Apply to be Global Primary Health Care Scholar

The Strengthening the Integrated Treatment and Care for Hepatitis (StITCH) project is a multi-year initiative in Viet Nam focused on improving access to decentralized, people-centered hepatitis B and C screening, diagnosis, treatment, and long-term care. StITCH 1.0 demonstrated that hepatitis services can be successfully decentralized to lower-level health facilities and developed an Essential Implementation Package to support implementation of the model. StITCH 2.0, beginning in 2027, will focus on broader provincial scale-up, institutionalization, and adaptation of the model for delivery closer to communities.    

During 2027, StITCH 2.0 will expand implementation to additional provinces and facilities while also adapting and testing the Model of Care at commune health stations/commune health centers. The project will evaluate implementation progress, barriers, adaptations, workforce and facility readiness, and patient access, linkage, treatment, and retention in order to inform future national scale-up.     

The scholar will be based primarily in Hanoi, Viet Nam, working with the StITCH research and implementation team and local partners. Depending on the timing of field activities, and pending approvals from local authorities, there may also be opportunities to participate in visits to participating provinces and commune-level facilities.

The scholar will contribute to research focused on two related areas:

1. Evaluation of StITCH 2.0 scale-up: The scholar will support development of an implementation research protocol to assess the success of scale-up to new provinces and health facilities. Potential areas of inquiry include implementation readiness, fidelity and adaptation of the StITCH Model of Care, barriers and facilitators to implementation, workforce capacity, uptake of services, and the extent to which facilities are able to independently implement and sustain the model.

2. Evaluation of adaptation of the Model of Care for commune health stations: The scholar will support research examining how the StITCH Model of Care and Essential Implementation Package are adapted for commune-level delivery and whether the adapted approach is feasible and acceptable to health workers, managers, patients, and other stakeholders. The work may examine changes required in clinical workflows, referral pathways, diagnostics, workforce roles, patient follow-up, data systems, and community engagement. StITCH 2.0 specifically aims to use experience from selected commune health centers to inform future expansion of community-level hepatitis services.  

3. Optional patient care and rehabilitation experience: Interested scholars may have opportunities to join the care team at a local palliative care center serving older adults and patients requiring rehabilitation. Under local supervision, they may participate in appropriate care activities and help organize activities supporting patients’ recovery, well-being, and quality of life. Arrangements will depend on the scholar’s interests, qualifications, schedule, and local requirements.

Specific activities may include:

• Contributing to development and refinement of the research protocol and evaluation framework.

• Supporting preparation of IRB/ethics submissions and related regulatory documentation in collaboration with the research team.

• Conducting literature reviews and helping identify appropriate implementation science frameworks, outcomes, and measures.

• Developing and pilot-testing qualitative interview guides, surveys, facility assessment tools, and other data collection instruments.

• Supporting development and testing of REDCap or other research databases, including data dictionaries, coding structures, and data quality procedures.

• Depending on project timing and local approvals, participating in field data collection, including interviews, observations, facility assessments, or implementation monitoring at participating sites.

• Assisting with organization, cleaning, coding, and preliminary analysis of qualitative and/or quantitative data.

• Synthesizing early findings and contributing to presentations, reports, abstracts, or manuscripts arising from the evaluation.

This opportunity would be particularly well suited to a master’s student with interests in global health, implementation science, infectious diseases, health systems, epidemiology, or mixed-methods research. Prior research experience is desired. Experience with qualitative research, REDCap, data analysis, IRB submissions, or implementation science preferred.  Participating in this project will require onboarding at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.

Expected outputs and deliverables:

1. StITCH 2.0 scale-up: Contributions to an implementation research protocol and evaluation framework, including relevant data collection tools, and a preliminary synthesis of available findings on implementation readiness, fidelity and adaptation, barriers and facilitators, and service uptake at selected sites.
2. Commune-level adaptation: Documentation of adaptations to the Model of Care and EIP for commune-level delivery, relevant data collection tools, and a preliminary assessment of feasibility and acceptability, with recommendations for further refinement.

