- After reading the article by Thomas et al., comment on where your research, or your research interests, fit into the generational framework for health disparities research. If your work is 1st or 2nd generation, comment on how your work could lead in the future to 3rd or 4th generation work. If your work is 3rd or 4th generation, comment on what 1st and 2nd generation work was necessary as a foundation for your current work (or current interests).
My main research project is a qualitative study, so it doesn’t fit very comfortably in this paradigm, but I believe it is likely second generation work, verging on third. I am interested in the experiences of abortion and differences in rates of abortion for women of color, specifically black women. Prior first generation work done in this area has shown that Black women have a disproportionate rate of abortion as compared to their overall population, as compared to white women. Similar trends are seen for latex communities, though not as pronounced. Other second generation work has attempted to elucidate why such trends occur, and the data suggests that differential abortion rates by race are directly influenced by the disparities in the unintended pregnancy rate by race, which is largely due to disparities in access to reproductive health care and contraception, socioeconomic factors, and differences values systems surrounding contraception. My work aims to elucidate how Black women feel about abortion in general, how they interpret it as an outcome, how their attitudes and experiences are influenced by their racial identity. Its in this way that it is likely second generation because it may help to understand why the differences in abortion rates occur, in a way not previously described. I say that this work lies at the verge of third generation as described in the Thomas et al. article because it feels like it could be an informative bridge to meaningful interventions aimed decreasing abortion rates for women of color or to help redefine how providers understand abortion as an outcome, as women of color may not necessarily see it as a negative outcome.
2. The barbershop hypertension intervention, while essentially a clinical services intervention operating at either the fence or safety-net level as described by Jones, has some engagement with the social determinants of health. What types of clinical interventions can you think of in your area of research that could similarly bridge levels of the socioecological model?
While this is not directly my research interest, large disparities exist in rates of consistent condom use amongst adolescents. These rates frequently vary by geographic location, influenced by local social norms and cultural experiences, as well as differentiate access to comprehensive sexual and reproductive health education. One possible intervention using a socioecological model would be to randomize the intervention (vs control) at the school level, and employ well-trained peer sexual health educators with a campaign promoting consistent condom use. Rates in STIs could be measured as an outcome though this may be challenging.
3. Please respond to one other classmate's responses to this assignment.
See comment on Nick's post.