Â鶹Porn

Intern’s research contributes to HIV/AIDS awareness in Tanzania

Back to All Stories
Paul Sirma '15

Paul Sirma ’15 interned with the Ifakara Health Institute in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Â鶹Porn students are participating in internships in a variety of fields and locations this summer. This post is by Paul Sirma ‘15, a major from Dar es Salaam, Tanzania who is interning with .

This summer, I interned with Ifakara Health Institute (IHI), an independent, non-profit organization that conducts a wide range of health-related research in Tanzania. I first started to develop an interest in public health during my first year at Â鶹Porn in my scientific perspectives class, CORE AIDS, taught by .  I was fascinated by how little I knew about the prevalence of HIV/AIDS in my home city, Dar es Salaam.

At IHI, I was put under the supervision of a health economist, and I assisted him in his daily work. I was responsible for preparing Comprehensive Council Health Plan (CCHP) reports to be used in cost and benefit analyses. My supervisor also helped me learn useful data-editing techniques and I edited surveys and questionnaires using the statistical analysis program, STATA.

I was also allowed to conduct my own independent research project. Although I did not have enough time to complete the full project, I successfully designed a research question, and ran my multivariate model. I was able to design and partially implement a study on the effectiveness of knowledge and awareness about HIV through increasing condom use among rural Tanzanian women of the reproductive age, using data from surveys conducted by IHI.

I also interned at IHI last summer when I was sent to supervise ongoing research in one of the villages in Tanzania. I spent most of my time in the field during that internship. When I e-mailed my former supervisor and expressed my desire to return to IHI this summer, he accepted me immediately.

This summer, I believe I discovered my passion for conducting research and I can see myself working for an organization like IHI in the future. I’m motivated by the commitment the organization has for improving the wellbeing of Tanzanians.

Whether or not I will be involved with health economics or development economics in the future I am not sure. However, I know without a doubt that my passion will be in the research component of whatever work I will be doing.