The scope of deliverables will be agreed with supervisors based on the scholar’s interests, project timing, local approvals, and data availability. Findings may contribute to presentations, reports, abstracts, or manuscripts.

Mentorship and learning
The scholar will receive academic mentorship from the Harvard-based PI and work closely with a local supervisor in Viet Nam, who will provide ongoing guidance, facilitate collaboration with local partners, and support field activities. The project offers opportunities to develop skills in implementation science, mixed-methods research, and collaborative evaluation of people-centered primary health care.

Timing and engagement
The timing and duration of participation will depend on the scholar’s academic schedule and available funding. Engagement will begin with virtual preparation and collaboration, followed by an in-person placement in Viet Nam. Continued collaboration after the placement may be arranged based on mutual interest, project needs, and the scholar’s availability and capacity.

The Cities for Better Health (CBH) project is a multi-year initiative in Viet Nam focused on improving adolescent health and wellbeing through school-based interventions that promote healthy nutrition, physical activity, and supportive school environments. The project includes implementation and evaluation activities across participating schools to understand the effectiveness, feasibility, and sustainability of childhood obesity prevention strategies.

As part of the broader CBH evaluation, this research project will examine the social, environmental, and contextual factors that shape adolescent health behaviors and influence implementation of school-based health interventions. Building on the project's core data collection activities, the study will seek to better understand the experiences of adolescents and the communities in which they live, learn, and make health-related decisions.

Using qualitative and mixed-methods approaches, the project will explore factors that may influence both adolescent health outcomes and the implementation of obesity prevention programs. Areas of interest may include family and household influences, school environments, food and physical activity environments, social norms, peer relationships, community resources, and other social determinants of health. Interviews and other stakeholder engagement activities may involve adolescents, caregivers, educators, health professionals, and implementation partners.

Findings from this work will complement survey, implementation, and health outcome data collected through the larger CBH project and provide a richer understanding of how local contexts influence adolescent wellbeing and program delivery. This work will help inform ongoing implementation of the CBH initiative and generate insights to support future adaptation, scale-up, and sustainability of school-based childhood obesity prevention programs in Viet Nam and similar settings.

Research Objectives:

1. Understanding the context of adolescent health and wellbeing: The scholar will contribute to research examining the social, environmental, and structural factors that shape adolescent health and wellbeing in participating communities. Potential areas of inquiry include family and household influences, school environments, food and physical activity environments, social norms, peer relationships, and other social determinants that influence nutrition, physical activity, wellbeing, and obesity risk.
2. Understanding implementation context and stakeholder perspectives: The scholar will support research exploring how adolescents, caregivers, educators, health professionals, and other stakeholders perceive adolescent health priorities and school-based obesity prevention efforts. This work may examine barriers and facilitators to healthy behaviors, stakeholder experiences with intervention implementation, and factors that influence engagement, acceptability, and sustainability across different settings.
3. Informing adaptation, implementation, and scale-up: The scholar will help generate evidence on how local contexts influence both adolescent health outcomes and implementation of school-based interventions. Findings will contribute to interpretation of the broader CBH evaluation and help inform future adaptation, implementation, and scale-up of childhood obesity prevention programs in Viet Nam.

Potential Scholar Activities:

• Conducting literature reviews on adolescent health, childhood obesity prevention, and contextual factors influencing health behaviors.
• Contributing to development of the research protocol, interview guides, and other qualitative data collection tools.
• Supporting IRB/ethics submissions and stakeholder engagement activities in collaboration with project partners.
• Working with Vietnamese student and faculty partners to plan and conduct stakeholder interviews and contextual assessments.
• Depending on project timing and local approvals, participating in interviews, observations, and other field-based data collection activities.
• Assisting with qualitative data analysis and synthesis of findings across stakeholder groups.
• Contributing to presentations, reports, abstracts, manuscripts, and other scholarly products arising from the project.

This opportunity would be particularly well suited to a master's or doctoral student with interests in global health, adolescent health, implementation science, social determinants of health, anthropology, sociology, public health, or qualitative research. Experience with stakeholder engagement, interviews, qualitative methods, or mixed-methods research would be helpful but is not required.

