By Alison Swiatlo, BS
This was my first year attending APHA; in fact, the 2014 American Public Health Association meeting in New Orleans was the first conference of my career. It was my first oral presentation at a conference, as well as my first poster presentation. Alongside with graduating this December, I truly feel like APHA this year in New Orleans was the beginning of my public health professional life, and a jumping off point for a long and fulfilling career.
My poster and oral presentations were a part of Violence Prevention themed sessions and I learned so much from my fellow presenters. During the poster session, I learned about intimate partner violence research being conducted in Washington, D.C., Oregon, and Philadelphia. During my oral presentation, I was able to chat with my fellow panelists about methods for qualitative research and tips for presenting for different types of conferences. Each session was an incredibly rich learning and networking experience.
I was also able to attend different sessions on my other public health interests – reproductive health and abortion in the U.S. South. I attended a really wonderful session by Dr. Caitlin Gerdts on creating a mobile application for self-induced abortion in Indonesia. It was an incredible presentation, not only on innovative, current research, but also on meeting women in the world where they are at right now, despite political, medical, and cultural barriers to comprehensive reproductive healthcare. I also attended a Population and Reproductive Health social hour and got to talk to amazing local people in New Orleans about obstacles in building the new Planned Parenthood on Claiborne Avenue.
Because APHA was in New Orleans, I had a hectic schedule balancing the conference, work, and school but it was a whirlwind of amazing learning and professional experiences.
Alison Swiatlo is a second-year MPH student concentrating in Maternal and Child Health in the Global Community Health and Behavioral Science Department. Her research interests include reproductive and sexual health in the U.S. South, adolescent health, and gender-based violence.
