WHO CC Intern- Maxine Zhong

Maxine is currently studying a Masters of Public Health at UTS due to her passion for driving change and building healthier communities, particularly for those communities that suffer drastic health inequities. Her keen interest in supporting vulnerable groups has led her to uptake an internship with the WHO Collaborating Centre at UTS.

With a vivid interest in women's health, the Centre's focus on nursing and midwifery and health development has allowed her to build upon her existing knowledge and provide her with an opportunity to create a lasting impact on the communities the WHO CC seeks to support. Maxine's interest in planning, implementing, and evaluating health programs was supported in collaboration with the Centre's aims and saw her working alongside industry leaders to address the complex maternal health crisis in Pacific regions such as Papua New Guinea. Her work included performing literature reviews and data analysis as well as assisting Centre staff in evaluating the National curricula for the Diploma of Nursing and the Certificate for Community Health Workers against the current health priorities of Papua New Guinea. Her work has contributed to the drafting of the gap analysis report that will be provided to WHO PNG in the following weeks.

Maxine's also assisted the team to identify user ability issues in the Basic Psychosocial Skills: A Guide for COVID-19 Responders course as a response to the rising mental health concerns amidst the pandemic. Looking back at her time with WHO CC UTS, Maxine has felt that her internship has allowed her the opportunity to connect with like-minded individuals in supporting health for the most vulnerable, as well as supporting the development of crucial skills in evaluating complex health programs that affect whole populations.