 Amanda
Thompson "This
past year as a fellow at the Center for the Study of Health
Culture and Society has been an incredible experience. I came
to the CSHCS as a doctoral student in biological anthropology
interested in human growth during infancy and how that growth
is influenced by nutrition, psychosocial conditions, and cultural
environment and, in turn, influences long-term growth and
health outcomes. Through my coursework as a student in the
nutrition track of the International Health department at
Rollins, I was exposed to two very important approaches that
will enrich my dissertation research. First, through my epidemiology,
biostatistics, and research strategies classes, I learned
quantitative methods that will be invaluable in designing
and analyzing the longitudinal growth data that will be a
part of my dissertation project. These classes provided me
with hands on opportunities to learn how to manage and interpret
large data sets and also how to frame research questions in
ways that are practical and statistically answerable. Second,
and more importantly, through my nutrition and international
policy classes, I gained a much fuller understanding of what
child growth and nutrition really looks like in the developing
world. This glimpse into the applied world has helped me put
faces on the infants and children whose growth I have been
studying from a biological and evolutionary perspective. Further,
Ihave been able to learn how research of child growth is applied
at the international level and how policies concerning child
health are developed. Thanks to this year at the center, I
now have a clearer picture of both how to frame my dissertation
project and also how my work fits into public health. I am
very grateful to the faculty, staff, and students of RSPH
and the CSHCS for making this year such a rewarding experience."
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 Vanessa
Conrad Dickey "Between the first
and second year of International Public Health training, I
had the fortunate opportunity to work in Mali, West Africa
utilizing a fascinating new approach to Nutrition education
called Positive Deviance. This approach builds on the unique
local child rearing practices of certain poor mothers with
well nourished children and acknowledges the importance of
culture and social ties in child health. The techniques used
for investigating the positive behaviors and practices closely
resemble those used in ethnographic research. My experience
with this approach motivated me to learn more about how sociology
and anthropology can contribute to our understanding of indigenous
health practices and how this knowledge can be utilized in
public health interventions.
The CSHCS fellowship allowed me to investigate
both the application of and theory behind cultural and biological
anthropology. Biological anthropology coursework illustrated
how human behavior affects and is affected by disease and
child feeding patterns while cultural anthropology classes
highlighted the importance of culture in determining how children
are cared for and nourished. In addition, through readings
and discussions in a Medical Anthropology course, I was again
reminded how when speaking to people from different cultures
about health, it is important to not only understand the language
but also the nuances of their background.
Another area of study to which I had had
little exposure was that of Medical Sociology. The course
I took opened my eyes to the importance of mental health in
child rearing. While it is intuitive that a happy mother will
more likely have a well-nourished child, it wasn't until I
took the course that I understood how brain chemicals and
social interaction can have such an important affect on child
growth that even in the presence of proper nourishment, a
neglected child can have stunted growth.
The courses I took were enlightening and
the experience unrivaled. I realized that in public health
we often start with 'problems', which are previously defined
and sometimes only vaguely understood and we work forward
to determine how these behaviors can be changed in order to
prevent a negative outcome such as disease or malnutrition.
Anthropology on the other hand, works backwards from the behavior
to better understand the web of complexity surrounding the
behavior.
The additional training and new perspectives
came just in time to prepare me for my current job utilizing
the Positive Deviance approach in Jakarta, Indonesia. The
heavily populated city of Jakarta houses many slums. Within
these slums are many undernourished children. Helen Keller
International has estimated that anemia is over 70% among
children under five in urban areas. Our hope is that using
the Positive Deviance approach, we will reveal local strategies
to preventing anemia. These strategies will then be employed
during 2-week long rehabilitation and education sessions with
mothers and children with anemia."
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 Dawn
Comeau "Two years ago, I entered
the Ph.D. program in Women's Studies with great ambition:
I hoped to investigate issues of health in the lesbian and
bisexual women's community through theory and practice. Coursework
in Women's Studies provided theoretical tools and methodology
for approaching this research topic. My fellowship with the
Center for the Study of Health, Culture and Society further
advanced my research approach, and provided the opportunity
to blend two academic fields.
As a CSHCS fellow, I spent the past academic
year enrolled in courses in the Department of Behavioral Science
and Health Education at Rollins School of Public Health. Classes
in BSHE introduced me to quantitative methods, epidemiology,
and theories about health behavior - to name a few. Prior
to my experience in public health, I was focused on feminist
qualitative methods. These methods remain as the foundation
of my methodological strategies. However, my experience in
public health has broadened my understanding of research methods
to include those that rely on statistical power. This is particular
critical in my area of research because there are a lack of
population based studies in the lesbian and gay community.
My classes in public health have lead to a greater understanding
and appreciation as to why this data is difficult to collect.
Furthermore, I am able to imagine how future projects might
be designed despite difficult methodological challenges. Public
health has also taught me numerous methods of research application
in the form of intervention development and implementation.
The acquisition of these skills is invaluable to my academic
work in Women's Studies as well as my efforts with nonprofit
organizations in the lesbian and gay community.
My experience as CSHCS fellow has prompted
me to ask new questions about my research projects with an
interdisciplinary and mixed method approach. As I progress
toward selecting my dissertation topic, I feel fortunate to
have such a rich array of experiences, resources, and methods
from which to choose. In addition to coursework, weekly meetings,
discussions, and lectures with the other CSCHS fellows and
faculty facilitated lively conversations about the boundaries
of interdisciplinary research and training. Guest speakers
and assigned readings assisted with connecting public health
practice with areas of study in the graduate school. This
fellowship has granted me with the ability to discuss my work
with diverse audiences and from a variety of perspectives.
I am extremely grateful to the committee at the Center for
granting me with this opportunity. I cherish your ongoing
support and encouragement."
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 Thomas
Mampilly "As an emerging public
health professional, I have the responsibility to both understand
and maintain the intricate balance between man and nature.
After my first year of coursework at Rollins School of Public
Health (RSPH), I sensed that the Masters of Public Health
degree (MPH) did not sufficiently examine the complex social
and political structures of communities, countries, and the
world. The Center for the Study of Health, Culture, and Society
(CSHCS) fellowship enabled me to take a full year of coursework
in Emory University's Graduate School of Arts and Sciences,
an experience that has furthered my understanding of human
relationships with the nature, the varied nature of human
cultures and experiences, and the processes and impact of
globalization. An effective public health strategy should
be based on fully informed, cross-disciplinary approaches,
whereas oftentimes, those of us engaged in the natural sciences
overlook the important and directly applicable contributions
of the social sciences. Involvement in the CSHCS fellowship
program provided me with a more holistic approach to public
health, which I now consider essential in creating and implementing
effective and feasible health initiatives. During my fellowship,
I enrolled in several highly relevant Political Science, Anthropology,
Sociology, and International Business courses focused around
the interlinking concepts of Globalization and the Environment.
These courses have significantly expanded both my understanding
and appreciation of the complex world in which we live, while
challenging me to systematically examine and reconcile my
political ideologies. As an international health practitioner
currently working in the Office of Global Health Affairs in
the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, the lessons
I learned from the social sciences have already been invaluable
tools in helping me to develop health promotion strategies,
design and implement international health policy, and interact
with a varied cohort of NGO, academic, and government officials."
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