Bryn Mawr College

Judith R. Porter

Judith Porter's area of research is Sociology of AIDS and injection drug use.  She is currently completing a study on service-seeking strategies and experiences of injection drug users, focusing on the role of needle-exchange programs as a bridge to service acquisition. The research involves interviews with injection drug users on AIDS knowledge, use of drug treatment and medical services, and AIDS risk behavior. The study compares injectors who use needle exchange programs with those who do not.

She has also done research on response of drug injectors to 9/11; knowledge of drug injectors about hepatitis C; and the ecology of street prostitution. In her courses on Sociology of AIDS and Sociology of AIDS Internship, her students intern in AIDS agencies as outreach workers, AIDS educators, and service providers, giving them the opportunity to apply what they are learning.  These internships expose students to the reality of what they are studying and incorporate speakers from community agencies and affected communities into the classroom as well.  She has recently published an article on community and student benefits of service-learning with a food stamp campaign. 

She volunteers as an AIDS educator with Congreso de Latinos Unidos in programs for the homeless and drug treatment programs. She also volunteers as a food stamp pre-screener for the Greater Philadelphia Coalition against Hunger, and serves on the Board of Directors of Women against Abuse and the Philadelphia Coalition against Homelessness.  

She retired in 2006 but continues to teach her Sociology of AIDS and AIDS Internship courses.