Week 4 was filled with in-office activities including planning for the training sessions for the traditional healers. The training sessions are part of the OMUYAMBI study and they aim to equip traditional healers with skills that enable them to provide counseling and psycho-social support to HIV positive clients, link HIV positive clients to HIV care (provided in government HIV clinics) and instruct clients on how to perform HIV self-test using the OraQuick tests provided by the project.
Additionally, I provided feedback to the study team's transcripts; with comments aimed at improving their interview probing skills and transcribing process. Prior to this, I went through the interview guides (for my sub-study) with the study team to clarify any questions they had regarding the interview guide and to provide an overview of the aim of my sub-study. These interview guides were also translated to Runyakole; the language in which the interview will be conducted. Overall, the feedback I received from the study team was overwhelmingly positive; as they stated that the interview questions pertaining to my sub-study were well-structured and my sub-study focused on a topic that resonates with many of the traditional healers. Consequently, I am looking forward to the data collection and thereafter analysis!!
Lastly, I worked on submitting an amendment to my sub-study Harvard IRB approval to include Rwampara district in my catchment area and to expand my eligibility for traditional healers as I learnt that other traditional healer specialties besides traditional birth attendants offer services to women of reproductive age i.e. herbalists.
Below is an image of my desk at the study office, and our study office.
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