Category: Maria

Hello! It’s Maria Esposito, again. Here with a practicum update!

I wrapped up my practicum in the beautiful and peaceful Jamestown, NY while visiting family. My practicum was focused on a soon-to-be implemented study examining differentiated care models for transgender people in Johannesburg, South Africa regarding their HIV care, led by Dr. Audrey Pettifor and Dr. Tonia Poteat in partnership with UNC and Wits Reproductive Health and HIV Institute. As part of this practicum, I reviewed several journal articles, interview questions, and compared clinic checklists on LGBTQ+ health and their quality of HIV care to assist in the creation of my practicum products: a facility-level checklist, and two interview guides (one focusing on patients at local clinics, and the other focusing on key informants – clinic providers and supervisors). The trickiest part of creating these products was figuring out the proper wording of questions and cutting down questions to make the interview shorter. I also received feedback from Wits IRH folks, which was extremely helpful considering they have more insight than I do about transgender folks in Johannesburg, South Africa.

However, the study isn’t over but just beginning. Dr. Pettifor and Dr. Poteat will be sending out my practicum products to be assessed by clinic supervisors and folks at Wits IRH before implementation begins. The study is expected to be piloted this Fall – but it may start in the New Year. And I am excited to see where it goes!

With that being said, I am thankful for this practicum opportunity and the mentorship Dr. Pettifor and Dr. Poteat provided. Before starting this practicum, I knew I wanted to re-engage with research again, specifically qualitative research. This experience has only confirmed that I find qualitative research extremely compelling and informative of a person’s individual experience. I am excited to see what the next step of my Public Health journey will be!

Maria

Hello blog readers!

My name is Maria Esposito and I am a rising second year MPH student in the Global Health Concentration. I am almost two months into my summer practicum working with UNC Professors, Dr. Audrey Pettifor and Dr. Tonia Poteat, through the UNC-Wits Reproductive Health and HIV Institute (RHI) partnership based in Johannesburg, South Africa. My practicum is focused on an implementation science research study, which will examine differentiated care models for transgender people in South Africa with regard to their HIV care.

Before starting my MPH at Gillings, I was working in USAID’s Office of Population and Reproductive Health as an Administrative Program Assistant. Most of my work consisted of project and financial management for international family planning projects. Beyond that, for most of my public health career, I have conducted and contributed to a range of research projects on global and local reproductive health issues, menstrual equity, qualitative analysis, and engaging with community stakeholders.

While looking for a practicum, I knew I wanted to explore different aspects of reproductive health, specifically outside of family planning. After a lot of reflection, I realized I had never been involved in the initial stages of a study. I see my practicum with the UNC-Wits RHI as an opportunity to build upon this, my interests, create deliverables for the study (a clinic checklist and an interview guide), while also learning significantly more about global HIV inequities, transgender care, and implementation science research in Johannesburg, South Africa. Ultimately, I am thankful to be given this practicum opportunity and be tangibly closer to UNC-Wits RHI’s research work.

With that being said, the first few weeks of my practicum were challenging. I was recovering from back to back COVID infections and a pulled nerve in my back, which has made adjusting to a schedule difficult. Thankfully, I have fully recovered and I have been able to catch up with some friends, pets like my friend’s cat (Rho) and a senior dog (Taylor), and I made friends with an Eastern Bluebird fledgling. With that being said, I am still trying to build structure in the same way that classes and working provided me, but for my practicum workflow instead. This is still a work in progress!

I certainly did not see all of the unexpected hurdles when I started my practicum, but I continue to try to find the little things that keep me energized when it comes to my practicum work.

Cheers to finding the little things this summer!

-Maria