ADM+S PhD student shares research on data frictions of clinical sexual health services
Author
Date 2 September 2025
Caitlin Learmonth, PhD student at the Swinburne University node of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society, recently travelled to Montreal, Canada to share her research at two major events.
At the STI & HIV World Congress Cailtin presented a research poster on data frictions in the provision of clinical sexual health services.
Her work highlighted how current guidelines and funding mechanisms often fail to meet the needs of sexual health consumers who fall outside of population-based sampling categories, such as those in consensually non-monogamous (CNM) communities.
“Using my research’s critical lens of consensually non-monogamous sexual health consumers, I showed how current guidelines and funding mechanisms fail to meet the needs of some sexual health consumers falling outside of population-based sampling categories.” Caitlin said.
At the STI & HIV World Congress, Caitlin met with academics from the School of Public Health at the University of British Columbia, strengthening international research networks in her field.
In addition, Caitlin gave a presentation at DIGS Lab (Digital Intimacy, Gender & Sexuality Research Lab) at Concordia University. She provided an overview of her PhD project, which explores the data practices informing clinical sexual health services and the strategies used to navigate restrictions by CNMconsumers and healthcare providers. Caitlin also presented the strategies used by consumers and healthcare providers for navigating digital health systems to access sexual health services and engaged with fellow PhD students, post-doctoral researchers, and senior academics engaged in related fields.
Caitlin notes this research trip provided her with a reminder of the value of social research in health sciences.
“Learning how to communicate my research to different audiences, health and medical at the conference, and media, communication and cultural studies at DIGS Lab, has helped me explain and conceptualise my research in my writing and other academic outputs.” said Caitlin.
This research trip was co-funded by ADM+S Research Training and Swinburne University.
