1094- Ethiopia- Strengthening Care Opportunities through Partnership in Ethiopia (SCOPE)

This GHEFP site is affiliated with a collaboration between the University of Washington and Johns Hopkins University for a Strengthening Care Opportunities through Partnership in Ethiopia (SCOPE) fellowship.  It is an opportunity to learn firsthand about fostering interdisciplinary approaches to addressing global health challenges. Fellows will work with faculty at the University of Washington in Seattle (remotely) and will travel to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to support ongoing conduct ongoing work addressing key maternal, newborn and community health issues, as well as an emergent work stream around community-based mental health interventions. 

Despite tremendous growth and advancement of the health system in Ethiopia in the last two decades, challenges remain in achieving mental health service coverage including a shortage of mental health professionals, knowledge of and access to mental health services, and beliefs and cultural practices in the community regarding mental healthcare.  A community-based intervention that trains and mobilizes faith leaders to identify, counsel, and refer parishioners to care may be an effective intervention for improving mental health outcomes.  SCOPE's mission is to unite medical and faith communities to improve health through innovative partnership, leadership development, and measured impact.  SCOPE works with communities in the Amhara region of Ethiopia where there is an opportunity to partner with faith leaders from the Ethiopian Orthodox Church to leverage the robust influence and strong community networks of the church to improve health for women, and children, and families. opportunity to learn firsthand about fostering interdisciplinary approaches to addressing global health challenges. 

The Johns Hopkins fellow will travel together and work in partnership with a fellow from the University of Washington, as well as a fellow from the University of Gondar (UoG). Fellows will work with and be advised by  a team of scientists from University of Washington and University of Gondar.  The project will help develop a blueprint for future collaborative work with faith communities and healthcare workers to improve mental health outcomes, provide preliminary data on mental health service delivery and gaps in the region, and develop a framework for applying for future funds to support community-based mental health interventions. 

Fellows will be mentored by Global Health faculty from the University of Washington, the University of Gondar College of Medicine and Health Sciences, and professionals from the SCOPE Board of Trustees to define a full scope of work (SOW) before the start of their fellowship in summer or autumn quarter of 2025. Fellows will be responsible for completing all deliverables in the specified timeline.  SOWs that fulfill an academic requirement (practicum, capstone, thesis) are encouraged, and fellows will be supported in submitting relevant works for publication.

General responsibilities of UW SCOPE Fellows include: 

1. Working closely with the team at the University of Gondar to coordinate activities outlined in the Fellow’s SOW
2. Summarizing findings in a written final report and presentation to the SCOPE Board
3. Supporting the SCOPE team in preparing funding application materials
4. Attend SCOPE project meetings, seminars, and other team meetings as necessary
5. Depending on fellow's interest and project needs, the SOW may include advancing SCOPE’s work focused on community-based mental healthcare delivery models, including but not limited to: 
   - Support an ongoing assessment of mental health needs in the community
   - Support the design, piloting, and implementation of a community-based mental health intervention
   - Support the design, piloting, and implementation of an evidence-based training focused on raising awareness related to obstetric fistula, and other key MNCH issues
   - Conduct workshops with community stakeholders to co-develop training and/or intervention models
   - Pilot, iterate on, and implement ideas from the workshops
   - Support the SCOPE team in advancing new partnerships in Ethiopia
   - Support the SCOPE team in preparing funding application materials
    

Fellows will be mentored by Global Health faculty from the University of Washington, the University of Gondar College of Medicine and Health Sciences, and professionals from the SCOPE Board of Trustees. 

They will work with the local team as well as partner with a fellow from UW and University of Gondar (UoG).

is interested in mental health and community health, and is flexible to work with the team to develop a scope of work that aligns with their interests and the interests of SCOPE .

• Coursework and/or work experience in quantitative and qualitative data analysis
• Demonstrated interest in global mental health
• Entry-level skills in research project management  

Name: Youri Moleman, ymolema1@jh.edu

I would describe my communication and mentorship styles as... 

Supportive by maintaining frequent contact over email and zoom to know about developments and progress.

A complementary student would have a working style and mentorship expectations that are..

Self-critical in terms of being able to reflect on own work and being open to receiving feedback. 

o Housing: $900/month
o Food: $350/month
o Transportation: $30/month
Total: $1,280/month

In addition to the $3500 travel grant, the team will cover the cost of a round-trip flight.