As an adolescent medicine physician with experience in public health and clinical pharmacology and an interest in contraception in complex medical conditions, Dr. Leroy-Melamed has developed an interest in SRH in SCD. Sexual and reproductive healthcare (SRH) is becoming increasingly centered in the lives of adolescents and young adults (AYA) with sickle cell disease (SCD) as they live longer and healthier lives and expect their quality of life and family planning to become more normally addressed by providers. Dr. Leroy-Melamed’s experience with SRH in SCD indicated disparities in SRH knowledge and increased needs such as treatment of menstrual dysfunction, contraception, and discussions around family planning and showed that SCD providers indicated increased desire for knowledge around SRH.
Because SCD primarily affects a minoritized community, there are many important research gaps that have yet to be addressed, including SRH. Dr. Leroy-Melamed intentionally and specifically applies a reproductive justice lens towards reducing the historical neglect and research stagnation for SCD patients. AYA with SCD face multiple health inequities related to social determinants of health as a vast majority of patients with SCD are Black/African-American. Historically, SRH is stigmatized, and community hesitancy around discussions relate to a history of racial injustices involving SRH including forced sterilization of poor racial minorities by the medical community. It is imperative to have the voice of AYA with SCD to ensure patient-centered in communication of SRH in the healthcare setting.
Dr. Leroy-Melamed completed a concurrent fellowship in adolescent medicine and clinical pharmacology. This combination ideally combines her background in biomedical engineering, a focus on applied public health issues, and experience in adolescent and young adult health and contraception. Her biomedical engineering degree allowed her to develop a strong foundation in research and a curiosity about the gaps in evidence-based science. The Peace Corps allowed her to experience first-hand the gaps in healthcare resources and outcomes. She worked mostly with adolescents, and learned how rewarding this population can be. She studied medicine with a focus on global health to be concretely connected to healthcare provision. Her projects carry through this applied public health focus. A lack of data on contraception with medically complex youth have led to marked disparities in access to contraception and negative health outcomes. Throughout medical school and residency, she became increasingly interested in young women’s reproductive health, contraceptive access and research in adolescent medicine. Studying SRH in AYA with SCD combines Dr. Leroy-Melamed’s strengths in connecting to young people, understanding of biological and pharmacological processes, and health disparities.
