Graduation with Leadership Distinction in Research
Practical Application of Concepts
When I first began my college career I had recently graduated high school and was a Certified Nursing Assistant. Instinctively, I figured I would major in Nursing and work towards becoming a Registered Nurse. But as I got more involved with school and started taking courses in the social sciences like Psychology and Sociology, I found that I was fascinated with many issues that were raised in these disciplines. I then began seeking an alternative to Nursing which would allow me to harmonize my interests in the social sciences with the biological sciences. At this point I found Public Health.
As I discussed in my previous Key Insight, "Identifying Blind Spots", it was evident that areas of the population were being neglected or mistreated. After using social science theory to identify the blind spots, it is necessary to find ways in which these concepts can be applied practically and physically within the real world. A large majority of these blind spots lead to issues that are based primarily in minority groups. In sociology, the characteristics of a minority group are:
1. The members of the group experience a pattern of disadvantage.
2. The members of the group share a visible trait or characteristic that differentiates them from other groups.
3. The minority group is a self-concious social unit.
4. Membership in the group is usually determined at birth.
5. Members tend to form intimiate relationships within the group.
With all of these characteristics in mind, we see that many groups fall into this category. Subordinate racial groups, like African Americans and Hispanic Americans, fall under the classification of a minority group. Those whose sexual and gender identities fall outside the realm of heterosexuality are classified as a minority group. Even women as a whole can be considered a minority group.
In the summer of 2015 I was enrolled in a Women's Health class. One particular school of thought which was emphasized within the course, and within sociology and the academic world generally, was feminism. The basic definition of feminism is "the idea that women should have the same political, economic, and social rights and opportunities as men." One of the first pieces of material presented to me had a quote within it that particularly stuck out to me, "The medical model is still male in many ways. It's traditionally been that human chemistry and physiology were male until proven otherwise. Women will make a revolution in health care." This quote is from Kathryn C. Benjamin, MD, a past president of the American Medical Women's Association. Viewing healthcare through a feminist lens helps identify the problem that she is describing. Applying another concept within sociology, institutional discrimination, the unequal treatment of an entire group within society, helps explain it. When looking to find where exactly attention must be dedicated, combining concepts to create plans of action can pinpoint where to begin research. Once the area of need has been isolated and empirical data has been gathered to support it, one can find methods of physically working towards persuing change.
Beyond simply gender, concepts like the "matrix of domination" I referenced in a previous Key Insight, can be applied in addition to general perspectives such as feminism to find groups that are even more impacted and may require more specialized attention. One example of how to apply theory in order to correctly target attention could be the problem of obesity. About 29% of the United States' female population is obese. According to Suzanne Bennett Johnson, former president of the American Psychological Association, 60% of black women are obese, versus 32.2% of white women. It is clear that black women are disproportionally effected here. In this situation, not only is this person a member of the female minority group, but is also a member of a racial minority group. By combining situations like this with science, statistical anaylsis, and public policy, effective action can be enacted.
Within research occuring in the PALM Lab, I learned first-hand how to apply theory to research. Tammy's project rose from a desire to understand why she observed discrimination and prejudice within the professional world. This discrimination was accredited to implicit bias, the concept that everyone we interact with holds unconscious and involuntary negative or positive mental attitudes towards others, based on one's race, gender, ethnicity, age, or a number of other factors. Witnessing her discovery of numerical and empirical evidence which supported her theory-based claim influenced my thinking greatly.
Moving forward in the PALM Lab, during a literature review conducted on Muslim religious identity within the United States, it once again became evident that theory could be applied to explain the lack of literature on the subject. The Muslim population was a minority group which was often sensationalized in the United States, so little research existed on their religious identity. In other areas where Muslims compromised the majority of the population or did not instinctively associate Islam with negativity, much more research existed.
Actual, practical methods of targeting attention and enacting change are vital. At the SC Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy's Summer Institute, many of the workshops that I attended provided insight on how to tackle issues within several disadvantaged populations. One workshop that did so was titled "Ain't I a Girl/Woman, Too?: Sexuality & Womanhood of Disabled Females". Presented by Vilissa Thompson of Ramp Your Voice!, this workshop exposed many of the downfalls in how we as a society care for our disabled population, particularly women and girls. As a whole, it seems that we ignore the personal development of the disabled population. By being both a woman and disabled, those belonging to this group endure a number of problems. Many disabled women are sexually abused by caretakers, subjected to multiple forms of abuse by their partners, excluded in sex education programs, and assumed to not feel the same desire for intimacy and closeness. Vilissa spoke from her experience as both a disabled woman and social worker and provided suggestions for physical action tailored to a number of perspectives; for social workers, physicians, nurses, educators, physical and occupational therapists and peer counselors.
I additionally attended a workshop titled "Providing LGBTQ Competent Health Care to Adolescents". By once again applying the concept of institutional discrimination, one can see that the LGBTQ population is effected disproportionately by a range of issues. The issue discussed was the potential barriers and biases in health care. If an individual is subjected to bias from a health professional they could be prevented from recieving vital attention. Many LGBTQ teens avoid seeking treatment or consultation because of this. Karen Schlanger provided us with guidelines towards developing a skillset which could minimize bias and improve care. As I am a nursing assistant and plan to become a physican assistant, suggestions as simple as providing more privacy are beneficial.
Since I do plan to work in the healthcare field, I enrolled in a number of courses pertaining to medicine and biology during my time at USC Union. After completing my anatomy and physiology courses I entered a microbiology course in the summer of 2015. In microbiology I learned how to work with bacteria and viruses, including identifying them, culturing them, understanding treatments and how the diseases spread. At the end of every week, we each did a presentation on a different disease, which helped me gain a greater understanding of three diseases I discussed, and gave me a chance to work on my speech skills. Within each presentation we discussed the cellular biology and characteristics of our chosen pathogen, symptoms, treatment methods, prevalence in history, outbreaks, and what segment of the population the disease affected the greatest. Two of my presentations were on the diseases syphilis and leptospirosis. In these assignments I once again found that minority group members were struck with these diseases moreso than the general population. The group currently most affected by both syphilis and HIV is black men having sex with men (MSM). Those in poor countries with a lower standard of living were more effected by leptospirosis, a disease which those of us having reliable clean water and shelter seldom suffer from. Through my microbiology course I was able to learn skills that will help me execute my plans of improving public health, particularly reproductive health, and providing thorough accessible healthcare.
Photos of bacteria viewed through a microscope taken during my Microbiology course.
N. gonorheae (top) and E. coli (bottom)
There are hundreds of concepts discussed within the fields of sociology, psychology, antropology, gender studies and many other areas that can be applied practically. I firmly believe that developing an understanding of social science concepts has proved greatly beneficial to me by giving me much better grasp of the state of society and an idea of how to individualize care. Theory can often initially appear daunting and abstract, but by intertwining theory with real-life experiences of those in our society, both professionals and the public can benefit.