Many of our students attended this year’s meeting of the American Public Health Association (APHA), held in San Diego, November 10 – 14. What follows is a post from one of these attendees.
By Gaby Sifuentes, BS
This year’s APHA conference in San Diego was my first public health conference that I have ever attended. At first, I was very overwhelmed with the size and the different presentations that APHA offered. My goal for APHA was to gain a better understanding of the different types of research that are occurring in the MCH field. Specifically, in areas of prenatal care and nutrition. I have an undergraduate degree in nutrition and I wanted to see research that intersected at both my interests including MCH and nutrition. I also wanted to use this experience to connect with other MCH students and MPH professionals. The opening ceremony of the APHA was a really inspiring way to start for APHA. The surgeon general’s words on why we do public health reaffirmed my reason for choosing public health as a career. Additionally, hearing the young women – two high school students from Parkland, Florida and Milwaukee, Wisconsin – talk about gun violence was truly inspirational. The different speakers in the opening ceremony really spoke to the theme of this year’s APHA: Health Equity Now.
The sessions that stood out to me were two MCH sessions. Specifically, the MCH Town Hall meeting really shed a light on how immigration and asylum seekers intersect with the field of the MCH. Hearing the different working MCH professionals and researchers speak about their different programs that exist to help these families was really inspirational. The different MCH sessions also introduced me to new research and topics in MCH. Specifically, a presenter spoke about the different health systems in Cuba and health outcomes and compared those to the health systems and outcomes in rural Alabama. After this presentation, I have gained a new interest in the health system in Cuba and would enjoy learning more about this topic. Additionally, a nutrition session touched on new areas of nutrition that I had not previously done research on. This session spoke about the aging process and nutrition. I really enjoyed how they spoke about elders as part of the family and not a separate entity. This presentation provided insight to an area I was not familiar with.
APHA, was a great experience. I enjoyed speaking with MCH students from other programs and meeting my future colleagues in MCH. From the different presenters to the different booths at the expo it is clear that there was a diverse body of work represented at APHA. After seeing the different presenters I feel like I have a better idea where my interests lie in the field of MCH.
Gaby Sifuentes, BS, is a first -year MPH student, concentrating in Maternal and Child Health. She plans to graduate in in May 2020. Her interests include prenatal health, with an emphasis on nutrition. She loves historical biographies, and podcasts.
