This Friday, Rachel Robinson from the American University’s School of International Service will present on the residua of health programs in Sub-Saharan Africa. In her research, Robinson finds that all health programs have residua: the side-effects that ripple outwards during implementation or after the program is finished. These residua may then influence other health programs, either enabling or hindering them. Drawing from examples of health programs implemented in sub-Saharan Africa—family planning, HIV/AIDS, polio, and Ebola—Robinson’s research uses theories of path dependence, policy feedback, and social capital to develop a framework of health program residua and draws two main conclusions, which Robinson will present at the seminar. 

CSDE Affiliate Ruanne Barnabas is leading a study on hydroxychloroquine and whether the drug can protect people from COVID-19 infection—this study is funded by the The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the British government, and other donors to accelerate development of COVID-19 treatments. With the recent publicity on hydroxychloroquine, multiple news sources are featuring Barnabas’ expertise on the drug’s effectiveness and the status of clinical trial enrollment for the study. In a Seattle Times article, Barnabas explains how volunteers for clinical trial enrollment has fallen in recent weeks, yet researchers still "need an adequate number of people to enroll to know what [hydroxychloroquine's] effectiveness is with confidence."

If you a graduate student who has completed all of the requirements for the Graduate Certificate in Demographic Methods, it is not too late to submit your documentation to receive your certificate.

• Please follow the instructions on the CSDE webpage  for requesting the certificate.
• Upload your documentation to this link

You may receive the certificate even if you have not yet applied to the Graduate Certificate Program. You can be admitted into the program and awarded the certificate at the same time! Please submit your documentation asap but no later than May 29 by noon.  

The UW Office of Research has announced changes to Human Subjects to expand currently allowable research. The Human Subjects Division is still taking a conservative approach to clinical research and there is a new Checklist that is required, so please read the rules carefully to ensure your project meets all the criteria before getting started. If you have any question about your project being eligible, please reach out to Karen Moe, Director, Human Subjects Division (kemoe@uw.edu).