Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Bridging The Gap: Identifying Social Factors That Affect The Knowledge Of Sexually Transmitted Infections And Use Of Prevention Methods In Young Women, Ariel Spigel

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This study investigates the social factors that affect the transmission of sexually transmitted diseases (STIs) in young women, focusing on their knowledge of the subject and use of prevention methods in order to discover why STIs, though preventable, are still prevalent in the lives of young adults, and more often, young women. Sixty-one anonymous, closed questionnaires were distributed to female students of at least eighteen years at the Colegio Estadual Francisco da Conceição Menezes in Santo Antônio de Jesus, Bahia, Brazil, and six structured interviews were conducted with students from the same pool. Results showed varying levels of knowledge, educational …

Finding The Right Fit: Unique Challenges Faced By Health Ngos In The Health System Of Lamu District, Lauren Hartel

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This study examines how nongovernmental organizations and community-based organizations in Lamu District interact with the governmentally structured health care system at the district level. This is done through participatory observation, interviews and removed observation of NGOs, CBOs and government officials. From these observations, this study then identifies major challenges faced by health NGOs that inhibit them from performing to the best of their ability, and at times even compromise the health of the people they are trying to help. The results of this study show that in Lamu District, the most relevant challenges are continuity of care, dissemination of information, …

Education As A Detour On The Path To Inevitable Motherhood: The Acquired Values And Collective Ambitions Of The Students At La Maison D’Education Mariama Ba, Hannah Deangelis

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The values young Senegalese women acquire at home revolve around motherhood, domesticity and, above all, solidarity. The students lucky enough to attend La Maison D’Education Mariama Ba, the most elite girl’s high school in all of Senegal carry these community-centered values. Here, young Senegalese women have a chance to take a detour from the prescribed path that their gender has dictated by spending seven years living and studying with their peers in a highly intellectual setting. An understanding of the narratives of their lives before school, time spent at MEMB, and vision of their futures provides a lens through which …

Breaking The Cycle Of Domestic Violence, Rebecca Bolden

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Domestic violence is a serious problem that affects women all over the globe. It has been found that children who witness domestic violence in their homes are more likely to be involved in a violent relationship later on in life, perpetuating an intergenerational cycle of violence. This project aims to look at services that exist for women who suffer from domestic violence, in order to suggest future prevention strategies to end the cycle of violence. My methodology was interviewing four different organizations that exist in Salvador that support women who have suffered domestic violence as well as work to prevent …

Trapped In The Street: Defining The Health Care Use Of The Homeless Adult In Salvador, Bahia, Nicole Lunardi

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Problem Statement

Homelessness is a universal problem. This population represents some of society’s most marginalized members who, paradoxically, need society’s help the most. In this study, data was collected in order to discern in which circumstances and how homeless people utilize medical care in order to better understand the concepts of self efficacy and self agency among this population.

Question and Hypothesis

In what circumstances and by what means does the adult homeless population seek medical attention?

Since the homeless population is marginalized by society, I believe that this population lacks the self efficacy and agency that is required to …

Mujeres En Las Sombras: Un Estudio Sobre El Aborto En Chile, Molly Serventi-Gleeson

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Mi proyecto consistió en una investigación sobre la situación actual del aborto en Chile. A través de entrevistas con expertos y investigación directa, realicé una análisis de las razones históricas por la redacción de la ley permitiendo el aborto terapéutico, la situación hoy en día y la posibilidad de un cambio en el futuro. El aborto en Chile representa el nexo entre la historia, la política, la economía y la cultura Chilena. A través de mi estudio, concluí que los efectos de la dictadura resultó en una democracia incompleta, que no se atreve de hacer cambios a la estructura social …

Voz De Los Internos: Atención De Salud En El Recinto Penal En Arica, Chile, Lily Hoffman

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

According to both international and Chilean laws, incarceration does not affect one’s right to healthcare. Despite this protection, the health of prisoners’ remains a controversial topic in many communities, which may contribute to the inconsistencies in the levels of access to, and quality of, healthcare services in jails/prisons. A voice that is commonly overlooked, despite its value, is that of the patients of healthcare systems in jails/prisons around the world. This project was conducted in the maximum security prison complex in Arica, Chile and includes interviews with twenty-two incarcerated individuals based on their experiences with healthcare services in prison. Sixty-eight …

“Edutainment”: The Role Of Mass Media In The Development Of An Effective Hiv/Aids Youth Awareness Campaign In Viet Nam, Carmin Smoot

