Communicating scientfic research and its results is an important part of being a researcher, but it can also be a challenge. At this years Norwegian Global Health Conference we got the chance to see some really good examples of how to do it right. Among several good posters, Bezawit Temesgen Sima impressed the poster comittee the most with her poster on traditional healers involvement in tuberculosis (TB) control in pastoralist community in Ethiopia.
Please describe yourself and the focus of your research
My name is Bezawit Temesgen Sima and I come from Ethiopia. I started my PhD training in August 2013 and I am planning to conclude at the end of 2018. My PhD project focuses on developing TB control strategy pertinent to pastoralist way of life. TB is the leading cause of death among infectious disease. For instance, according to a WHO report, 1.7 million people died due to TB alone in 2016.
Disadvantaged and marginalized people account for 95% of TB cases globally. Pastoralist, which account for about 12% of the population are among the most TB affected communities in Ethiopia. Because of their seasonal migration, they do not benefit from the current TB control strategy which was designed for sedentary communities. Therefore, TB control strategy which takes account pastoralist way of life needs to be developed.
What is your future plan for your research?
Upon compilation of my PhD, I would like to continue research and teaching in infectious disease prevention and control.
What do you think is important when making a good scientific poster?
I think the following points are good to consider for a good scientific poster:
- Choose a simple poster design
- Choose the right color for the background and the text that will give a poster a good contrast. Use as few colors as possible in the poster
- Use an appropriate font size and have a flow in the order of the sections
- Use self-explanatory pictures, graphs and tables instead of over-crowded text
- It is good to make sure that the readers know where to start and end.
- Use free space between each section.
Finally, how do you feel about winning the prize and how will you spend the 10.000 NOK?
I feel honored to win the best poster prize and I would like to thank the organizers of the Norwegian Global Health conference for such a motivating prize. I am planning to use the award money to advocate for solar power installation in health facilities in the pastoralist community in Ethiopia where there is no access to electricity which leads to difficulty in TB diagnosis.
The Centre for Global Health congratulate Bezawit and wish her the best of luck with her future research and advocacy work!