The UA Zuckerman College of Public Health welcomed three scholars from two universities in Sonora, Mexico, as part of the Training, Internships, Exchanges and Scholarships (TIES) program funded by USAID: Gabriela Sánchez López, Rúben Carreón Diazconti, and Lourdes Aldana Madrid, PhD.

During their nine-month visit, the scholars will continue their academic research as part of a collaboration with El Colegio de Sonora (COLSON) that addresses complex, social, educational and development issues facing public health work forces in the border regions of Arizona and Sonora. Once they complete their visit, they will return to COLSON, where they will assist in the development of a graduate program in public health. (Photo: Rúben Carreón, Gabriela Sánchez, and Lourdes Aldana)

Pesticide Exposure in Workers and Communities
Dr. Aldana, a professor and specialist in toxicology with an emphasis in pesticides from the Universidad de Sonora (UNISON), is working with Mary Kay O’Rourke, PhD, associate professor at the UA Zuckerman College of Public Health, on the development of a binational investigation of pesticide exposure in workers and communities. Dr. Aldana also is investigating funding opportunities to continue assessing pesticide residue in foods and to evaluate exposures to environmental metals, like lead and arsenic. Goals for her visiting scholarship include writing a proposal for a binational effort that addresses pesticide exposures, a problem faced in similar agricultural settings of both countries. Dr. Aldana is completing her visiting scholarship at the UA while on a sabbatical leave from UNISON.

Innovative Approaches to Substance Abuse
Mr. Carreón, who has an undergraduate degree in anthropology and a master’s degree in social sciences with an emphasis on health, is working with Antonio Estrada, PhD, professor and Director of the UA Mexican American Studies and Research Center, and Cecilia Rosales, MD, associate professor at the UA Zuckerman College of Public Health. His research activities include an analysis of intervention models for substance abuse, risk factor reduction, treatment and mental health at the Mexico-U.S. border. He also will conduct an assessment of heroin usage in terms of dynamics on a daily-life basis and within the framework of health systems services at the Arizona-Sonora border.

Ms. Sánchez, who has an undergraduate degree in anthropology and a master’s degree in social sciences with an emphasis on health, is working with Rosi Andrade, PhD, research associate at the Southwest Institute for Research on Women (SIROW), and Dr. Rosales at the UA Zuckerman College of Public Health. Her activities include an assessment of the use of “crystal meth” among Latina women in Mexico and the United States with a particular emphasis on the Mexico-U.S. border region.

Both Carreón and Sánchez are developing an innovative curriculum for substance abuse workshops within a framework of “harm reduction,” a set of practical strategies that reduce negative consequences of drug use. This strategy focuses on providing practical, health promotion information, such as the prevention of infectious diseases associated with drug use like HIV, Hepatitis C and other sexually transmitted diseases. The curriculum also takes into account socio-cultural factors, particularly gender-specific issues related to drug abuse, such as body image. Harm reduction strategies meet drug users where they're at, addressing conditions of use along with the use itself.

Another component of the curriculum will be a documentary video being developed and produced by Carreón, "Abuelo del corazón: etnografia del hepatitis C en usuarios de drogas intravenosas" (Heart of a Grandfather: An ethnography of Hepatitis C in IV drug users).

All three visiting scholars are expected to submit articles for publication. Funded by the Association Liaison Office for University Cooperation in Development and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the collaboration between the College and COLSON is part of a U.S.-Mexico Training, Internships, Exchanges and Scholarships (TIES) partnership.