1. State your health outcome of interest. (It could be the one you used for week #2 or another one.) Pick two key behaviors that are important factors leading to your health outcome. Explain the importance of these behaviors either for etiology, prevention, or intervention. (If none of the behaviors in the readings are important for your health outcome, suggest another behavior that is.)
I am interested in disparities in endometrial cancer (EC) diagnosis among lesbian/queer women and transgender people. A noitable risk factor for EC is polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). Current prevalence estimates show a significant increase in PCOS diagnosis among queer women and transgender people compared to cisgender heterosexual women. Further, queer women and transgender people have higher rates of obesity. PCOS is thought to be etiologically associated with obesity and hyperinsulinemia. Tobacco use, also higher in queer and transgender people, is also assocaited with increased serum androgens and PCOS risk. I would be particularly interested in the behaviors of tobacco use and physical activity as potential causative etiologies of increased risk of PCOS among queer women and transgender people.
2. Describe how you would study the role of one of the behaviors described for question #1 and your health outcome of interest. Incorporate a social factor (e.g. race/ethnicity, social exclusion, stress) in the study approach.
Given the broad possible effects physical activity has on the etiology, prevention, and treatment of health outcomes, potentially the one above. I suspect physical inactivity among transgender people is related other life-stressors. Transgender people disproportionately experience violence and harassment. I hypothesize that transgender people have greater physical inactivity with decreasing income, perceived neighborhood safety, and increased school/work stress.
3. If key health behaviors (e.g. smoking, exercise, nutritious diet) are strongly influenced by neighborhood, income, and/or education, do we need to continue to study how these behaviors influence health outcomes? Why or why not?
Yes, specifically, we need research on the most effective and expeditious method to ameliorate these detrimental influencers. We also need research on how and why these structures of inequality were established and to what end.