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Revised 27 December 2018

Global Health Capstone Spring 2019


GLHTH 499.02 Prof. Dennis Clements
M 10:05AM-12:35PM Office: Trent 116
Classroom: Trent 124 Tel: 684-7790
Office hours: by appointment Email: dennis.clements@duke.edu

Course Description:

The Global Health Capstone provides the opportunity for student teams to create a
multidisciplinary group research project, report, or intervention for a community or international
partner working to improve global health. The course involves background research, literature
review, data acquisition and analysis, writing a substantial research paper/report at an advanced
level, the creation of a poster, and the development of speaking/presentation skills in 3 oral
presentations.

Learning Objectives:

 Identify critical global health problems from an ecological perspective Formatted: Light Grid - Accent 31

 Identify appropriate research methodology to analyze specific problems


 Implement appropriate interdisciplinary approaches and interventions
 Develop interdisciplinary teamwork skills and negotiate group dynamics
 Demonstrate strong creative problem-solving skills
 Demonstrate strong written and oral communication skills

Course Requirements and Grading:

7-10 page proposal (includes lit rev., list of experts, proposed structure, & action plan): 10%
3 group presentations (including feedback on written components): 20%
40-60 page, double-spaced, final written project: 40%
Poster and poster session: 20%
Participation/collaboration (attendance, active class participation, group collaboration): 10%

Please note that only the participation/collaboration grading is individual. All other components
of the grade are group-based.

There are no required texts for the course but each group must create and have printed a
professional poster. The group cost is about $50.

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The Group Capstone Project

Your Capstone Project should investigate and analyze in depth a significant global health issue
that engages and draws upon the expertise and interests of your entire group. While the type and
format of the project might vary from group to group, focused, specific, clearly defined topics
that you can explore in-depth are usually better than broad or general ones. Your project must
also contain a budget process that includes how you would spend $300,000 over 3 years to
accomplish your goal. One of the best ways to approach a project like this is to have a specific
question, concern, or perspective that the project addresses. Your project must be approved
by your instructor.

The project has four components:

I A 7-10 page proposal. The proposal should define and justify the issue you will investigate,
provide a literature review and critique of relevant research, identify 3-5 experts whom you will
contact for advice and expertise, explain the methods and multi-disciplinary perspective you will
employ, provide a broad outline of the final paper, and lay out a roadmap and timeline for
completing the project (timelines are very useful to potential donors).

II. Three oral presentations of your project. The first is informal and can be done sitting in the
classroom. The second – half way through the semester is more formal in the front of the
classroom and will be captured by panopto for your review and comments. Your colleagues will
offer suggestions for improvements and ask questions to help you clarify your project proposal.
The last formal presentation will be at the end of the course – as if you were soliciting funds
from a donor.

III. A 40-60 page final paper. The paper should achieve the goals that you have laid out in your
proposal. I will grade your paper based on its significance, clarity of topic/issue, ability to imbed
that topic/issue within multidisciplinary contexts, appropriate depth and comprehensiveness,
evaluation and use of evidence (and counter-evidence if applicable), use of appropriate sources,
extent of analysis and evaluation, and writing. Poorly written papers or papers with numerous
grammatical and mechanical errors will have their grade lowered. If you are concerned about
your writing, please visit the Duke University Writing Studio ( http://uwp.duke.edu/wstudio/).

IV. A poster for the Capstone Poster Session, to which all members of DGHI – faculty and
students - will be invited. The poster should provide a compelling summary of your final project

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and be designed to engage all viewers, educate them on the importance of your issue and of your
research this semester, and stimulate them to ask questions about your project.

Finding Resources for Your Capstone Project: Apart from university library system’s search
functions, several databases will be particularly useful for you: Global Health, PubMed, Scopus,
Google Scholar, and Web of Science are key, but there are many other specialized ones as well.
You will find some of these resources listed in the Appendix to this syllabus. Hannah Rozear
(hannah.rozear@duke.edu), our Global Health Reference Librarian, is an invaluable resource and
is integral to our class. She will be reviewing research strategies with you as part of class and
then again about 3-6 weeks into the course. I would also recommend that you have at least one
other team meeting with her during the course of the semester. Please note that Hannah’s role is
not to do the research for you but rather to provide guidance on how to do it yourself.

Finding Experts: You must research and identify at least 3-5 experts to consult about your
project. You will find these experts both locally (e.g. the significant number of faculty in the
Triangle Area and the many experts at RTP), nationally, and internationally. You should contact
them early in the course of your research and get their feedback on issues where they can provide
useful guidance.

