Faculty in the News

Dr. Gretchen Clum reflects on her history as a public health researcher from studying the effect of sex abuse on HIV treatment adherence to mindfulness training and analyzing the data from Tulane's sexual misconduct climate survey. Her current projects include looking at the impact of police raids on the health and wellbeing of female sex workers and teaching the “Public Health Approaches to Sexual Violence” undergraduate course.

The U.S. has the highest maternal mortality rate in the developed world, and Louisiana consistently ranks among the top states for rates of death among pregnant and postpartum women. Dr. Maeve Wallace studies pregnancy-associated mortality and the state-level policies that could be contributing to the higher rates seen in Louisiana and the U.S. more broadly. Wallace and her team will also look at how factors including income inequality, structural racism and residential segregation play a role in the increased mortality rate among black women, who are currently three to four times more likely than white women to die during pregnancy or post-partum periods.

A recent study conducted Dr. Patty Kissinger found that the standard prescribed single-dose treatment for trichomoniasis is not as effective as multidose. Kissinger hopes the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will change its recommendations for trichomoniasis treatment based on the results of her study. She has been asked to work with the CDC on STD prevention guidelines.

Dr. Emily Harville, an associate professor at Tulane University's School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine in New Orleans, said most people will be back to where they were within a year or so, but others will have difficulty for a longer period. "There will be a small group that continues to have long-term mental health issues," she said.

A collaboration between the Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine and YEP Design Works, led to creation of the Check It website www.gocheckit.net, which is specifically designed for young black men to promote sexual health and screening for sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Check It partners with local barbershops, colleges/universities and other non-clinical venues to reach 15-24 year old African American men who have sex with women, are new to testing and do not have symptoms. Treatment for men who test positive and their sexual partners is provided by the project, which is funded by the National Institutes for Health (NIH).