I also took a month-long course at the University of Cape Town and got to witness a health care system within the context of a truly transitional society. I learned it’s possible to provide free primary care to your entire population. I also learned doing so is difficult. I learned the battle between private and public health providers knows no geographical, cultural, or social boundary. I learned about the difficulties of expansive poverty in the wake of heated violence and racism. I learned that an amazing and beautifully crafted constitution is meaningless without political and logistical backing.

Well, suffice it to say I learned a lot. It solidified my desire to get a doctorate and go into research. I’ll keep you updated on any articles that come out of the trip.

Here, I’m working with an organization called Sonke Gender Justice Network working on a project that will (hopefully) provide quantifiable data and put the lives of young South African males in better social context. I don’t want to dive too much into the project until it is up and running, but I’m excited about being back in Africa and running a project as the PI. There’s huge potential for this project to fine tune the unique programs Sonke is currently implementing to the very specific needs of young men.

The entire staff at Sonke has been unbelievably supportive and the mentorship of Dean Peacock has been invaluable.

That’s my blurb for now. There will be a lack of proper updates until the summer is over. Partly because I’m busy, partly because the internet here is unreliable, but mostly because I need a break.

[Photo: mine.]

Perry gave me (and the rest of the team) a hard copy of the book today. And let me tell you, it is gorgeous. While my part in the process was small, there’s still an overwhelming feeling of honor to see your effort and time in actual print. I’ve gotten through a couple of chapters and honestly love it. It’s a great book, informative and invaluable to any health professional working with methamphetamine using populations.

Here’s the official press release blurb:

Methamphetamine Addiction presents a biopsychosocial perspective on this devastating epidemic, taking into account the biochemistry of the drug, the predispositions and behavioral patterns of the individual user, and the effects of the drug on the user’s immediate and wider social environments.

Drawing on the most current theories and most recent clinical, behavioral, and medical research available, author Perry Halkitis takes a comprehensive and multifaceted look at methamphetamine addiction. He examines methamphetamine production in the United States, its addictive properties, and its effects on users, which include a complex synergy with HIV. National prevention efforts are discussed as well as treatment options and directions for future research. Two contributed chapters, one from a physician and the other from a counseling psychologist, provide details on working compassionately and effectively with methamphetamine users in health care settings. While the book is written from the perspective of a behavioral scientist, it also provides guidance to health and mental health professionals, social workers, public health officials, counselors, teachers, addiction educators, and treatment specialists.

It’s on sale at Amazon.com right now. Pick up a copy.

I’m particularly excited about this one because it was is open-ended grant. I didn’t have to submit a proposal based around a particular topic and it did not need to be related to my degree. And it’s combines something I’ve always been curious about (altruism and charitable giving) with something I like to do (donate to charities) and aspects of public health (fundraising and educational interventions). It’s a nice thing to get money to do something you just kind of wanted to try out of curiosity.

I won’t go into too much detail about it yet. I am currently submitting my application to NYU’s IRB for approval and, hopefully, I’ll have the study up and running by September. Stayed tune though. This one will be interesting.

Until then, I leave you with a little song to celebrate: Albert Hammond Jr performing “Everyone gets a star.”

I’m a nerd. I really am. I’m constantly addicted to reading other health blogs, listening to the latest NPR or HowStuffWorks.com podcast, watching new TED Talks, and I’m embarrassed to admit how excited I was when I found out about Academic Earth.

If you’re familiar with Hulu, then you’ll already understand the concept. It is essentially a collection of video lectures from leading professors at all sorts of prestigeous academic institution.

Personally, I find the economics, mathematics, and physics lectures the most entertaining.

There aren’t a ton of lectures up yet, but I love the idea. The simple fact of the matter is that this type of open-access information sharing is the future. It could be argued we have a variation of that in the peer-review system now, but it’s not nearly as accessible and therefore not nearly as powerful. The potential here is unlimited–imagine a day when you are able to research a topic and not only see previously published materials but also projects in progress. While that would be great for researchers, imagine the potential for “virtual classrooms” in conjunction with the One Laptop Per Child movement or health interventions to already developed countries. Imagine how quickly this type of video sharing and data sharing can be translated between countries and regions. Limitless.

Ok. So I’m a nerd. Fine.

[Image from bayat via flickr.]