Ivy and Quin have three ongoing studies. The first is qualitative, examining how people with albinism experience public health in Tanzania. The second will look back at gathered data to evaluate predictive factors of cancer in persons with albinism, and examine how existing health systems can be mobilised to provide preventative measures. The third and final study will survey the experiences of mothers of children with albinism.
Quin’s expertise in women’s, children’s, family, and global health influences her work, while Ivy’s background in haematology and oncology shapes the nature of her research into the prevalence and subsequent prevention of cancer.
Ivy and Quin’s hopes are profound: to establish public health norms in Tanzania and elsewhere that would facilitate greater understanding and care for those with albinism. They aim to relay findings to their students in the US, and in doing so, imbue the next generation of public health professionals with an internationally oriented curiosity. Going forward, they aim to establish a global health programme at the Western University of Health Sciences, in the College of Graduate Nursing.
For Ivy, “when you’re able to go to areas that are the most vulnerable, it truly does change you.” For Quin, working with Standing Voice is a “humbling experience”. Her ultimate hope is to “give something back, big or small, that will be meaningful to the people of Tanzania.”
We are proud to support all of our volunteers and researchers, in Tanzania and elsewhere. We treasure their continued commitment and contributions, which are creating better futures for so many disadvantaged persons across Tanzania and throughout Africa.