Field Placement: The Population Council, Office for Latin America & the Caribbean
Location: Mexico City, Mexico
Preceptor: Dr. Sandra Garcia
Student Name: Ingrid Dries-Daffner
Year: 2004

Between July and December 2005, I worked as an intern for the Population Council's Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean (PCLAC). The Population Council ("The Council") is a U.S.-based research organization that has project offices throughout the world and one main office in each region that serves as regional headquarters. Research is based in reproductive health issues, and programs vary widely from biomedical research and product development to community-based program design and implementation.

I worked for PCLAC's Reproductive Health Program, which conducts applied research on contraception, abortion, maternal and child health and sexually transmitted disease prevention. PCLAC has projects in Barbados, Bolivia, Brazil, Guatemala, Jamaica, Mexico, Peru and along the U.S.-Mexico border. My principal preceptor was Reproductive Health Program Director Dr. Sandra Garcia, but I also assisted in various projects headed by other PCLAC staff.

PCLAC’s work is primarily focused on meeting the reproductive health goals established at the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD). Conference goals included promoting development by increasing access to reproductive health services and information world wide. PCLAC needs assessments have shown that while many Latin American and Caribbean countries have made great strides to improve reproductive health outcomes over the last 20 years, there remains a great deal of work to be done to reach the ICPD goals.

While at PCLAC, I worked on a number of different projects, the primary of which are listed below.

• Reviewed and synthesized literature on public opinion on abortion in Latin America and the Caribbean
• Designed factsheets addressing Mexican youth's need for sexuality information and communication skills
• Analyzed data and developed survey instruments for research on contraceptive use at the U.S.-Mexico border.

All of my work was conducted through secondary research sources in the Mexico City office or via Internet databases and search engines. However, some of the analysis I conducted for the U.S.-Mexico border survey was based on data collected from the field.

My experience with PCLAC provided me an opportunity to develop essential core research skills that I know I will carry with me throughout my career. Through my work at the Council, I was able to further define my own career goals and gain insight into the steps that will be necessary to achieve these goals.

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