Erica Sedlander, DrPH, MPH

Dr. Sedlander is an Assistant Professor and Social and Behavioral Scientist. Her research portfolio seeks to uncover mechanisms to help women achieve their reproductive goals throughout the life course (from pregnancy prevention to infertility prevention).

Dr. Sedlander has used mixed methods to show that women in sub-Saharan Africa were not using contraception because they (or people in their networks) believed it would make them infertile, which is highly stigmatized. These findings inspired her to examine infertility more closely. She has studied intentions to seek medical care for infertility in Tanzania and found that knowledge gaps and preferences for traditional care were barriers to care seeking, illuminating pathways to reduce preventable morbidity. Given that couples living with HIV have higher rates of infertility but antiretroviral therapy (ART) improves their chances of getting pregnant, she has studied perceptions about how HIV and ART affect their ability to get pregnant in sub-Saharan Africa. She and her colleagues found a dearth of knowledge and a gap in providers discussing how chronic and metabolic conditions affect chances of conception highlighting a promising area to intervene.

These concepts also apply to women living with HIV and metabolic conditions in the United States. She is currently using mixed methods to understand what women living with HIV in the United States understand about how their condition and treatment affect chances of conception and if and how their medical providers discuss the fertility benefits of ART with them.