By Jennifer Glick, MPH
On April 9 and 10, I had the pleasure of attending the 2013 Psychosocial Workshop in Aspects of Reproductive Health and Demography. The Psychosocial Workshop is an annual two-day gathering of psychologists, social scientists, and related health professionals held in conjunction with the Population Association of America (PAA). Although the topics discussed during the meeting vary from year to year according to current interests, the predominant focus of the gathering has been on issues related to fertility, family planning and contraceptive use, abortion and women’s health, sexuality, and sexually transmitted diseases. The signature format of the workshop is the five minute presentation, during which each speaker is encouraged to talk about their current or future work.
I was fortunate to have the opportunity to discuss my proposed summer research, for which I am currently seeking funding. My presentation, entitled, “HIV Testing Desirability among a Community of Transwomen in Northeastern Brazil,” was well received and garnered questions and insightful feed-back. The proposed research will utilize qualitative methods through a Rapid Anthropological Assessment (RAA) to enhance the efficacy of a Biological and Behavioral Surveillance (BBS) study using Respondent Driven Sampling (RDS), slated for later in the year. Previous BBS studies in the area have had high rates of HIV testing refusal. The proposed research will seek to understand this resistance to testing, and propose recommendations to increase HV testing uptake among study participants (Martins, Kerr, et al, 2012). It was an honor to be able to share my ideas with all of the accomplished scholars in attendance.
Hearing the presentations of my colleagues at the workshop was also very inspiring. As a first year PhD student, being exposed to various methods and research questions in the field of reproductive health and demography helped to illustrate applications of all of the skills and methods I am learning in the classroom. Tulane GCHB faculty members were also present at the workshop and presenting, including: Alessandra Bazzano, Eva Silvestre, Francoise Grossmann and Aubrey Madkour.
The meeting format is also designed to support networking and informal exchange of ideas. The first day of the workshop culminated in a group dinner in the French Quarter. This was a space to learn more about the history of the workshop community and talk casually with colleagues about their work and careers. The group was very warm and friendly, and while many in attendance had been coming to the workshop for years, I was warmly welcomed as a first time attendee. I had the opportunity to discuss the works presented as well as those still incubating. I learned about abortion rights work and research going on in Texas. I also spoke with author, Lauren Sandler, about her new book, “One and Only,” which explores the only child family structure, using a feminist perspective to consider the impact of such a structure on both parent and child.
Hearing all of the interesting theoretical paradigms, insightful research questions, and cutting edge methodology being employed by my colleagues was very inspiring. While I have had conference presentation experience in the past from a programmatic vantage point, this was my first academic conference in which I presented research ideas. I came away with new colleagues to collaborate with, new research tools to explore and implement, and new inspiration for tackling the health, gender, sexuality and justice issues I hope to impact in my work. I hope to remain a part of the Psychosocial Workshop community in years to come. It seems quite fitting that my first meeting was in New Orleans, as the very first meeting of the Psychosocial Workshop took place in New Orleans (circa 1973).
Jennifer L Glick is a doctoral student in the Department of Global Community Health and Behavioral Sciences. She may be contacted at: jglick3@tulane.edu.
• For more information about the workshop: http://www.tfri.org/TFRI.org/The_Psychosocial_Workshop.html
• For more information about the Population Association of America: http://www.populationassociation.org
• Work Cited: Martins , Ligia Regina F.S. Kerr , Raimunda H.M. Macena , Rosa S. Mota , Kalina L. Carneiro ,Rogério C. Gondim and Carl Kendall (2012): Travestis, an unexplored population at risk of HIV in a large metropolis of northeast Brazil: A respondent-driven sampling survey, AIDS Care: Psychological and Socio-medical Aspects of AIDS/HIV, DOI:10.1080/09540121.2012.726342
