Public Health Student Uses Global Health Ethics in Practice Award to Advance Informatics Knowledge in Africa
The decision to study nursing informatics was an easy one for Aidah Nanvuma, BNS, MPH.
The field combines two of Nanvuma’s passions — technology and health care — and allows the School of Public Health (SPH) Public Health Administration & Policy international student to explore ways to improve patient outcomes through data and analytics.
“I love technology and its endless possibilities to drive innovation within health care. For me to be able to use it in a space that I am so passionate about, nursing health care and improving patient outcomes, is really what’s pushing me to do this and explore how I can advance in this particular field and become a renowned scientist and leader in it,” she said.
Nanvuma received a Global Health Ethics in Practice Award from the Center for Global Health and Social Responsibility. As a distance SPH student based in Uganda, she used the travel award to visit the University of Minnesota and to attend the 2025 Nursing Knowledge: Big Data Science Conference.
The award also supported Nanvuma’s research on the state of nursing informatics in Africa with the ultimate goal of developing curricula on the topic. Nanvuma presented her master’s thesis at the conference and worked to foster meaningful connections while in Minneapolis.
“This is a place for me to meet potential mentors for my PhD,” said Nanvuma. “It’s a really good environment for me to network and see what other people are doing differently in their countries.”
The Global Health Ethics in Practice Awards offer up to $2,000 to UMN graduate students engaging in internships, applied experiences, research field work and ethical hands-on practice abroad. Students from all disciplines across the U can apply for the program three times a year, and receive travel funding as well as pre-departure support on how to approach global health ethically and how to deal with ethical challenges they may encounter.
“This award provides funding that allows students to have meaningful global health experiences related to their field of study,” said Center for Global Health and Social Responsibility Executive Director Shailey Prasad, MD, MPH.
“The aim is to ensure students who want to ethically engage in activities abroad aren’t burdened by the cost of travel or accommodations.”
Nanvuma conducted baseline research to understand the state of nursing informatics education in Uganda and Africa. She found that in Uganda only one of six public universities offer a course on the topic.
The field of health care informatics focuses on integrating technology to improve patient outcomes. Examples of health care informatics include electronic health records, telehealth and data analytics tools that can provide a holistic view of patients’ records over time.
Nanvuma wants to ensure more nursing professionals in Uganda and beyond have the chance to gain an understanding of how technology can improve health care for patients.
“The area I’m really interested in is systems that support clinical decision making to improve patient outcomes,” she said.
Nanvuma stressed the importance of the Global Health Ethics in Practice Award in advancing her career and knowledge.
“For me to be able to meet different people doing this work globally during this week is really a step forward in my career — to seek out opportunities for mentorship, collaborations and coworking groups that would like to continue this work across the globe,” she said.
“It’s the many possibilities of this work that are likely to happen at this conference. That is really exciting, and all of this has been possible because of this award.”