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Since the first reported case of HIV in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, in the year 1990, more than 300,000 people have contracted the disease. The Socialist Republic of Vietnam has made considerable progress since that time in disseminating information on HIV/AIDS to the public, utilizing various forms of media. Yet in the rudimentary stages of this national effort, a “social evils” campaign was launched by the government; an emphasis was placed on informing the public as to why individuals contract HIV/AIDS, and which negative individual behaviors, or “social evils,” influence the proliferation of the disease. As more of the …

Tuberculosis Por Los Ojos De La Vida Aymara: La Correlación Entre Estilo De Vida Y Tuberculosis En Los Aymara Del Norte De Chile, Sam Percy

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Background: Explanations for disparities in health between groups of people are complex, and based in differences in genetics, environment, access to medical care, socioeconomic, educational, and cultural factors. In short a person’s lifestyle is inextricably related to a person’s health and their propensity to contract disease. Members of the indigenous group Aymara who live in Arica, Chile have 6 times the rate of morbidity from Tuberculosis (TB) as non-Aymara and 9 times the rate of mortality from the disease. This study examined if there was a link between the rate of TB amongst the Aymaran people and the way Aymarans …

Constructions Of Disease In Mayo Village, Rachel Eades

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Understanding how individuals and institutions negotiate illness and construct ideas about disease is important to public health efforts across the globe. Countries in sub-Saharan Africa suffer from a variety of health problems that many regions of the world have long since eradicated. Economic hardship, combined with high rates of communicable diseases, food poverty, lack of sanitation, and poor water quality make countries in sub-Saharan Africa some of the poorest and sickest in the world. Tanzania is a prime example. The purpose of this study was to explore how people in one rural, Tanzanian village construct ideas about disease – its …

Mitigating The Impact Of Aids On A Rural Community: Observations Of The Inner Workings Of A Rural Non-Governmental Organization, Kara Huselton

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The purpose of this study project was to understand the impact of HIV/AIDS on a community and to assess the ability of a non-governmental organization to mitigate the negative effects of disease and poverty in the spaces where the government has failed to address community needs. The author observed employees at the Bhekuzulu Self Sufficient Project in rural KwaZulu Natal over a period of three and a half weeks in order to gain an understanding of the work done there. Secondary research was done to supplement these observations and better understand the social and economic impact of HIV/AIDS on a …

Smarter Mothers, Healthy Children, Smaller Families: A Look At The Impact Of Women’S Education On Family Planning Decisions In The Sultanate Of Oman, Kerala Hise

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Is there a single, perfect, cure-all policy that a government can enact to achieve sustained development? This is a question international organizations and individual leaders ask themselves every day. There will always be ‘less-developed’ nations, this is a reality of having ‘developed’ nations, but there is no reason that humanity should allow there to be ‘under-developed’ nations, not when we have at hand the tools and knowledge to enact immediate, sweeping changes now. However, because different people, different groups feel that their idea or proposal is of the utmost importance, that change is often never realized. Often, too much value …

Health As A Basic Human Right: Efficacy Of Quality Assurance For Healthcare In Uganda, Ally Pregulman

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Quality of health care is an important aspect of health services delivery because of its ability to maximize outputs within given resource constraints. Quality assurance programs for health care are paramount to the realization of good quality health care because of their ability to identify gaps in service provision. The Ministry of Health and other stakeholders in health care have created quality assurance supervision and support programs for the health sector, yet there is a disconnect between the programs and the operational realities of the sector. The health-related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are far from being achieved within Uganda and …

South Africa’S Unsung “She-Roes”: A Practicum Study Of Npo Grandmothers Against Poverty And Aids, Khayelitsha Township, Cape Town, Rachel Pryzby

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Across Africa, the AIDS pandemic has forced HIV+ individuals and orphaned children into the care of elderly women. Though this has occurred in millions of families, little support has been offered for the grandmothers supporting children and grandchildren on a limited income. This study reports on a practicum study at Grandmothers Against Poverty and AIDS (GAPA), the first African organization to recognize the important role played by grandmothers in light of HIV/AIDS. The study was conducted in April 2008 at the GAPA center in Khayelitsha Township, Cape Town. The main objective of the study was to evaluate the organization’s origin, …

Give Life Without Losing Life: The Casa Materna Of Matagalpa And The Struggle To Prevent Maternal Death, Lily Emiko Friedman