Expected Outputs and Deliverables

• Contextual assessment of adolescent health and wellbeing: A synthesis of the literature and stakeholder perspectives describing the social, environmental, and contextual factors that influence adolescent nutrition, physical activity, wellbeing, and obesity risk in the project setting.
• Stakeholder-informed understanding of implementation context: Qualitative data collection tools, interview summaries, and thematic analyses examining the perspectives of adolescents, caregivers, educators, health professionals, and other stakeholders on facilitators and barriers to healthy behaviors and childhood obesity prevention.
• Recommendations for future program adaptation and scale-up: A report summarizing key contextual findings and their implications for the design, implementation, adaptation, and scale-up of school-based childhood obesity prevention programs in Viet Nam.

Mentorship and Learning
The scholar will receive mentorship from the Harvard-based project team and work closely with academic and implementation partners in Viet Nam. The student will work in partnership with a Master’s student in Viet Nam to promote shared learning and provide a richer understanding of the contextual factors influencing adolescent health. The project offers opportunities to develop skills in qualitative and mixed-methods research, stakeholder engagement, implementation science, and cross-cultural global health collaboration. 

Timing and Engagement
The timing and duration of participation will depend on the scholar’s academic schedule and available funding. Engagement will begin with virtual preparation and collaboration, followed by an in-person placement in Viet Nam. Continued collaboration after the placement may be arranged based on mutual interest, project needs, and the scholar’s availability and capacity.

 The Indonesia cohort study offers students an opportunity to support UHN, CISDI, PHIL, and Indonesian academic and health-system partners in establishing the baseline for a longitudinal research study. The cohort will provide a foundation for understanding the health, wellbeing, behaviors, social circumstances, and use of health services among participating individuals or communities over time.

Students will work with the project partners to identify an area of research that aligns with their academic interests and contributes to the development of the baseline assessment. The specific research topic and activities will be determined collaboratively and may include supporting the development of research questions, reviewing existing evidence, contributing to data-collection tools, assisting with field preparation, and helping organize or analyze baseline information.

The project is intended to support the initial establishment of the cohort and generate useful information for future research. Depending on the selected area, the baseline may include information related to health conditions, health behaviors, access to and use of health services, social and environmental factors, or other topics relevant to population health and primary health care in Indonesia.

The student’s role will be supportive and will be shaped by the needs of the project, the student’s skills, and the stage of cohort development. Participation may involve research preparation, data collection, data management, preliminary analysis, interpretation, and documentation.

Research Objectives

1. Support establishment of the cohort baseline--The scholar will contribute to activities required to establish baseline information for the cohort study, in collaboration with UHN, CISDI, PHIL, and Indonesian partners.
2. Contribute to a focused area of research--The scholar will work with the project partners to identify a research area or question related to the baseline assessment that reflects their academic interests and the priorities of the cohort study.
3. Support collection and organization of baseline information--The scholar may assist with the development and testing of data-collection tools, fieldwork preparation, participant engagement, data collection, data management, or preliminary analysis, depending on the project needs and local approvals.
4. Contribute to future research planning--The scholar will help document the baseline process and identify potential opportunities for future follow-up research, sub-studies, or analysis as the cohort develops.

Potential Scholar Activities

• Meeting with UHN, CISDI, PHIL, and Indonesian partners to learn about the cohort and identify an area of interest.
• Reviewing literature and existing materials relevant to the selected research topic.
• Contributing to the development or refinement of research questions and baseline measures.
• Supporting the development, translation, pilot testing, or refinement of surveys, interview guides, or other data-collection tools.
• Assisting with ethics or IRB submissions and research-preparation activities.
• Depending on project timing and local approvals, supporting participant recruitment, field preparation, or baseline data collection.
• Assisting with data entry, data management, quality checks, documentation, or preliminary analysis.
• Supporting interpretation of baseline findings with project partners.
• Contributing to a report, presentation, abstract, manuscript, or other scholarly product related to the baseline study.

