Assignment #2: Explore and discuss the use of qualitative methods in investigating intersectional approaches to race, racism, and other factors contributing to health disparities.
In light of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and the killing of unarmed Black and Latino people in the United States, renewed focus has been placed on racial and health disparities affecting communities of color. As researchers, we have a responsibility to conduct culturally informed research programs that are respectful of the community. Moreover, as public health practitioners working with vulnerable, historically oppressed communities, we also have a responsibility to ensure that we follow the best evidence available to advocate for policies that improve conditions for those communities. Using what you have learned in class so far, your knowledge of intersectionality (Kimberlé Crenshaw, et al), and social justice to describe how you would approach your chosen research interest with a racial health equity lens. The assignment should be 2-page maximum, double-spaced, excluding the reference list.
a) Identify a research problem stemming from your field or area of expertise. Briefly describe the significance of the problem in terms of race and health. This will require a brief review of the relevant literature of the problem to identify a gap in knowledge. Use appropriate citations, in APA style, to support all facts and claims.
b) Discuss any racial health disparities that may have arisen from the literature to form your research question.
c) Describe how you would address these inequalities drawing from what we already know in terms of social determinants of health, structural inequalities, and health disparities. You may choose to use one of the qualitative methods we studied this quarter (e.g., interpretive phenomenology, grounded theory, or ethnography). You may also draw from theories such as Critical Race Theory, Social-Ecological Model, Queer Theory, etc. Explain the fit between your question and the chosen method(s) of analysis.
d) Describe, in general, how you would collect and analyze your data. Justify your sampling and data collection strategies in terms of racial equity.
e) Develop your ideas logically, clearly, and concisely, following APA format, and including appropriate scholarly citations and references to support all facts and claims about the topic and the research methods.
f) need to cite Kimberlé Crenshaw, et al.
Here is some background on the profession:
According to the recent Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics data on dietitians, the profession is 92% white as of October 11, 2021 [Source: Academy/Commission on Dietetic Registration Demographics, 2021] — and the profession as a whole seems to pay little attention to the people whose bodies and diets are outside of what is considered to be mainstream and acceptable — in other words, thin and white.
See also the articles by Kate Burt and Jill White.
I like the quote from Kate Burt’s article: Two students discussed their weight as a reason for lacking confidence to enter the profession. One said, “My biggest obstacle is feeling like a living, breathing oxymoron. I have been morbidly obese 95% of my life, and even with lifestyle changes and bariatric surgery, I still struggle with my weight.” Another student stated, “I don’t feel comfortable in the nutrition world, honestly, I don’t feel comfortable physically because I am overweight, but I’ve been overweight literally since I was a kid.”
