Understanding the importance/impact of the project

I’ve never participated in qualitative research before. In such research projects, different stakeholders (people whose opinions are relevant to the project’s objective) are interviewed with carefully constructed questions. Then, researchers “code,” or analyze and synthesize their responses in order to draw meaningful conclusions. Therefore, this process involves a lot of reading and writing to figure out: What is the most common opinion? What are the unpopular opinions? What are the possible social influences behind such opinions? What actions can be taken to solve the problems described? By whom?

I like how Dr. Suneeta Krishnan (the principal investigator who runs the project) approaches this research project because all data are analyzed with potential solutions in mind. The conclusions drafted from the study are not impractical, useless statements that describe the social environment behind the problem–rather, they consist of practical, action-oriented recommendations that different stakeholders can act on to battle cervical cancer. This way, the research report clearly explains what steps the readers (the government officials, doctors, health organizations) in their different roles can take.

We will submit the report the ACS and Suneeta’s team will also present the key findings in person to the different stakeholders so that effective prevention plans can be designed and improved upon. Unlike previous basic science lab research I’ve been involved with, Suneeta’s research takes a direct approach that actively delves into the problem and brainstorms potential solution. That’s why, even while writing portions of the report instead of personally witnessing the effects of cervical cancer, I still feel engaged with the issue and believe that my (and everyone else’s) contribution will produce some good.

Heading Over!

June 6, 2016

The day has finally arrived! Leaving tonight from Phoenix to Seattle to Dubai to Bangalore. I will be interning at RTI International in Bangalore, India, specifically helping with the cervical cancer prevention project.

So nervous but excited about this experience. I’ve been to India multiple times before to visit family, but have never stayed for this long alone in one location. In addition, because different parts of India have different practices, languages and culture, I’m anticipating that Bangalore will be quite different from the New Delhi I am more familiar with. I expect that people in Bangalore commonly speak Kannada and will probably eat more traditional South Indian food (such as dosa and idli) which I love! I’m also excited to explore the St. Johns Medical College campus (where I will be staying) and learn more about the medical school experience in India. This type of public health/policy research seems to be very different from the lab research I am used to–I’m curious about how researchers find people to interview and how they objectively analyze their answers to draft action-based recommendations. But because this type of work involves interaction and directly engages the issue, I might even like it better than lab work!

From this experience, I hope that I will gain a better understanding about how research and NGOs work to solving public health challenges in low-resource settings. I especially want to learn how cultural and social issues affect the research process and research reports we draft. And, how does the research we perform get incorporated into government policies, impact other public health organizations and affect medical practice? Ready to get started!