Planning for A GEOHealth Research and Training Hub in Uganda - United States

描述(申请人提供)：该申请的目标是在两年内制定一个全球环境和职业健康(GEOHealth)计划，该计划将作为东非环境和职业健康(EOH)研究和培训中心。EOH问题在乌干达和东非尤为严重，由于缺乏政治和公众意识，这一领域远远落后于大多数中等收入国家。食品污染和卫生、水污染、工伤和健康专业人员暴露于生物危害与重大的健康和疾病负担有关。迫切需要EOH专业人员来解决乌干达和东非地区日益增长的问题，包括了解疾病和污染物的基线水平。这项申请将在佐治亚大学(UGA)和马凯雷雷大学(Maku)之间协调。UGA公共卫生学院(UGACPH)的教员在与马库公共卫生学院(MakSPH)的乌干达调查人员合作方面有着长期的记录。UGACPH和MakSPH都有一支优秀的教职员工团队，从事EOH的教学和研究。这一应用程序还建立在现有的UGACPH-MakSPH传染病预防和控制合作研究和培训计划的基础上，该计划由Fogarty资助 美国国立卫生研究院国际中心。我们将重点关注三个领域：1)食品卫生(食品安全和 2)水质(水卫生、水供应中的化学品和微生物污染)，以及3)职业健康和安全(与工作有关的伤害和接触生物危害的健康专业人员)。我们之所以选择这三个重点领域，是因为它们被确定为乌干达和东非的迫切需要。具体目标包括：(1)对乌干达和东非地区的环境和健康优先事项进行需求和机会评估；为开发一个培训中心召集网络合作伙伴；确定环境和健康问题专业人员和实验室的能力建设需求；(2)制定和评估研究优先事项议程，并在三个重点关注领域开展试点研究项目。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The goal of this application is to develop a global environmental and occupational health (GEOHealth) program in two years, which would act as a center for environmental and occupational health (EOH) research and training in Eastern Africa. EOH problems are particularly acute in Uganda and Eastern Africa, where the field has lagged far behind most middle income countries due to a lack of political and public awareness. Food contamination and hygiene, water pollution, work-related injuries, and health professional exposures to biological hazards are associated with significant health and disease burdens. EOH professionals are critically needed to address to growing issues, including the understanding of baseline levels of disease and contaminants, in Uganda and Eastern Africa region. This application will be coordinated between University of Georgia (UGA) and Makerere University (MakU). Faculty at UGA College of Public Health (UGACPH) has a long track record of working with Uganda investigators at the MakU School of Public Health (MakSPH). Both UGACPH and MakSPH have a good team of faculty members engaged in EOH teaching and research. This application is also built on an existing UGACPH-MakSPH collaborative research and training program in infectious diseases prevention and control, funded by Fogarty International Center, NIH. We will focus on three areas of interest: 1) food hygiene (food safety and Contamination), 2) water quality (water sanitation, pollution with chemicals and microbes in water supplies), and 3) occupational health and safety (work-related injuries and health professional exposure to biological hazards). We have chosen these three areas of focus because they are identified as urgent needs in Uganda and Eastern Africa. The specific aims include: (1) to conduct needs and opportunities assessment of EOH priorities in Uganda and Eastern Africa Region; to assemble network partners for development of a training hub; and to identify needs for capacity building for EOH professionals and laboratories and (2) to develop and evaluate research priorities agenda and to conduct pilot study projects in the three focal areas of interest.