Aisha Sultan

I am a PhD student in the School of Anthropology & Development Studies, within the University of Adelaide, supervised by Dr Alison Dundon, and Dr Dianne Rodger.

My doctoral research looks at the relationship between homelessness and reproductive & sexual health. In particular, my research focuses on the following themes: how women experiencing homelessness in metropolitan Adelaide perceive, manage and make meaning of their health care needs and wishes; what existing services and/or practices they perceive to be helpful and supportive; and, conversely, what they identify as the primary barriers to accessing adequate and appropriate health care.

While the link between homelessness and negative health outcomes has been well established through both quantitative and qualitative studies, the social, cultural, historical, political and economic underpinnings in the Australian context are not as well understood. I aim to use ethnographic research methods to address this gap in the literature. I argue that a better understanding of the explicit and implicit links between homelessness and reproductive & sexual health outcomes may then lead to strategies and services that better address the specific, complex and often compounding health and other service needs of women experiencing homelessness.