Internships in Latin America and the Caribbean - The Department of ...

Internships in Latin America and the Caribbean
~ Perinatal and Neonatal Clinical History Form Project (PANC) ~
~ The Turnaround Time Project (TAT) ~
Internship Overview
In collaboration with the Global Infectious Diseases Program/Harvard University Center for AIDS
Research at the Harvard Initiative for Global Health (HIGH), undergraduate students may apply to
mentored global health research internships in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The Latin American and Caribbean Initiative for the Integration of Prenatal Care with the Testing
and Treatment of HIV and Syphilis (ILAP) has the goal to strengthen health systems through the
integration of prenatal care with the testing and treatment of HIV and syphilis and the
development of health care delivery mechanisms that contribute to the universal access global
strategy on HIV prevention, treatment, and care. The Initiative brings together the expertise of
public health decision-makers, program managers, and practicing clinicians from multiple
countries (Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Peru, and
Uruguay), and international institutions (UNICEF, UNAIDS, and PAHO) with rigorous
ethnographic and epidemiological research and health policy analysis coordinated by Harvard
Medical School.
The shared aim is to develop a multi-country intervention-oriented plan to universalize testing
and treatment for HIV and syphilis during pregnancy and neonatal care—a topic that has thus far
received inadequate attention in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). Its implications for
public health are enormous: the Initiative’s objectives are to contribute to the early diagnosis and
timely treatment of HIV and syphilis in women, decrease the numbers of mother-to-child
transmissions of HIV, congenital syphilis, and other STIs, and provide better care for large
numbers of women and children in LAC—while providing a framework for national and
international large-scale policy change aimed at strengthening health systems. The Initiative is
coordinated from the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine at Harvard Medical
School, whose mission is to apply social science and humanities research to constantly improve the
practice of medicine, the delivery of treatment, and the development of health care policies locally
and worldwide.
These internships work within two projects, PANC and TAT. Students may state a preference for
one project over another.
The goal of the PANC project is to characterize the current use of the Latin American Center for
Perinatology's (CLAP) Prenatal Clinical History (HCP)—the form most used in Latin America to
take a prenatal clinical history—in a participant country to facilitate its development as an
instrument to record and report data about HIV and syphilis in prenatal and neonatal care and to
improve clinical follow-up, epidemiologic monitoring, and planning by the ministries of health.
The goal of the TAT project is to understand the flow of syphilis and HIV tests performed during
pregnancy, measure laboratory turnaround time for both tests in various settings within an ILAP
country, and identify the actions that should take place to shorten TAT. Within the context of this
project, turnaround time is defined as the length of time from the point a test is prescribed to the
time the test result guides the health provider in making a clinical decision.

In both projects, interns would be mentored by Arachu Castro, PhD, Assistant Professor of Social
Medicine in the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School,
Senior Advisor for Mexico and Project Manager for Guatemala at Partners In Health, and Medical
Anthropologist in the Division of Global Health Equity in the Department of Medicine at Brigham
and Women’s Hospital. Professor Castro will mentor students during the spring and summer and
assist in developing the intern’s specific project during the spring semester. Student interns will
additionally have an in-country mentor; depending on the interest of the student and the needs of
the project, the mentor may be an academic, government official, or United Nations staff member.
Internships will be available in several Latin American countries; the final country list will be
available in February.
Program Application and Selection Process
In order to qualify for this internship, students must have taken either Anthropology 1825 or
Societies of the World 25. A letter of support from one of the faculty instructor(s) is required.
Sufficient written and oral language skills in Spanish, Portuguese, or French are required for most
internships, to be demonstrated during the interview process.
Applications are due February 12, 2010. Students will be required to complete the online
Common Application for Research and Travel (CARAT). Applicants must also apply for a David
Rockefeller International Experience Grant. Finalists will be invited to interview at HIGH with the
internship faculty director, who will select the 2010 interns.
Program Dates and Award
The ILAP Internship is an 8-10 week program, but students will be required to work with a faculty
member during the spring before departure. Specific hours are to be determined, and specific
dates for travel are pending.
Interns will submit a budget for housing and other expenses (students must coordinate housing on
their own, with guidance from HIGH and other mentors) to either OIP or HCRP (see above), and
HIGH will cover airfare and pre-departure medical costs.
For questions about this opportunity, please contact:
Application/Funding Inquiries: Research/Site Inquiries:
Jonathan Colburn Brenda Rodriguez
Project Coordinator Program Manger
Harvard Initiative for Global Health Harvard Initiative for Global Health
Phone: 617-495-9213 Phone: 617-496-1192 / 617-432-6758
Email: jonathan_colburn@harvard.edu Email: brenda_rodriguez@harvard.edu