Anna Formstone takes you on a whirlwind tour of fieldwork in south-east Asia following a rabies outbreak
What is your project? – It is my PhD project. I’m using a participatory systems mapping approach to investigate and inform the design, implementation, and evaluation of integrated bite case management in different geographic and cultural contexts. It is an interdisciplinary project, supervisors are Katie Hampson, Nai Rui Chng and Peter Craig.
Where is your field site, what is it like and how long were you on fieldwork for? – My field site is on Tablas Island, in Romblon Province, the Philippines. The island is forested and mountainous, and ringed by white sand beaches. I went for eight days in February 2023 to carry out my fieldwork, travelling by plane to Manila before boarding another plane to Romblon.
Enjoying the sand and sun with an interviewee. Photo by Anna Formstone.
What were you gathering data on at your field site? – I was interviewing frontline animal and human health workers to find out more regarding their experiences using integrated bite case management in the context of a recent rabies outbreak on the island. The information I gathered was used to create a “process map”. The map illustrated the response to the outbreak and highlighted the bottlenecks and challenges in the health system which could be improved for responses to future outbreaks.
Did you encounter any issues when in the field? – Conducting interviews in a language you don’t speak obviously always incurs some challenges. Ensuring that I didn’t miss important points or misunderstand things was tricky but with the support of my in-country research collaborators we figured it out! It was also sometimes challenging to sensitively guide the conversations in order to ensure I was able to gather the data necessary to answer my research questions, while also making sure to take the time to listen to other concerns stakeholders had.
Is there anything you wish you had known prior to carrying out your fieldwork? – The importance of support from in-country collaborators! It is incredibly helpful and the logistical support I received from my Philippine research collaborators meant my trip went very smoothly.
Teamwork with in-country collaborators is extremely important for carrying out effective fieldwork. Photo by Anna Formstone.
Are there any funny moments from your fieldwork that stick with you? – The mayor of one of the municipalities we visited insisted on putting on the most beautiful (and delicious!) spread of food for us to eat after our meeting. She also insisted that we took three whole large fish away with us that were left over from lunch. Unfortunately, we had no cooler or fridge facilities in our van and by the end of a long, hot day of being driven around the island, they didn’t smell so great!
Are there any pieces of wisdom you have taken from your experience in the field? – My trip to the field was only eight days long because I had a baby in 2022 and my son was only eight months old when I conducted my fieldwork. I am incredibly lucky that I have the support of my parents and husband, which allowed me to go on this trip. However, I thought it might be helpful for other PhD parents (present or future) to see that travel to the field is still possible. Additionally, not all field trips have to be months long in order to be worthwhile or productive!
Acknowledgements
Many thanks to Anna for submitting a fieldwork diary to Naturally Speaking and shedding some light on the work that was carried out. The responses to the questionnaire were edited by Max Hadoke.
If you are within the School of Biodiversity, One Health and Veterinary Medicine and would like to submit a fieldwork diary, please download the questions using the following link and follow the instructions in the document.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1e5C8NUew5xFpEl_OPgH-yAjekmoc84OTLol0_eVoDL0/edit?usp=sharing
Banner image taken by Anna Formstone