Medical Decision Making in Calcific Aortic Stenosis Patients in Mumbai, India (India)

Calcific Aortic Stenosis is the most common cardiac valve lesion that is becoming increasingly prevalent as life expectancy increases. Current evidence suggests that patients residing in a rural setting with certain diseases are diagnosed at a later timepoint, thus, have worse disease outcomes than their urban counterparts. This project will compare and contrast patients with Aortic Stenosis who receive care in an urban hospital in Mumbai vs. a rural hospital in India.

I was born in Mumbai, India, and lived in India for approximately 8 years before moving to the United States. As a result, I was able to go to school in India for a few years and had the opportunity to learn several different languages, including English, Hindi, Gujarati, Urdu, and Arabic. I have several reasons for wanting to become a physician in global health. The major driver in my story has always been my family, and my dream of being a physician for patients in India, and other parts of the developing world, who do not have access to healthcare. It is essential that I have a good understanding of the culture, the demographics, the region, and the types of people that I will be working for and alongside. This will also serve in my favor because it will allow me to efficiently understand the doctor-patient interactions, not only what is verbally spoken, but also their body language.

Ipsita Pradhan
College of Medicine
Quality of life in patients with transfusion-dependent hematological disorders: a survey-based study from a tertiary care center in Odisha, India (India)

This project will be a survey-based study conducted at the All India Institute for Medical Sciences analyzing the quality of life in patients with transfusion-dependent hematological disorders. Students will also have an opportunity to shadow physicians in different specialties.

I was born in India and lived there for the first 11 years of my life. While growing up in Odisha I was able to witness the health disparities that exist there and ever since I became interested in a career in medicine, I have wanted to contribute to global health. In high school, I designed a maternal health kit for distribution in rural areas and now I am thrilled to have the opportunity at MUSC to travel to India to work on this project with Dr. Mukherjee to assess the quality of life in transfusion-dependent patients. I believe that this project will allow me to learn more about the global health field and gain useful knowledge and connections that I can utilize in my future as a physician. 

Apply for a Student and Trainee Global Health Travel Grant

The MUSC Center for Global Health is excited to resume our global travel grant program. The current application cycle is for travel occurring between July 1 and December 31, 2022.

View Application Details