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Sana Loue, Assistant professor, Case Western Reserve
University, Ohio
Lecturing: Medical Sciences, Program Development
in Epidemiology and Ethics in Science
Romania
February 1999-June 1999 with extension in 2000
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Sana
Loue first became interested in Romania in 1997, when she joined
a colleague from Case Western Reserve University in designing
and conducting a pilot study of HIV knowledge among pregnant women
visiting Romanian clinics. During her initial visit to Romania,
she established contact with Drs. Eugen Carasevici and Rene Duda,
who later invited her to lecture at the University of Iasi's Institute
of Public Health.
Returning to Romania in 1999 as a Fulbright grantee, Loue taught
courses on public health, including ethics in research, AIDS-related
research and family violence. In addition, Loue studied Romanian
women's perceptions of domestic violence. In order to help them
sharpen their research skills, Loue incorporated her students
into her research. An interactive learning environment is uncommon
at the universities in her host country, but the response from
students and faculty was quite positive. "Most of the students,"
she remarked, "welcomed the opportunity to integrate their
knowledge and use their own ideas."
During her Fulbright grant, Loue met with Drs. Coralia Cotoraci
and Aurel Ardelean at the University of Vest "Vasile Goldis."
They invited her to return in 2000 to teach at both the medical
and law schools there. Since the conclusion of her grant, the
three have continued to work together, proposing such projects
as an 18-month HIV prevention and intervention pilot program for
women in Arad and Bihor, Romania, which has received funding through
the National Institute of Mental Health. An international training
program in bioethics, proposed by Loue and her colleagues, has
also recently received funding and represents cooperation between
Case Western Reserve University, Loyola-Chicago and Yale University
in the United States and institutions in Romania, Russia, Uganda
and Nigeria. For two years, the development and implementation
of the program will be funded by the National Institute of Health-Fogerty.
As an active participant in the health and academic community,
Loue was able to observe closely the development of the country's
health care system. Her grant coincided with Romania's transition
from a national to an insurance-based health care system. She
commented, "As a health care professional, it was fascinating
for me to hear the discussions of the pros and cons of this change
and to discuss with colleagues the implications" of such
a major shift.
As a visiting scholar to Romania, Loue made every effort to immerse
herself in the local culture. Going to the central market on Saturday
mornings for fresh fruit and vegetables gave her a chance to interact
with people outside the academic community. Loue explained, "I
found this invaluable because it helped me learn more about the
community in general and again provided me with an opportunity
to practice Romanian."
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