Speaker: Scott Ickes, PhD

Title: Mixed Methods approaches to understanding exclusive breastfeeding patterns and the implementation of workplace breastfeeding support policies in Kenya
 

Dr. Scott Ickes is currently Associate Professor in the Department of Applied Health Science at Wheaton College and an Affiliate Faculty member in the Department of Health Services and Nutritional Sciences at the University of Washington School of Public Health. His research examines the socio-cultural, behavioral, and structural causes of poor nutrition and seeks to identify and evaluate strategies to improve nutrition and health in low-resource contexts. Dr. Ickes holds a PhD in nutrition with a minor in epidemiology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Public Health. He completed post-doctoral fellowships in social epidemiology at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa, and maternal and child nutrition at Cornell University. Dr. Ickes currently spends about half of his time in Kenya as a Visiting Scientist with the Kenya Medical Research Institute where he is completing a K-01 International Research Development Award, funded by the NIH Fogarty International Center. This project applies methods in ethnography, social epidemiology, and implementation science to examine barriers to exclusive breastfeeding among mothers employed in commercial agriculture and opportunities for breastfeeding promotion.