Citation Format and Style: Sources should be cited appropriately using formats such as AMA,
Chicago Manual, ASA, or APA. MLA is not an appropriate style sheet for this type of research
paper. Always create a “Works Cited,” “Bibliography,” or “References” list of your sources in
the format appropriate to the citation style you choose. Style sheets for different formats are
widely available on line or in the library’s reference section, where a reference librarian can
direct you to the appropriate resource.

Some General Guidelines for All Assignments:

 Clear thesis statements and topic sentences are important, as are logical flow, coherence,
and transitions between paragraphs.
 Your assignments should analyze, evaluate, argue, and use evidence to support your
points and chosen subject matter while taking into account counterarguments and
counterevidence. Mere summary, description, and assertions of opinion are insufficient.
 Quotations should be used judiciously and analytically to emphasize, elucidate, or
amplify points when necessary. Strings of quotations linked by a few sentences are not a
paper.
 Make certain that quotations are used correctly and exactly, are properly cited, and use
ellipses if words are omitted. In addition, make certain that you paraphrase in your own

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words, that you give credit to your sources, and that your writing differentiates your ideas
and arguments from your sources.

Presentations (3)
Presenting Team:
One (first) or all (2nd and third) members of your team will have 10-30 minutes to report on your
group’s project. The report should be structured in a logical format and should be accompanied
by a Powerpoint or Prezi presentation – #slides as appropriate for your project’s stage of
development

Your oral report should focus on the following – increasing in complexity as the semester
progresses.

1. Defining and explaining your topic/question


2. Explaining your proposed project and its primary goal in the context of that topic
3. Delineate and justify the significance, relevance, and time-worthiness of project
4. Discuss your project design and evaluation mechanisms
5. Identify your progress and your obstacles, your strengths and your challenges
6. Describe your team’s action plan for the next set of deliverables (proposal, final paper, poster)

In particular, I will be evaluating your preparedness, content, project framing/justification, and


comprehension of your topic.

The second presentation will be recorded and you will be required to watch them and create an
improvement plan for your and your team’s oral presentation skills.

Audience:
I expect the audience to listen carefully, think analytically and pragmatically about the presenting
team’s project, to ask thoughtful questions, and to offer constructive advice—especially for
problems or barriers the team is facing. The advice needs to be in writing so it can be given to
the presenting team.

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The Poster
You must create and have printed a professional poster (cost will be ~$50 dollars per group).
For this poster, you can use a Powerpoint poster template I will provide. We will have 30”x34”
boards (complete with stands) to which you can attach your posters via supplied clips. Most
students use the 36x42 inch format.

For having the poster made, www.phdposters.com has been highly recommended. Not only are
they well priced and highly responsive, but they have a pick-up and delivery service on campus.
Please read their instructions carefully as to how to use and size Powerpoint or other software to
format your poster as a PDF for them to print. Since having a poster printed takes several days,
make sure that you begin working on your poster well in advance of the due date!

Again – a poster template will be provided.

Apart from a title and list of authors, make sure that your poster contains the appropriate
information to “get across” the purpose and significance of your project. For example, you will
likely have many of the following components:

Summary of project
Thesis, hypothesis, or purpose (and the justification)
Introductory or background information and budget justification
Summary of methods, approaches, or innovation
Assessment tools
Outcomes or results expected or accomplished
Recommendations (policy or otherwise)
Implications

Your poster should catch the eye and explain your project as effectively as possible. Visuals are
important. Ideally, your poster should be a mixture of text and visuals. Remember that your goal
is to capture the interest of audience members so that he or she will ask you about the project.
You should therefore be prepared to discuss your work and its implications and to field questions
that you might be asked. Posters will be judged by a juried panel.

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General Course Policies and Information

Attendance, Late Assignments, and Electronic Devices in the Classroom: Unexcused late
assignments will have the grade lowered by one step for each day late. More than 2 unexcused
absences will result in your final grade being lowered by one step for each additional absence.
Please note the following: I will consider 2 late arrivals as an unexcused absence. Plagiarism or
cheating will result in an F for the assignment and referral to the Honor Council. Turn your
mobiles off and only use your laptops for Capstone-related activities: I will consider non-
Capstone-related use of electronic devices as an unexcused absence.

Grading Scale: A+:98-100, A: 93-97, A-:90-92, B+: 87-89, B:83-86, B-: 80-82, C+:77-79,
C:73-76, C-: 70-72, D+: 67-69, D:63-66, D-:60-62, F: 59 and below.

E-mail policy: In general I will respond to appropriate e-mails within 24 hours during
weekdays. E-mails should be written in a professional format.

