Giving Thanks
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As we wrap up the year, there is a lot for which we are thankful. In November, Dr. Fred Ssewamala was honored among top global researchers at the Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health (ACAMH) 2022 Awards for his contributions to translational research in child and adolescent mental health. Dr. Ozge Sensoy Bahar and Dr. Proscovia Nabunya, along with WashU colleague Penina Acayo Laker, received a Global Incubator Seed Grant to test visual solutions developed to reduce mental health stigma among school-aged children in Uganda. ICHAD’s research focused on promoting the health and economic stability of women engaged in commercial sex work in Southern Uganda was well represented at the American Public Health Association Annual Meeting by two of our PhD student research fellows, and 13 of our team members will be presenting ICHAD’s research at the upcoming SSWR Annual Conference. We are also celebrating the educational and career accomplishments of several team members, trainees and program alumni.
We continue to be thankful for our many partners and collaborators who have supported our work and enabled another successful year. Look out for our Annual Report and more exiting news and events in the new year. Most of all, we are thankful for the children and families who inspire and motivate us every day.
Wishing you a peaceful holiday season.
With gratitude,
The ICHAD and SMART Africa Teams
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Fred Ssewamala Receives Special Distinction at The Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Awards
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ICHAD founding director Fred Ssewamala was honored at the esteemed Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health (ACAMH) 2022 Awards. The ACAMH Awards are a “prestigious recognition of those who are at the forefront of the advancement of child and adolescent mental health research and practice”. During the online awards ceremony, Dr. Fred was celebrated as a short list finalist for the Eric Taylor ‘Translational Research into Practice’ Award. The Eric Taylor Award honors “individuals with a sustained contribution to translating research into practice over a number of years… and/or who has published translational science (evidence base into practice) with evidence of impact on clinical service provision”. In addition to being on the short list, Dr. Fred received the Highly Commended distinction for his “long-term developmental impact on young people affected by poverty and health disparities in low resource communities”. According to the award presenter, Dr. Prathiba Chitsabesan, Dr. Fred’s portfolio of over 120 publications, his large-scale research studies in Sub-Saharan Africa, and his commitment to training the next generation of research scientists in child and adolescent mental health demonstrate a “passion for contributing to the evidence base for children, adolescents and families”. Congratulations to Dr. Fred!
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Sensoy Bahar, Acayo Laker, and Nabunya Receive McDonnell International Scholars Global Incubator Seed Grant to Address Mental Health Stigma in Uganda’s Primary Schools
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McDonnell International Scholars Academy at Washington University in St. Louis has awarded our co-directors, Drs. Ozge Sensoy Bahar and Proscovia Nabunya, and our collaborator Penina Acayo Laker, Assistant Professor at the Sam Fox School of Design and Visual Arts at Washington University in St. Louis, along with international collaborator Noeline Nakasujja, Associate Professor and Chair for the Department of Psychiatry at Makerere University in Uganda, the Global Incubator SEED Grant. The Say No to Stigma-Round 2 will examine the impact of visuals designed to reduce mental health stigma among primary school students in Uganda. This grant is the second phase of the Africa Initiative-funded Say No to Stigma – Round 1 study during which a set of visual solutions focused on mental health awareness and stigma was created in collaboration with primary school students in Uganda.
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Say No to Stigma visual solution samples
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Children in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) comprise 50% of the total regional population, yet mental health services are under-equipped to meet their needs. Uganda reports 12 to 29% of children presenting mental health symptoms. Yet, the widespread misconceptions towards mental illness and mental health stigma negatively impact health-seeking behaviors, self-esteem, and social inclusion, resulting in little or no intention to seek help among youth. The use of visuals, when co-created with the target audience, can be effective communication tools to address mental health stigma, including in schools. However, no such interventions exist in schools in Uganda.
Dr. Ozge Sensoy Bahar, lead principal investigator, noted, “My colleagues and I are truly excited to take the visual solutions we created together with primary school children in Uganda as part of the first phase of Say No to Stigma and examine their acceptability and preliminary impact on children’s mental health awareness and stigma in schools.”
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Doctoral Research Fellows Represent ICHAD at APHA Annual Meeting in Boston
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Joshua Kiyingi (left) and Josephine Nabayinda at the APHA Annual Meeting
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Two of our doctoral research fellows represented ICHAD at the American Public Health Association Annual Meeting and Expo in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Joshua Kiyingi presented the poster titled “Predictors of Mobility among Women Engaged in Commercial Sex Work in Uganda using Generalized Estimating Equations Model" and Josephine Nabayinda presented the poster addressing "Inconsistent condom use among female sex workers: Findings from Kyaterekera study, a randomized control trial in Southwestern Uganda". Both posters presented results from ICHAD’s NIH-funded Kyaterekera Project, which aims to address sexual risk-taking behaviors among vulnerable women in Uganda.
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Meet ICHAD at SSWR!
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Members of the ICHAD team will be presenting 6 papers and 7 posters at the Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR) 27th Annual Conference. The conference, Social Work Science and Complex Problems: Battling Inequities + Building Solutions, will be held in person in Phoenix, Arizona, USA, January 11-15, 2023. ICHAD staff and student research associates who contributed as lead or co-authors to one or more of the abstracts, will represent ICHAD and present results from several of ICHAD’s research studies including. The SSWR Annual Conference is the seminal scientific meeting of social work researchers to gather, share research, and continue the advancement of evidence based social work practice in the United States and internationally. For a list of presentations, click here. We hope to see many of our partners there!
