Many of our students attended this year’s meeting of the American Public Health Association (APHA), held in Atlanta, November 4 – 8. What follows is a post from one of these attendees.
By Rachel Shea, BSPH
Through Tulane CEMCH I was able to attend my first APHA conference in Atlanta, Georgia. While we had discussed prior to going the basic format of the conference, I was not sure what to expect for my personal experience at this conference. Overall I enjoyed APHA and look forward to attending future conferences.
I primarily focused on the maternal and child health oral and poster presentations. My favorite was a town hall titled Substance Abuse and Opioids: The Maternal and Child Perspective. The opioid epidemic in the United States is a public health crisis and must be addressed across all fields in public health. In particular, women may be vulnerable to legal prosecution if they struggle with addiction and become pregnant. A lawyer from Advocates for Pregnant Women spoke about the need for legal and medical advocacy for women in this position. In many cases the opioid use in question was doctor prescribed; they were also prescribed methadone for during the pregnancy if they cannot detox on their own. In some states, if the infant is born with NAS the mother may be arrested for “harming the child” even if the methadone use was doctor prescribed. Ironically, in the majority of these states there were laws in place which make it difficult to access abortion services, putting mothers in an unbelievably difficult position. With such poor maternal mortality and infant mortality rates in the United States, we must acknowledge any way we can work to improve the health of mothers and children and advocate for our vulnerable populations. This presentation gave me a unique perspective on this issue.
I also enjoyed working at the Tulane alumni booth as I got to connect with alumni and current students with similar interests. A few recommended organizations to connect with for future internships and jobs, which I appreciated.
Rachel Shea is a first year MPH student, concentrating in Maternal and Child Health. She plans to graduate in May 2019. Her interests include sexual health, HIV/AIDS, mental health and substance abuse. She also loves dogs, music, and living in New Orleans.
