As a Ph.D. candidate in public health at the University of Montana, Amy Szacilo is spending a year in Nepal studying how residents use a community-based oral health outreach program.
The Basic Package of Oral Care program was developed in 2002 as a cost-effective and minimally invasive approach to provide basic dentistry services in rural communities. But few studies have explored its use.
Szacilo, who has a clinical background as a dental hygienist, will spend the year as a Fulbright-Fogarty Fellow working with a research team to find ways to improve the program.
“Our work will fill gaps in knowledge regarding how this program is delivered in Nepal and contribute to building a foundation of knowledge that will inform future adaptations of this program in other similar, rural settings,” Szacilo said. “It’s been a very unique and rewarding opportunity.”
Szacilo’s hands-on experience is common among students in UM’s School of Public and Community Health Sciences. The public health school has grown in recent years, adding a bachelor’s degree program to the existing master’s and Ph.D. programs. It is the only accredited public health program in the state.
Recently, UM’s public health school received a re-accreditation from the Council on Education for Public Health, a national accrediting agency. The re-accreditation is for a full seven-year period.
Kimber McKay, chair of the School of Public and Community Health Sciences, said the re-accreditation is a confirmation that UM’s public health school is properly training and preparing students for careers across public health, health care and the nonprofit sector.
“It speaks to the quality of our faculty, the quality of our degree programs and the fact that our students can graduate resting easily in the knowledge that the program they came out of hit above the mark just like all accredited public health degree programs around the world,” McKay said. “Students can leave here with this stamp of approval knowing that every public health professional in the world will recognize this is a quality program.”
The accrediting agency requires every UM public health student at every degree level to have real-world learning experiences from an internship or practicum.
“Our students literally cannot get out of the program without having connected with a local community-based organization, a county health department, state health department or tribal health organization,” McKay said.
Sheylee Stowers, who earned a bachelor’s degree in public health from UM in 2024, was drawn to a career in public health after growing up in two rural towns of Akron, Iowa and Hartford, South Dakota. She understood the needs and gaps of rural health care.
As a student, Stowers earned a national scholarship for being a leader in public health and worked closely with Sophia Newcomer, an associate professor of epidemiology and vice chair of research. Together they gathered focus groups to gain information on the perceptions of vaccine hesitancy in rural communities. Stowers organized focus groups in the Missoula Public Library and a gathering in the small town of Trego.
“We got to actually engage with the communities and get their perspectives on health, well-being and vaccines like the HPV vaccine,” Stowers said. “That was the best part of my undergraduate experience.”
For the past year, Stowers has worked in the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services as a cancer control program officer. She has led efforts to promote awareness around skin cancer and breast and cervical cancer programs.
She often thinks back to her studies at UM and the value of hearing directly from community members.
“Hearing those communities’ perspectives shaped the work that I do today,” Stowers said. “I really try to take their perspectives and views into consideration and include their feedback into what I do.”
Stowers would encourage students interested in studying health care to consider public health. She has found it rewarding to help people before they get sick or injured and find solutions to problems that affect entire communities.
“That’s my favorite part,” she said. “And also, you don’t have to see any blood.”
While in Nepal, Szacilo spends time connecting with local communities outside of her research. She has enjoyed outdoor recreation, cooking and learning the local norms.
She chose UM’s public health program in part because of the University’s existing expertise in the High Asia region, including McKay’s 30 plus years of experience conducting research and helping shape public health initiatives in Nepal.
Through Szacilo’s own experience, she has seen first-hand how rural communities in Nepal have little access to health care, including oral health care. That recognition led to her focus on a public health approach to oral health, which has shaped the direction of her dissertation research.
“I’ve had a very unique opportunity to pursue an independent project for my Ph.D. and continue to build partnerships I’ve been establishing in Nepal,” Szacilo said. “Not many Ph.D. programs provide the opportunity to pursue an independent path in this manner.”
By Kyle Spurr, UM News Service