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Recent Publications
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Nabunya, P., Byansi, W., Damulira, C., & Ssewamala, F. M. (2022). Self-Efficacy, Academic Performance and School Transition Among Orphaned Adolescents in Southern Uganda. Children and Youth Services Review, 106707.
Dvalishvili, D.; Ssewamala, F.M.; Nabunya, P.; Sensoy Bahar, O.; Kizito, S.; Namuwonge, F.; Namatovu, P. (2022). Impact of Family-Based Economic Empowerment Intervention, Suubi+Adherence (2012–2018) on Multidimensional Poverty for Adolescents Living with HIV (ALWHIV) in Uganda. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19, 14326.
Ssewamala, F.M., McKay, M.M., Sensoy Bahar, O., Nabunya, P., Neilands, T., Kiyingi, J., Namatovu, P., Guo, S., Nakasujja, N. and Mwebembezi, A. (2022). Suubi4StrongerFamilies: A study protocol for a clustered randomized clinical trial addressing child behavioral health by strengthening financial stability and parenting among families in Uganda. Front. Psychiatry 13:949156.
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ICHAD's Data Manager Receives Early Admission to the PhD Program in Data and Computational Sceince at the McKelvey School of Engineering
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We are thrilled to share that Claire Najjuuko, ICHAD’s IT/Data Manager at the ICHAD Uganda office, has been admitted to the PhD program at the McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis. She will be entering the Computional Sciences and Engineering program in the fall of 2023. Congratulations, Claire!
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ACTIVE ICHAD RESEARCH STUDIES (2022)
Bridges to the Future - R2
Kyaterekera Project
M-Suubi
Obuvumu
Preventing Substance Use among Adolescents
Say No to Stigma - Round 2
Suubi+Adherence4Youth
Suubi+Adherence-R2
Suubi-Mhealth
Suubi4Her
Suubi4Stigma
Suubi4StrongerFamilies
SMART Africa Studies
ACTIVE TRAINING PROGRAMS (2022)
ACHIEVE
CHILD Global Research Fellowship
LEAD Global Training Program
Researcher Resilience Training
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UPCOMING EVENTS
Save the Dates!
ICHAD Spring Speaker Series
February 14, 12:30-1:30 pm CST
March 14, 12:30-1:30 pm CST
April 11, 12:30-1:30 pm CST
ICHAD 10th Anniversary Celebration
Spring 2023
St. Louis, MIssouri, USA
Details to come!
Save the Date!
Forum on Child and Adolescent Global Health Research and Capacity Building
June 19-30, 2023
Kampala and Masaka, Uganda
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OTHER EVENTS, FUNDING & TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES
Call for Applications
LEAD Global Training Program Short-Term Summer Training
- Predoctoral, postdoctoral & early career researchers with a commitment to global or domestic (US) health disparities research—especially mental health within resource constrained settings.
- On-site summer research in Sub-Saharan Africa.
- Training sessions and hands-on mentored research.
- Deadline: January 10, 2023
- For full program and application information, click here.
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CALL FOR PAPERS
Global Social Welfare
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
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QUICK LINKS
Our Team
ICHAD News
SMART Africa News
SMART Africa/ICHAD Conference Videos
2021 ICHAD Annual Report
2021 Capacity Building Report
Capacity Building Connection
Publications
Donate
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Training Program NOTABLES
Congratulations to the following trainees and alumni for their recent accomplishments!
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ICHAD graduate research fellow Dr. Samuel Kizito (RRT 2021), presented the e-poster “Mediation Analysis for the Effect of Family Responsibility on ART Adherence among Adolescents Perinatally infected with HIV in Uganda” at the 17th International Conference on HIV Treatment and Prevention Adherence - Adherence 2022 through the International Association of Providers of AIDS Care.
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ICHAD Administrative Coordinator and Research Assistant, Natasja Magorokosho (RRT 2022), will be heading to Athens, Greece, to complete her practicum with the World Health Organization as part of her PhD in Public Health program at European University Cyprus. We are proud of Natasja and will miss her until she returns. We wish her much success!
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Callie Walsh-Bailey (LEAD 2021) was honored with the Student Abstract Award at the 2022 American Public Health Association Annual Meeting, presented by APHA’s Public Health Education and Health Promotion section to the top-rated student presentations. Callie’s poster, “Findings on implementation determinants, processes, and outcomes from two randomized pilot feasibility studies of a digital health tool to promote health behavior change,” highlights results from pilot feasibility studies of the PREVENT tool. These PREVENT tool studies are led by Brown School faculty Dr. Maura Kepper, who nominated Callie for the award and has mentored Callie since 2020. Congratulations, Callie!
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We want to celebrate you!
We invite all trainees and alumni of ICHAD training programs (ACHIEVE, CHILD-GRF, LEAD, & RRT) to submit their accomplishments. Email Chelsea at c.hand-sheridan@wustl.edu.
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