Ayeh T. Khalil ’20, an alumna of New Jersey Institute of Technology’s Albert Dorman Honors College and Jordan Hu College of Science and Liberal Arts, has received a Fulbright U.S. Student research grant to conduct a 10-month public health study in Amman, Jordan.
Khalil’s project, A Health Systems Approach: Baby-Friendly Hospitals and Breastfeeding Promotion in Jordan, will examine how hospital-based breastfeeding support influences outcomes and experiences for first-time mothers of preterm infants.
Working with affiliate Prof. Dua Al-Maharma of the Department of Maternal and Child Health Nursing at the University of Jordan, Khalil will compare experiences among mothers delivering at a Baby-Friendly hospital and a non-Baby-Friendly hospital. Her study will track breastfeeding initiation, exclusivity and continuation at discharge and at one, three and six months postpartum, while interviews will explore the barriers and supports mothers encounter after leaving the hospital.
The project focuses on the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative, a World Health Organization and UNICEF program designed to integrate breastfeeding support into maternity care. While the initiative has been implemented at hospitals in Jordan, Khalil’s research will examine both longer-term breastfeeding outcomes and mothers’ experiences with continuity of care.
Her findings are intended to contribute to maternal and child health efforts in Jordan and provide broader insight into how health systems can support breastfeeding in resource-constrained settings.
Khalil graduated from NJIT in 2020 with a B.A. in Biology and a B.S. in Science, Technology and Society, along with a minor in Global Studies. As an Albert Dorman Honors College student, she also participated in global health experiences, including NJIT Global Brigades trips to Ghana and Honduras.
She later pursued graduate study in public health at Columbia University and has continued to work in areas including public health, humanitarian research and program evaluation.
Khalil applied for the Fulbright through NJIT.
The Fulbright U.S. Student Program provides opportunities for graduating college seniors, graduate students and young professionals to conduct research, pursue graduate study or teach English abroad. Study/research award recipients design their own projects and typically work with advisers at universities or other institutions in their host countries.