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Maternal mortality has a face. It is the health indicator with the greatest disparity between the developed and developing worlds, disproportionately affecting poor women with low levels of education, high levels of fertility, and inadequate access to health services. It is the health inequality that most clearly shows how poor health outcomes continue to be directly linked to poverty and socioeconomic disadvantage, while the right to safe pregnancy and motherhood comes with economic privilege. As it occupies such a critical position in community health, maternal mortality has been widely studied and the target of countless health interventions aimed at its …

Como Mujer…Yo Decido: El Derecho De Salud Sexual Y Reproductiva En Mujeres Aymara De Putre, Chile, Alice Manos

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The human right to sexual and reproductive health, as defined at the International United Nations Conference on Population and Development (Cairo, 1994), continues to be a pending issue in Chile. The sexual and reproductive health of indigenous women emerges as a crucial issue within this field due to Chile’s history of cultural ignorance and a dictatorial healthcare system. Studies of women’s sexual and reproductive healthcare within indigenous communities in Chile have focused on the Cosmo vision and traditional medicine of the Aymara due to their distinct concepts of reproduction, gender roles, and family planning. Studies conducted by Maria Soledad Pérez …

¨En Este País No Se Habla Con La Verdad¨: Investigando La Falta De Educación Sexual En El Ecuador¨, Laney Rupp

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

No abstract provided.

Messages Of Maternity: The Relationship Of State And Ngo Institutions To Reproductive Health Services And The Construction Of Family In Jordan, Julia Shatz

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This project examines the ways in which family planning and reproductive health services and the institutions that provide them contribute to constructing definitions of family and motherhood in Jordan. The study is based on personal interviews conducted with representatives at six institutions – the Ministry of Health, the Higher Population Council, the Jordanian Association for Family Planning and Protection, Queen Zein Al Sharaf Institute for Development, the Arab Women’s Organization, and the Jordanian Women’s Union. This paper addresses the issues of family planning as a method of population control, the integrated medical and educational approach currently popular in family planning …

The Complex Realities Of Indigenous Health Care Delivery, Megan Waterman

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The indigenous population of Australia faces a life expectancy that is eighteen years lower than the general population. This study addresses this incredible disparity by exploring the historical, cultural and social forces that impact on health status, focussing especially on health care service utilisation. Qualitative methods of interviewing and participant observation have been used to examine the two sectors of Aboriginal health service delivery in urban Victoria: Aboriginal community controlled health organisations (ACCHOs) and mainstream organisations. Accounting for the complex forces and realities in health service delivery, this is a discussion of the important components of the current realities for …

Individual Responsibility Concerning Hiv Transmission Among Msm: A Comparative Study Of The Effectiveness Of Ngo Intervention Policies And Their Practical Applications Within The United Kingdom, Australia, And The Netherlands, Martha Kienbaum

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This study investigates the complexities involved in utilizing the terms of individual responsibility for the construction of HIV prevention campaigns that target men who have sex with men. Four health workers in the Netherlands were interviewed about their personal opinions regarding HIV intervention, and these interviews were analyzed qualitatively for their points of comparison and contrast. Then, campaign materials from organizations in the United Kingdom and Australia were analyzed for their use of the language of responsibility, their portrayal of MSM, their balance between promoting disclosure and communication, their focus on individual groups within the MSM community, and their overall …

Sex-Education And Preventative And Contraceptive Services: Educação-Sexual E Serviços Contraceptivos E Preventativos, Elizabeth M. Ortiz

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Maternal morbidity is one of the leading causes of death amongst women in Latina America. Lack of access to Reproductive Health services has incited a continental epidemic amongst adolescent women - and should be considered a public health crisis. Yet, there is little being done by the governing male bodies to secure access and the Right to Reproductive Health services. This is not only a means of re-enforcing gendered inequalities- but also class, and racial disparities. Reproductive Health in Brazil and Northeastern Brazil in particular, serves as an allegory for socio-economic, gender, ethnic, and racial inequality in the region. The …

Abortion: The Reality For Women Of Praia Grande, Anna Tawse

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Under Brazilian law, abortions are prohibited in all cases except for pregnancies resulting from rape or sexual violence and pregnancies which present possible death or harm to the mother. Upon a closer look, however, it is obvious that regardless of the illegality, Brazilian women are getting abortions. In light of this, I conducted a research project to uncover more about the reality that Brazilian women, specifically located in Praia Grande (a small community on Ilha de Mare off the coast of Salvador), face given the simultaneous existence of the two situations listed above (which I refer to as the “abortion …