Dying Mothers: An Exploration of Maternal Mortality Rates Among African Female Refugees

poster abstractThe worldwide decline of maternal mortality rates has been lethargic, at best. The Millennium Development Goals (MDG) are eight ambitious targets set in 2000 to encourage worldwide development. While great strides have been made in certain areas, there has been comparatively little progress globally in terms of Millennium Development Goal 5, maternal mortality. Women are still dying at alarming rates while give birth, particularly in developing countries like those in Sub-Saharan Africa. Several sources explicitly state that the maternal mortality rates in refugee camps are greater than the general figures. This suggests that circumstances causing refugee status, health issues endemic to refugee camps, and conditions within refugee camps are hindering the world’s ability to develop. Improving the maternal health of women is not beneficial solely to women; it is essential to the human race. Nonetheless, for numerous reasons, the goals for decreasing maternal mortality, which are arguably not overzealous, remain unmet, months after the 2015 deadline. The primary aim of this project is to identify and discuss some of these reasons. It is a comparative exploration of major health issues, like lack of access to care, threatening the lives of pregnant African female refugees, specifically in terms of reproductive health. The majority of the project is comprised of information acquired using literature review from sources like Amnesty International, UNHCR, and scholarly journals. This research combines several hypotheses and conclusions in an attempt to understand and decrease maternal mortality in refugee camps and help save the world’s dying mothers

The Young Men in the Streets of “Pockets of Peace”: The Feasibility of Obtaining Data through Cell Phone Journals

poster abstractThis project is an extension of a study by Dr. Tamara Leech called “Pockets of Peace,” which examines certain Indianapolis communities that, despite high rates of concentrated disadvantage, exhibit low rates of youth violence. The following research focuses on the methods, incentives, and logistics needed to recruit and retain young men most at risk for violence in these communities. To understand the reasons for resilience or nonresilience, 28 participants in both pockets and non-pockets were provided iPhones. Using these iPhones, they completed biweekly surveys regarding their experiences, their neighborhoods, and the violence that does or does not define them. Participants had their phone plans paid for the duration of the study and were provided $25 gift cards per monthly meeting they attend, wherein they were granted the opportunity to elaborate on survey responses. Participation rates tell an interesting story. The sample size and the engagement of the participants fluctuated weekly; yet, the average participation rate, which considers the number of participants expected to complete the survey and the actual number of surveys completed, ranged from 70% to 95% per survey. After two missed surveys, participants’ phones were shut off, as an incentive for them to complete surveys consistently. While some of the young men fail to do so, significant data was gathered from completed surveys and monthly meetings. There are no better experts on youth violence in Indianapolis than the youth themselves. The participants’ cell phone journals provide qualitative meaning to researchers’ quantitative data by recording perspectives and stories that contextualize the statistics. Simultaneously, participants benefit materially and also gain a sense of purpose from contributing to the betterment of their community

Who Can I Turn To? Emotional Support Availability in African American Social Networks

African Americans disproportionately experience psychological distress, such as feelings of sadness, hopelessness, and worthlessness and are disproportionately exposed to risk factors associated with mental illness, such as racial discrimination, violence and poverty. To effectively address African Americans’ mental health needs, it is imperative to identify who African Americans turn to when they experience stressors. The purpose of this study was to assess the extent to which emotional support is provided within African Americans’ social networks and determine the characteristics of social network members who African Americans rely upon for emotional support. Results indicate that African Americans rely on social network members for spiritual and physical health support more so than emotional support. Among both male and female participants, social network members were significantly more likely to be relied upon for emotional support if they were a non-familial network contact, had a close relationship to the participant, and if they also were someone the participant spoke to about his or her physical health. Findings have implications for the development of culturally-sensitive strategies for increasing emotional support provision within African Americans’ social networks

Structural and Contextual Patterns in Family Health History Knowledge among African American Adults: A Mixed-Methods Social Network Analysis Study*

Background: Family health history is a strong risk factor for many chronic diseases. Ethnic minorities have been found to have a low awareness of their family health history (FHH), which may pose a contributing factor to health disparities. Purpose: The purpose of this mixed-methods social network analysis study was to identify structural and contextual patterns in African American adults’ FHH knowledge based on interpersonal communication exchanges with their family members. Methods: African American adults completed individually administered family network interviews. Participants’ 3-generation family pedigree served as a visual aid to guide their interview. Our primary outcome of interest for this analysis was whether a family member was reported as someone who talks to the participant about their own (i.e., the family member’s) health, which we refer to as a “personal health informant.” To contextualize quantitative findings, participants were asked to describe how they learned about the health history of the relatives they identified during their interview. Results: Participants (n=37) reported an average family network size of 29.4 relatives (SD = 15.5; Range = 10-67). Each participant, on average, named 17% of their familial network as personal health informants. Multivariate regression results showed that participants were more likely to name an alter as a personal health informant if the alter was female (OR = 2.14, p = 0.0519), from the maternal side of the participant’s family (OR = 1.12, p = 0.0006), had one or more chronic health conditions (OR = 2.41, p = 0.0041), was someone who has discussions with the participant about the participant’s health (OR = 16.28, p < 0.0001), was a source of family health information (OR = 3.46, p = 0.0072), and was someone whose health the participant helps to monitor or track (OR = 5.93, p = 0.0002). Complementary qualitative findings indicate that FHH knowledge is facilitated by open, direct communication among relatives. Personal health informants were described as disclosing information for the purposes of informing others for preventive purposes and for gaining social support. Participants also learned about FHH via other methods, including direct observation, during caretaking, and following a relative’s death. Conclusions: Communication and disclosure practices is an important determinant of African Americans’ FHH knowledge. More culturally and contextually meaningful public health efforts are needed to promote family health history sharing, especially regarding paternal family health history, siblings, and extended relatives