This opportunity would be particularly well suited to a master’s or doctoral student with interests in global health, public health, epidemiology, primary health care, health systems, biostatistics, implementation science, social determinants of health, or qualitative and mixed-methods research. The specific skills required will depend on the area selected and the student’s role. Previous experience with cohort studies or baseline data collection would be helpful but is not required.

Expected Outputs and Deliverables

The outputs will be developed collaboratively with UHN, CISDI, PHIL, and other project partners and will depend on the student’s role and the stage of the study. Potential outputs may include:

• A literature review or background summary.
• A focused research question or baseline research plan.
• Contributions to survey instruments, interview guides, or other data-collection tools.
• Documentation of baseline preparation or data-collection activities.
• Support for data-quality checks, data management, or preliminary analysis.
• A summary of baseline findings or recommendations for future follow-up.
• A presentation, report, abstract, manuscript, or other scholarly product.

Mentorship and Learning

The scholar will receive mentorship from the Harvard-based project team and work with UHN, CISDI, aPHIL, and Indonesian health-system partners. The student may also collaborate with Indonesian students or early-career researchers.

The project will provide practical experience in the early stages of cohort research, including study preparation, baseline assessment, data collection, data management, and collaborative research. It will also offer experience working across institutions and disciplines in an Indonesian setting.

Timing and Engagement

The timing and duration of participation will depend on the student’s academic schedule, the development of the cohort study, the selected research area, local approvals, and available funding. Participation may begin with virtual meetings, literature review, and preparation of baseline materials. Depending on project needs and feasibility, the student may later support field preparation or baseline data collection in Indonesia. Continued collaboration may be possible based on mutual interest, project needs, and the student’s availability.

The Praboromarajchanok Institute (PBRI) collaboration offers students an opportunity to work with PBRI’s Centers of Excellence and academic partners on research related to strengthening primary health care in Thailand. The student will work with PBRI colleagues to identify and develop a research topic that aligns with the student’s interests, skills, and academic requirements, as well as PBRI’s priorities and ongoing activities.

Thailand is working to strengthen primary health care so that people have more comprehensive, equitable, and accessible services closer to where they live. National policies emphasize prevention, health promotion, disease prevention and control, appropriate treatment, rehabilitation, and stronger connections between communities and the health system. Strengthening primary care is also an important strategy for improving population health and reducing unnecessary pressure on hospitals.

PBRI is the Ministry of Public Health’s principal state-run institution for educating public-health professionals. Through its vision of becoming a “World Class University for Primary Care,” PBRI aims to contribute to the development of health professionals, research, and innovations that support stronger primary-care systems.

The student will have the opportunity to coordinate with a PBRI Center of Excellence to identify an area of mutual interest and develop a focused research project. Depending on the selected topic, the work may address primary-care delivery, health promotion, disease prevention, health-professional education, community engagement, health systems, implementation, equity, quality improvement, or other issues relevant to primary health care.

The project may use qualitative, quantitative, mixed-methods, implementation science, quality improvement assessment or other appropriate research approaches. The specific research question, methods, activities, and expected outputs will be developed collaboratively with PBRI faculty and other project partners.

Research Objectives

1. Identify a research area relevant to primary health care--The scholar will work with a PBRI Center of Excellence to identify a research topic that reflects shared interests and contributes to PBRI’s priorities in primary health care. The topic may build on existing PBRI research, programs, educational activities, or partnerships with local health networks.
2. Develop and implement a collaborative research project--The scholar will contribute to the development of a research question, study design, protocol, and work plan in collaboration with PBRI faculty, students, and other relevant partners. The project will be designed to be academically meaningful, operationally feasible, and responsive to local priorities.
3. Generate findings to support learning and improvement--The scholar will contribute to research that produces useful findings for PBRI and its partners. Depending on the project, findings may support improvements in primary-care practice, education, implementation, community engagement, health-system collaboration, or future research.

