The second week of my program mainly focused on data collection and data entry. As part of the pre-screening process, each person receives a form where they’ll select demographics and risk factors. There were over 200 physical forms from May, June, and July that had not been transferred onto spreadsheets due to staff shortages yet to be so I was entrusted with the task. As I filed these forms, I noticed trends in risk factors. Sex and hospitality workers that travel across the peninsula are at heightened risk of HIV. Through a deeper dive into this pattern, I came to understand the complexities of HIV transmission in the Yucatan Peninsula. Specifically, the presence of a large, mobile population, transactional sex, and other social and economic factors, can increase transmission risk in tourist areas of Mexico like Yucatan and Cancun in Quintana Roo. Overall, the process of filling and recording these screenings was essential to the understanding of the greater socioeconomic factors that affect HIV prevalence.
Laidlaw Week #2
Data Collection, Trends and Learnings