Center for
Global Health

International Scholar

Languages: Spanish (native), English (fluent), German (basic)

Bio statement

Erwin’s collaborative research efforts cover a wide range of topics including non-communicable diseases (NCDs), violence, malnutrition, adolescent health, stem cells, HIV and medical ethics. He is a tenured research faculty member and Director of Research at the University of San Carlos’s School of Medicine (the largest Public University in Guatemala) and holds research management positions at Sanatorio El Pilar (the oldest Private Hospital in Guatamala) and Stem Care, a stem cell company in Guatemala.

His research efforts aim to impact clinical practice and public health policy. His primary research includes the planning, execution and analysis of the STEPwise approach to risk factor surveillance (STEPS) for NCDs in the Metropolitan Area of Guatemala. His secondary data research includes the use of the largest datasets from the National Mother and Child Survey to study the interaction of malnutrition, violence and NCDs in populations of vulnerable women and children.

Erwin obtained his Master of Science in Clinical Epidemiology (MSCE) degree from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania as a Fogarty International Center (FIC) Trainee and a Medical Degree from Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala.

Recent global health projects

I have published about the trends in Cancer treatment in Guatemala, also involved in the study HEROES which follows a cohort of healthcare workers that worked in the COVID-19 Pandemic and we study their mental health. I have published about Global Health in regards to recommednations for Short Medical Missions. Finally, working in a committee from the National Academies of Science that working a global symposium about Tools for Pandemic Preparedness and Response. Most recently, he helped establish the first Emergency Medicine Residency Program in Guatemala and is now working to create the first Fellowship in Adolescent Medicine in Guatemala.

Selected publications

Mental health of Guatemalan health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic: baseline findings from the HEROES cohort study: Paniagua-Ávila A, Ramírez DE, Barrera-Pérez A, Calgua E, Castro C, Peralta-García A, Mascayano F, Susser E, Alvarado R, Puac-Polanco V. Rev Panam Salud Publica. 2022 Aug 17;46:e79. doi: 10.26633/RPSP.2022.79. eCollection 2022. PMID: 35990526

Years of Potential Life Lost Because of Breast and Cervical Cancers in Guatemala Alba J Kihn-Alarcón 1, Juan F Alvarado-Muñoz 2, Loida I Orozco-Fuentes 3, Erwin Calgua-Guerra 1 4, Vicky Fuentes-de Falla 1, Angel Velarde 1 4
Affiliations expand PMID: 32484750 PMCID: PMC7328121 DOI:10.1200/JGO.19.00398

Prasad S, Aldrink M, Compton B, Lasker J, Donkor P, Weakliam D, et al.. Global Health Partnerships and the Brocher Declaration: Principles for Ethical Short-Term Engagements in Global Health. Annals of Global Health. 2022;88(1):31. DOI: http://doi.org/10.5334/aogh.3577
 

Golub SA, Maza Reyes JC, Stamoulis C, Leal Pensabene A, Tijerino Cordon PA, Calgua E, Hassan A. Guatemala City youth: an analysis of health indicators through the lens of a clinical registry. Int Health. 2018 Nov 14. doi: 10.1093/inthealth/ihy081

Bream KDW, Breyre A, Garcia K, Calgua E, Chuc JM, Taylor L (2018) Diabetes prevalence in rural Indigenous Guatemala: A geographic-randomized cross-sectional analysis of risk. PloS ONE 13(8):e0200434. doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0200434

Maza JC, Stamoulis C, Teich H, Golub S, Calgua E, Hassan A. Evaluating Adolescent Health Training in Guatemala. Journal of Adolescent Health. Vol 62: Number 2S: February 2018, S32-S32

Golub S, Maza JC, Reyes A, Teich H, , Calgua E, Hassan A. Perspectives on the Use of a Health Surveillance System for Guatemalan Youth: A stakeholder analysis. Journal of Adolescent Health. Vol 62: Issue 2: February 2018, S26-S27

Last Updated: 28 March 2023