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Program Summary
Program Summary
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Partnership Focus: The partnership program between the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) and the Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez (UACJ) is focused on strengthening Mexico’s capacity to prevent, diagnose and control tuberculosis. The U.S. and Mexican partners decided to address this goal through the fortification of institutional capacity, research, and other collaborative efforts aimed at enhancing the ability of the partners to prevent, diagnosis and control TB and related infectious diseases in Mexico, an effort which is also expected to have positive ramifications for the U.S. population. Partnership Activities: The major core partnership activity is focused on providing graduate training for current faculty and future faculty from the UACJ Instituto de Ciencias Biomedicas who currently hold undergraduate-level degrees in health-related professions. The trainees are receiving scholarships to study for the Master of Science Degree in Health Promotion at UTEP, an interdisciplinary program which will allow them to receive a strong foundation in infectious disease prevention and control. The planned activities include an intensive course of formal coursework, supervised internships with public and other non-profit health agencies, and specialized research on TB and related infectious diseases. Trainees also will participate in supervised internships in Mexico or the U.S. working with organizations involved in the prevention and control of TB, TB/HIV, and related infectious illnesses. These training experiences will integrate course, lab work with hands-on experience in community-based TB prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and other control measures. As part of their degree requirements, the faculty trainees will conduct thesis research on a TB or related infectious disease prevention and control problem. This work will be conducted under the direction of expert faculty and other mentors including from UTEP, UACJ, INER, or health agency. Sustainability: The partnership is designed to help build sustainable ties among the institutions through collaborative graduate level training, research, and community outreach. The integrated training, research, and outreach activities are specifically focused on enhancing the institutional capacity of the Mexican partners, developing an expert core of Mexican faculty in the area of tuberculosis and related infectious disease prevention, diagnosis, and control, reducing the morbidity and mortality associated with these conditions, and improving the health of Mexican communities. These and the other planned activities including follow-up training of Mexican faculty and continued collaborative research and outreach activities will enhance the institutional sustainability and professional relationships developed during the initial three years of the partnership agreement. |
