“This program changed my life.”
Chia Family Health Fellowship Program
The Chia Fellowship Program has supported training opportunities for Chinese women in the health professions for 23 years, starting in Changsha in 1998 and expanding to Kunming in 2007. In 2012, the program was expanded to include Western Hunan health professionals to be trained at Xiangya. The program goals, objectives, and accomplishments in 2019-20 are summarized below.
Program Goals
Develop careers of women in health professions through fellowship training opportunities at Yale University and at Xiangya School of Nursing, Public Health, Medicine and the three Xiangya hospitals
Improve health outcomes of defined communities in Hunan and Yunnan through Fellow-initiated health projects
Disseminate research knowledge of health education and intervention programs in medicine, nursing, and public health
Program Objectives
Annually train 4 Chia Fellows at Yale and 6-8 Chia Fellows at Xiangya, through fellowship training that includes auditing courses, clinical observations, and receiving mentorship from Yale or Xiangya faculty
Provide project funding for 10-12 health research projects, conducted by 4 Chia Fellows at Yale (from Hunan or Yunnan) and 6-8 Chia Fellows at Xiangya (from Western Hunan)
Provide opportunities at annual Chia conferences for former Fellows to present research progress
Support Chia Fellows to publish research findings in English and Chinese academic journals
History
The Chia Family Health Fellowship Program was launched in 1998 with the generous support of the Chia Family Foundation. This program has sought to further the careers of Chinese women in the health professions by providing training for Fellows from Changsha and then expanding in 2007 for fellows from Yunnan to come to Yale University in New Haven. The program was further augmented in 2012 by training Fellows from remote regions in Western Hunan to come to Central South University (CSU) including Xiangya School of Nursing, Public Health, Medicine and the three Xiangya hospitals in Changsha, Hunan Province. The program has also sought to improve the health outcomes of selected communities in Hunan and Yunnan, through Fellow-initiated health research and community projects in medicine, nursing, and public health. As of 2021, there have been 67 Chia Fellows trained at Yale and 45 Chia Fellows trained at Xiangya.