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Center for Studies in Demography and Ecology

Postdoctoral fellowship opportunity

The Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies (HCPDS) is currently accepting applications for the next cohort of the David E. Bell Postdoctoral Fellowship. The deadline to apply is Thursday, November 30, 2023 at noon EST (U.S.).

The two-year Bell Fellowship is an interdisciplinary, postdoctoral training program designed for researchers and practitioners in the fields of population sciences and/or population health. Through self-directed research, selected candidates examine a broad range of critical issues, mostly from within the HCPDS’s focal areas: 1) aging societies; 2) youth, families, and social mobility; 3) work, policy, & well-being; and 4) population dynamics of climate change. In addition to research and writing, fellows participate in weekly seminars, professional development and other skill building activities, plus communications & media skills training.

Fluoride-related Beliefs and Refusal Behaviors of Child Caregivers are Studied by Hill and Chi

CSDE Trainee Courtney Hill (Epidemiology), CSDE Affiliate Dr. Donald Chi (Health Systems and Population Health, Oral Health Sciences), and co-authors published their research in the Maternal and Child Health Journal, titled “A Mixed-Methods Study on Topical Fluoride Beliefs and Refusal Behaviors for Caregivers of Children with Special Health Care Needs”, where they aimed to understand topical fluoride-related beliefs and refusal behaviors for caregivers of children with special health care needs (CSHCN). They used an explanatory sequential mixed methods study, including a survey and interviews with children’s caregivers. While caregivers of CSHCN were not more likely to refuse topical fluoride than caregivers of healthy children, there may be important differences in the underlying reasons for refusing topical fluoride.

CSDE Seminar: The Geography of Family Caregiving in an Aging Society

CSDE is excited to welcome CSDE Affiliate Dr. Stipica Mudrazija with co-sponsor The Population Health Initiative. Dr. Mudrazija’s presentation will take place in 360 PAR and on Zoom from 12:30-1:30PM on Dec 1st. Stipica Mudrazija is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Health Systems and Population Health at the University of Washington and a Non-Resident Fellow at the Urban Institute in Washington, DC. He studies issues related to population aging, intergenerational support, and health and wellbeing of older adults in the United States and internationally, and is an elected member of the National Academy of Social Insurance.

His research has been supported by the National Institutes of Health and other federal agencies, as well as major foundations and philanthropic organizations. It has been published in leading peer-reviewed journals and edited volumes and featured in media outlets including CNBC, Daily Mail, The Economist, Forbes, Reuters, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal, among others. Prior to joining the University of Washington, Dr. Mudrazija was a Principal Research Associate at the Urban Institute and an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University. Previously, he was a postdoctoral scholar at the Edward R. Roybal Institute on Aging at the University of Southern California. Dr. Mudrazija holds a doctorate in public policy from The University of Texas at Austin, where he was a graduate research trainee in the Population Research Center, a master’s degree in public policy from Georgetown University, and a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Zagreb.

Research by Jiang, Drake, Kinuthia, and John-Stewart Assesses Differentiated Service Delivery Approaches for Postpartum Women Living with HIV

CSDE Affiliates Dr. Alison Drake (Global Health), Dr. Grace John-Stewart (Global Health, Epidemiology, Medicine, and Pediatrics), and co-authors published their research in JAIDS, “HIV viral load patterns and risk factors among women in prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) programs to inform differentiated service delivery (DSD)”. This research was led by Dr. Wenwen Jiang (recent PhD graduate) as part of her PhD dissertation at UW and by Dr. John Kinuthia (Global Health), who led the team in Kenya. Differentiated service delivery (DSD) approaches decrease frequency of clinic visits for individuals who are stable on antiretroviral therapy (ART). It is unclear how to optimize DSD models for postpartum women living with HIV (PWLH). Authors evaluated longitudinal HIV viral load (VL) and cofactors, and modeled DSD eligibility with virologic failure (VF) among PWLH in PMTCT programs. 

This analysis used programmatic data from participants in the Mobile WAChX trial (NCT02400671). Women were assessed for DSD-eligibility using the WHO criteria among general people living with HIV (receiving ART for ≥6 months and having at least one suppressed VL [<1,000 copies/mL] within the past 6 months). Longitudinal VL patterns were summarized using group-based trajectory modeling (GBTM). VF was defined as having a subsequent VL ≥1,000 copies/mL after being assessed as DSD-eligible. Predictors of VF were determined using log-binomial models among DSD-eligible PWLH.

Among 761 women with 3,359 VL results (median 5 VL per woman), a three-trajectory model optimally summarized longitudinal VL, with most (80.8%) women having sustained low probability of unsuppressed VL. Among women who met DSD criteria at 6 months postpartum, most (83.8%) maintained viral suppression until 24 months. Residence in Western Kenya, depression, reported interpersonal abuse, unintended pregnancy, nevirapine-based ART, low-level viremia (VL 200-1,000 copies/mL), and drug resistance were associated with VF among DSD-eligible PWLH. Most postpartum women maintained viral suppression from early postpartum to 24 months and may be suitable for DSD referral. Women with depression, drug resistance and detectable VL need enhanced services.

 

CSDE Computational Demography Working Group (CDWG) Hosts UW Soc PhD Student (11/29/23)

On November 29 from 3:30-4:30 pm, CSDE Trainee Breon Haskett will join CDWG to discuss his research. CDWG Will be Hybrid in Fall Quarter 2023. It will take place in 223 Raitt hall (The Demography Lab) on Zoom (register here). Breon Haskett is a PhD student in the Department of Sociology at UW and a T32 Fellow at CSDE. His work focuses on the intersection of industry and population processes to understand how people get by in the U.S..

Is the Grass Greener: A Wage Comparison across Racial Segregation at Home and Work

Race continues to be a strong predictor of where people live and work in the U.S. Past works show that we experience segregation to varying degrees throughout our day, not just at our residence. Yet little is known about what consequences the interaction of these segregations across two places, work and home, have for inequality. This research examines to what extent the social distance between residence and workplace holds for local economic outcomes. He uses LEHD residence and workplace characteristics data to assess the cost of the variation in diurnal segregation across Census tracts in the U.S. He develops this work in conversation with whitespaces, activity space, and wage attainment literatures. This research is part of his dissertation project that examines the composition of industries as a mechanism for population outcomes and inequality.