UW SCOPE fellow begins work in Ethiopia

Hiwot Weldemariam, SCOPE Fellow and first-year PhD student in the Department of Epidemiology, traveled to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from December 6, 2024, to January 2, 2025, to conduct formative research on mental health challenges affecting communities in the Gondar region, a conflict-impacted area.  

During her time there, Hiwot, conducted in-depth interviews with parents and youth from war-affected areas, to better understand their experiences. She also did key informant interviews with a diverse group of stakeholders, including priests, church youth leaders, healthcare workers (psychiatrists, psychiatric nurses, and community health workers), leaders of youth associations, and representatives from the Ministry of Health.

These interviews provided a comprehensive view of the mental health challenges facing the community and will inform the next phase of the project including a survey to measure the prevalence of mental health challenges, identifying potential interventions, and partnering with key stakeholders to develop culturally appropriate solutions tailored to the community's needs.

While in Addis Ababa, Hiwot also had the opportunity to work with University of Gondar fellow, Bewuketu Terefe to review the literature on mental health challenges in the Gondar area related to the conflict.

Hiwot will continue this work from Seattle in collaboration with colleagues at the university of Gondar.  Updates on their work will be included in future newsletters.