HOW I LIVE WORKSHOP
Overview:
The aim of the session is to introduce participants to global health disparities through social impact storytelling. Specifically, the session will address challenges in healthcare delivery in resource-limited settings, with a focus on global childhood cancer care, as a means of raising awareness about health inequities on a global scale. We will use film and storytelling in order to approach the subject from a different lens than typically encountered in academic settings such as peer-reviewed publications. The How I Live (HIL) documentary and United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will serve as a conceptual framework to guide the discussion. This session is designed to be delivered as a 75-minute interactive virtual curriculum for undergraduate students, graduate students, and professionals.
The learning goals/objectives for the session are as follows:
Overall learning goals:
The goal of the session is to:
- Help participants understand the challenges of healthcare delivery in resource-limited settings using pediatric global oncology as a case study
- Brainstorm opportunities for sustainable improvement in global health disparities
- Use the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a framework to analyze key themes illustrated in the How I Live film
Objectives:
After completing this module, participants should be to:
- Recall the survival percentages for pediatric oncology patients in high-income countries (HICs) vs low- and middle-income countries (LMICs)
- List major barriers to pediatric oncologic care in low resource settings
- Apply scenes from the film to gain a deeper understanding of the UN SDGs
- Identify one of the challenges in providing pediatric oncologic care in LMICs and design an intervention utilizing their field’s expertise to help address that barrier
- Discuss storytelling as a unique tool for public health change and social impact
WORKSHOP TEAM
Dr. Irini Albanti is the Executive Director at the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative (HHI) where she leads the strategic, operational, financial, and administrative management of HHI and oversees all HHI programs. Dr. Albanti is responsible for the development of strategies to execute the HHI mission and vision, and amplify its global impact. Between 2012-2020, she was the inaugural Director of the Global Health Initiative at Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, a teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School, managing international outreach and the design, implementation, and evaluation of global childhood cancer programs. Dr. Albanti holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, a Master of Arts in Communication, a Master of Public Health, and a Doctor of Public Health.
https://hhi.harvard.edu/people/irini-albanti
Irini Albanti is a Consulting Producer on the How I Live film.
Soad Linneth Fuentes-Alabi, MD, MPH
Soad Fuentes- Alabí, MD; MPH. Scientific Director of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology Day Clinic and Population -Based Pediatric Cancer Registry of Centro Medico “Ayúdame a Vivir” at Hospital Nacional de Niños Benjamin Bloom El Salvador, C.A.
International PAHO Consultant (IPC) Noncommunicable Diseases and Mental Health, NMH (PAHO-NMH/NV WDC, USA fuentessoa@paho.org
With St. Baldrick's Foundation's support, Dr. Fuentes-Alabi obtained her master in public health from T.H. CHAN Harvard School of Public Health and established the first Population-Based Pediatric Cancer Registry in El Salvador and contributed to Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Honduras Population-Based Pediatric Cancer Registries implementation. In 2017, Dra. Fuentes-Alabi joined The Lancet Oncology Commission on Childhood Cancer in Low and Middle-Income Countries. The Commission's goal was to identify a core set of interventions and diagnostic, treatment, and care services to address childhood cancers, including evaluating these services' cost-effectiveness. She also is an active member of the Association de Hemato-Oncología Pediátrica Centro Americana (AHOPCA), founded to narrow the pediatric cancer survival gap. As an AHOPCA member, Dr. Fuentes-Alabi has been part of several regional efforts to develop well-focused initiatives in pediatric cancer that seek to create intensity-adjusted treatments while building prospective evidence-based protocols ( Principal investigator for Neuroblastoma-AHOPCA-2012 Protocol).
Dr. Fuentes-Alabi has been part of the National Committee to develop El Salvador's National Plan for the Comprehensive Approach for Children and Adolescents with Cancer. Currently, she collaborates with PAHO/WHO as an International Consultant for Global Initiative for Childhood Cancer and will support the Ministries of Health in the development and implementation of childhood cancer plans in Central America.
Soad Linneth Fuentes-Alabi is a featured doctor in the How I Live film.
Meghan Shea (Director/ Producer), MFA
Meghan Shea is a director & producer of documentary films. She focuses her lens on the work of individuals and organizations that are creating positive social impact in the world. Meghan is a co-founder of Persistent Productions, which has offices in Boston and in Singapore. She draws from a background in the arts to create films that examine issues from multiple viewpoints and global perspectives. Her work focuses on both national and international social issues and she produces content for broadcast, streaming, and educational distribution.
Meghan’s documentary portfolio includes: “Under the Turban”, a film that examines the Sikh religion and premiered at The United Nations Film Festival; “In the Spirit of Laxmi”, a film about the rewilding of a leopard in Rajasthan, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival, went on to win Best Short Documentary at The Gold Coast Film Festival, and screen at numerous festivals around the world. Her most recent work, “How I Live”, looks at the survival gap in global childhood cancer screened at The United Nations General Assembly and went on to win Best Director at The Chambal International Film Festival and Best Feature at the United Kingdom’s Fisheye Film Festival. Her social impact filmmaking has been recognized by the Social Media Impact Awards and the CUGH Pulitzer CUGH-Pulitzer Global Health Video Awards.
In her client-driven work Meghan creates compelling, research-based, visually driven stories. Meghan’s client work includes The BBC, Sony Music, USAID, Out Leadership, Dana Farber/ Boston Children's Hospital, Aman Resorts and Nikon, among others.
Meghan graduated with a Master’s in Fine Arts from The George Washington University during which time she was the graduate teaching assistant for the International Arts and Culture Cohort of The ESJ Women’s Leadership Program and was recognized in 2020 with the ESL Women’s Leadership Award.
Meghan Shea is the Director and Producer of the How I Live documentary.
Kendall Carpenter, MPH, MD (Cand) Educational Coordinator
Carpenter is a fourth year medical student at Harvard Medical School going into pediatrics with an ultimate goal of pursuing global pediatric oncology. Her interests lie at the intersection of education and medicine and she developed an educational curriculum to enhance the impact of the How I Live film as part of her practicum project during her MPH at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Her participation in this session will provide the perspective of a trainee and emphasize the importance of innovative educational strategies in public health education and awareness around global cancer disparities.
Kendall designed the workshop for the How I Live film.