Presenter: Shea O'Connor, Nursing, Global Public Health Scholars
For my practicum, I worked virtually in order to analyze qualitative data taken from a
study done by the University of Maryland School of Public Health in Calaba Town, Sierra
Leone. This study was done in regards to the beliefs and behaviors of members of the
community in regards to the COVID-19 pandemic and we condensed their answers in order to create conclusions about the data as a whole. This information included knowledge and public opinion on government interventions, knowledge of people who have had COVID-19, the vaccination, or who have gotten tested, how they personally prevent the spread of the disease, and much more. These conclusions are important in determining effective approaches to disease mitigation, especially in low resource areas like Sierra Leone. Through this process, I learned a lot about the research conducting process in general, as well as the gaps in public health knowledge and effective disease prevention during outbreaks, which can tremendously affect the people living in these communities when there are major disease threats.