MAJOR RESOURCES & DATABASES


(with links in electronic version of syllabus):

Note: If you are off campus, you should sign into Duke's VPN before accessing the sites so that
you have full access.

Due University Library: Please see the comprehensive Duke Library Global Health Page,
created by our Global Health Librarian Hannah Rozear (hannah.rozear@duke.edu), who is
happy to answer questions and to assist you with research.

Databases:

PubMed is one of the most useful and important databases in public health, medicine, and global
health subjects. PubMed is the National Library of Medicine's search engine for the MEDLINE
database. Containing over 19 million citations, PubMed is the premier resource for the
biomedical journal literature. This version of PubMed contains links to Duke's full- text journal
subscriptions. If you are off campus, make certain to log in via the Duke VPN.

Global Health and Global Health Archives provides information on international health,
biomedical life sciences, non-communicable diseases, public health nutrition, food safety,

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hygiene and more. Contains particular strengths in the areas of tropical medicine, infectious
diseases, vector control, food safety and epidemiology. Contains records dating back to 1973.

SCOPUS provides a multidisciplinary research experience that covers social sciences,


humanities, natural sciences, and health. We use it with increasing frequency.

Web of Science (ISI) provides access to the Science Citation Expanded® (1900-present) and
Social Sciences Citation Index® (1956-present). Use this resource to find highly cited authors
and scholarly works, as well as track journal impact factors.

Google Scholar is a bit erratic but always worth searching. Tips for using Google Scholar:
Use the "Advanced Scholar Search" screen
Use phrase searching ("with the exact phrase") or switch the pulldown box from
"anywhere in the article" to "in the title of the article" for a more precise search
Search within specific collections. For global health topics, check off "Biology, Life
Sciences, Environmental Sciences," "Medicine, Pharmacology," and "Social Sciences"
Use Google Scholar to track down the full text of an article or other source for which you
have the citation

Data and Statistics:

The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME)


is one of our favorite resources and has excellent and up-to-date data visualization.

Global Health Observatory from World Health Organization:


presents data from all WHO programs and provides links to supporting information. This resource comprises
the WHO database, reports, indicator registry, and country stats from each Member State. You can also access
much global health information and reports from the WHO Home Page as well.

Kaiser Global Health Facts provides data by country on HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and other key
health and socio-economic indicators from the Kaiser Family Foundation. The Kaiser Global Health Home
Page also provides a wealth of other information.

World Bank Open Data*


offers access to over 2,000 indicators from World Bank data sources, searchable by topic, indicator, or country.

USAID DHS (Demographics and Health Surveys) is a tool that provides access a great variety of health
variables both within countries AND in comparison across countries.

You can also find rich information sources in The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)--
especially the Human Development Index Reports and Visualizations.

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News Summaries and Aggregators:

Our “go-to” sites are Kaiser Daily Global Health Policy Report, Global Health News Hub, Global Health
Frontline News, and NPR-Global Health
Course Map – Spring 2019
Class is in 124 Trent

#1 – Jan 9 11-12 am only Introductions, review syllabus, This is Wednesday.

#2 – Jan 14 Team Activities – structured brainstorming, review DGHI SRI.

#2.5-Jan 21 MLK Holiday

#3 – Jan 28 Team activities -

#4 – Feb 4 Team activities

#5 – Feb 11 Proposed topics - report out #1 (10 mins)

#6 – Feb 18 refine proposals –

#7 – Feb 25 Team work – meet with Hannah Rozear - librarian

#8 – Mar 4 Presentations (panopto)

#9 – Mar 11 Spring Break (DAC in Honduras)

#10 – Mar 18 Refine proposals

#11 – Mar 25 Refine proposals – refine budget process

#12 – Apr 1 Refine proposals

#13 – Apr 8 Refine proposals

#14 –Apr 15 Final presentations in class

#15a – Apr 22 Poster session: Trent Hall 040 (4-5:30)

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#15b – Apr 22 Final Paper due

#15c – Apr 22 Dos Perros celebration

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Student Information Sheet for Team Assignments

Please provide the following information. We will take this information into account when
dividing the class into working groups. Please note that all information is confidential.

Student Name: Other Major:

Interest in Particular Issues, Geographical Regions, or Global Health Issues

Field Experience:

Potential Career Plans:

Personal Interest/Hobbies:

Other relevant information we should know:

People you think you would work well with:

People you would prefer NOT to work with:

Courses taken to qualify for major/minor:


1 – Intro:
2 – Methods:
3–
4 --
5 --
6 --

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