Category: Summer 2023

“Dia duit ó Éirinn” – Hello here from Ireland! As I embarked on my adventure to Galway, Ireland, I anticipated continuous cloud cover, sporadic rain, and lush green landscapes. However, only one of those statements proved correct thus far. Since my arrival in Dublin, I have been greeted by nothing but sunshine and warm weather. As I write this post, I am hoping I don’t jinx this fortunate fate. The team I’m working with for my practicum at the Health Promotion Research Centre (HPRC) in Galway shares my awe of the climate and blue skies. They jokingly tell me, “You must have brought this weather and are never allowed to leave.” Although I’ve never been a spiritual or religious person, this journey, and the experiences I’ve had, make me believe my Irish ancestors are guardian angels watching over me. As you read on, you might find yourself believing it too.

From the beginning, including during the initial planning phase, I have felt a sense of serendipity. I became acquainted with the HPRC in early March and swiftly secured support, funding, housing, and even managed to replace a lost passport in less than two months! Upon my arrival, the HPRC welcomed me with open arms, just like Ireland itself. The people and the atmosphere here have far exceeded my expectations, and I never imagined such extraordinary experiences could unfold in just a few short weeks. The seasoned researchers such as my preceptor, Dr. Colette Kelly and mentor, Ms. Aoife Gavin, have been guiding me through potential and exciting new avenues for my future career in public health. Witnessing their passion has been truly inspiring. Despite the diversity in their backgrounds and research fields, they work harmoniously to explore the social and physical health determinants impacting young children’s behaviors.

The focus of my work here revolves around the World Health Organization’s (WHO) cross-national study, “The Health Behaviors of School Children,” which includes 51 different countries. I am primarily analyzing the survey responses and running analyses on the data specific to Irish children ages 10-17, to evaluate their priority concerns. This task can be quite amusing, as I come across responses like “I hate cold showers”, “No homework, no problems!” and “find the space not the face!” It’s fascinating to observe how children express what matters to them and how their daily lives influence their health. By identifying priority concerns to the children, themselves, such as mental health, vaping/smoking, obesity, and period poverty, it can directly help impact future program development. I am creating factsheets, infographics, and a comprehensive report that will be disseminated to policy makers, health promotion researchers, schools involved in the study, social media, and others interested in this research!

The second focus of my practicum is a qualitative research study called “Reducing the exposure of children and adolescents to digital marketing of unhealthy foods” alongside Dr. Elena Vaughan, where I help develop data protocols for interviews with children ages 2-16. This study analyzes the association between digital food marketing on social media platforms such as Tik Tok and Instagram and children’s relationships and attitudes towards food. Through learning about protocol development, I have been studying existing literature on food behaviors and social media exposure. We brainstorm specific sampling techniques including prompts (stills and videos) and a ‘talkback’ method by viewing ads and describing what they see to assess recognition of foods and their perceptions of ad narratives. The challenging part of this work is catering interview questions to the learning and communication capacities of children from different age groups. Luckily, my colleagues on this project share my same passion to examine fast pace and ever evolving social media trends and how it influences long term behaviors.

What has truly made this journey special are the outdoor adventures and people I’ve met along the way. This includes my colleagues at the HPRC, but also individuals I’ve met during spontaneous and unexpected moments. For instance, I biked along the coast of Inishmore Island, where the Award-winning movie, The Banshees of Inisherin was filmed. I’ve marveled at the ancient, stoned walls, some of which have existed for over 3,000 years. Listening to colleagues share Irish mythology, such as Tír na nÓg, the land of everlasting life, has been an enriching cultural experience. A life-changing highlight was hiking 10 miles along the Cliffs of Moher, guided by a local cattle farmer named Pat where he said “This is amazing! This is the real local experience of the Cliffs of Moher, all along here” as he peered too closely for my comfort over the cliff’s edge.

Two notable lucky encounters I’ve experienced during my time here include obtaining free tickets to see a concert in Dublin from a kind stranger who was leaving town early. To my surprise, the Lumineers were performing, who were born and raised in my hometown of Denver, Colorado. Despite not knowing anyone in Ireland at the time, I accepted the offer and invited new “Galwegian” friends to make the long 12-hour journey in a single day! During a solo day tour to Connemara National Park, the tour bus had overbooked seats, prompting a last-minute change. Luckily, five of us solo riders were transferred to a smaller car. As unfortunate fate would have it, the tour bus ended up crashing on its way up, and passengers had to be taken to the hospital back in Galway. The small car I was in, however, remained untouched, allowing us to continue the journey to the National Park. Through this shared experience of narrowly avoiding a terrible crash, we created a unique bond and friendship.

My newfound friends here refer to me as one of the luckiest girls they have ever met. They even insisted I scratch a lotto ticket, unfortunately yielding no winnings. My belief in luck extends beyond strange coincidences, but as cheesy as it sounds, through the incredible people I have the privilege meeting and learning from. I genuinely feel that guardian angels are watching over my journey as I continue to learn more about health promotion, folklore, and the rich traditions here in Ireland.

“Go dtí an chead uair eile” – until next time!

– Dawn