After emerging from a what seemed like a whirlwind of conference poster preparation and presentations, and grantwriting for the NIH American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds, I have taken a chance to lookat our progress and work with our couples in the first quarter of 2009.  First of all, we’ve made it over the 1/2 way hump; we now have 157 couples participating in PARTNRS.  PARTNRS couples continue to be dedicated to the program.  105 people have had the opportunity to share their experiences with us 6 months postpartum.  53 men and women finished the PARTNRS program already!  We keep them updated on the progress and what we are learning.

On a more important note, after each interview, we give PARTNRS participants the opportunity to write about their experiences as expectant or new parents, or give us feedback about the program.  We’ve heard from a number of participants now that the PARTNRS interviews have helped strengthen their relationship because they had never had the chance, or the right opportunity, to talk about many of the important issues brought up in the interviews.  Some of these topics include, parenting expectations, relationship equity, and past and current sexual experiences.  I’m happy to hear that while PARTNRS does not involve any formal programming to strengthen their relationship, participation has opened communication channels in their relationships, and brought up issues worth talking about in order to continue to lead healthy lives and relationships. And that’s what it’s all about.

~Anna

This has been a monumental week!  The PARTNRS team attended the CIRA AIDS Science Day Conference here in New Haven yesterday where we had an outstanding PARTNRS showing.  4 of our team members presented posters that ranged from understanding risk of interracial couples to identifying factors from a couple’s previous relationship that predict current risk.  I think the most fruitful part of the day was engaging with community members, community leaders and research colleagues from Yale and other Institutions regarding our research.  These conversations seemed to not only help us think about other perspectives and ideas within the research, but also to provide some fuel to our fire.  Congratulations to all!

In addition, last Friday we enrolled our 150th couple into PARTNRS!  This marks our 1/2 way point to enrollment and I am very excited about that.  I can remember explaining the study to our first couple at Saint Raphael’s Hospital and working diligently to get our 7th…8th…9th…couple…  Now, we’re on a roll! 

 Keep it up PARTNRS!    ~Anna