Potential Scholar Activities

• Meeting with PBRI faculty and Centers of Excellence to identify and refine a research topic.
• Reviewing relevant literature and existing project materials.
• Contributing to development of the research question, protocol, methods, and work plan.
• Developing research instruments, interview guides, surveys, observation tools, or other data-collection materials, as appropriate.
• Supporting ethics or IRB submissions and other preparatory activities.
• Working with Thai students, faculty, health professionals, and other partners.
• Depending on the selected project and local approvals, participating in interviews, focus groups, surveys, observations, field visits, or other data-collection activities.
• Assisting with qualitative, quantitative, mixed-methods, or implementation-focused analysis.
• Contributing to interpretation and dissemination of findings.
• Developing presentations, reports, abstracts, manuscripts, policy briefs, educational materials, or other outputs appropriate to the project.

This opportunity would be particularly well suited to a master’s or doctoral student with interests in global health, primary health care, public health, health systems, implementation science, health-professional education, community health, epidemiology, social determinants of health, or qualitative and mixed-methods research. The specific background required will depend on the research area selected with PBRI. Experience with research methods, stakeholder engagement, or cross-cultural collaboration would be helpful but is not required.

Expected Outputs and Deliverables

The outputs and deliverables will be developed collaboratively with the PBRI Center of Excellence and will depend on the selected research topic and the duration of the student’s involvement. 

Mentorship and Learning

The scholar will receive mentorship from the Harvard-based project team and work directly with faculty and researchers at a PBRI Center of Excellence. The student may also collaborate with Thai students, health professionals, and other local partners. The project will provide an opportunity to develop skills in collaborative research, primary-health-care systems, research design, data collection and analysis, stakeholder engagement, implementation, and cross-cultural global-health collaboration.

Because the research area will be selected collaboratively, the student will have the opportunity to shape a project that reflects their academic interests while contributing to PBRI’s institutional priorities and ongoing work in primary health care.

Timing and Engagement

The timing and duration of participation will depend on the scholar’s academic schedule, the selected research topic, project requirements, local approvals, and available funding. Engagement may begin with virtual meetings to learn about PBRI’s Centers of Excellence, identify a research area, and develop the project. This may be followed by an in-person placement in Thailand, depending on the needs of the project and feasibility. Continued collaboration after the placement may be arranged based on mutual interest, project needs, and the scholar’s availability and capacity.

• Scholar: Naeema Hopkins-Kotb (HMS MD Y4)
  Mentor/supervisor: Dr. Bethany Holt
• Focus: Training and support for primary care professionals delivering person-centered hepatitis care; provider experience survey and case-based competency vignettes.
• Output: New provider experience survey on stigma among healthcare providers; case-based vignettes; peer-reviewed publication on stigma reduction in hepatitis care systems: Hopkins-Kotb et al., BMC Primary Care 2025.

• Scholar: Naomi Schmeck (Harvard Chan MS, Global Health and Population)
• Mentor/supervisor: Dr. Todd Pollack
• Focus: Quality improvement to reduce central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSI) at Vietnam National Children’s Hospital and network hospitals.
  Output: Report and presentation on CLABSI prevention and surveillance from 2019–2023 with recommendations for spread.

• Scholars: Benjamin Daniels (HSPH PhD, G-1) and Stella Zhang (HSPH MPH, Y1)
• Mentor/supervisor: Dr. David Duong
• Focus: Development of LLM-powered “conversational vignettes” for clinical competency measurement at scale
• Output: Survey plugin implementing interactive chatbot with simulated patients, focus group with doctors in Hanoi, validation survey with practitioners in Vietnam, submitted manuscript.

• Scholar: Michaela Greenlee (Harvard Chan MS, Global Health & Population)
• Mentor/supervisors: Dr. Beth Holt
• Focus: Evaluated the PBRI “Center of Excellence” model for managing and preventing hypertension and diabetes in Sing Buri Province, Thailand. Cost-effectiveness analysis, regression analysis, and qualitative interviews with village health volunteers (VHVs).
• Output: Findings showed the model to be cost-effective in reducing deaths and improving health outcomes, with recommendations for national scale-up