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RPP #10: mentor meeting

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I met with Dr. Robinson this Tuesday for about 45 minutes to discuss my plan for my final narrative paper and my plans for next semester. I wanted to focus on choosing which methodology to use for my paper. I’ve had significant difficulty, throughout the progression of this semester, grabbing hold of a firm research topic. Obviously, I’ve always planned to stay within the realm of HIV. However, as I attempted to fit my puzzle into each methodology, I felt as if I was moving further and further away from what I was actually passionate about. I discussed this with Dr. Robinson, and we essentially developed a new approach to this using existing data that I had at my disposal.

I have at my disposal 30 in-depth interviews with young women, describing their group behavior in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania.[1] Using this data from 30 interviews with young women, I plan to ask the question: what explains variation in HIV risk among this group of women in Dar Es Salaam. I plan to investigate this question through a large-n statistical analysis. I will read through and dissect survey responses from young women in order to determine trends in group behavior.

After the meeting with Dr. Robinson, I was very pleased and reassured that my topic was in place for 306. Looking forward to 306, I will use other similar methodologies that were given to me as a model.[2] I am unsure of which correlation test I will perform thus far. However, a comparison of means is currently most appealing to me. That being said, I am unsure if I will change my mind in the coming days.

[1] Thespina Yamanis, “In-Depth Interviews with Key Informants / Leaders of Groups,” 2018.

[2] K.G. Santhya and Shireen J. Jejeebhoy, “Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights of Adolescent Girls: Evidence from Low- and Middle-Income Countries,” Global Public Health 10, no. 2 (2015): 189–221, http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17441692.2014.986169; AJ Mason-Jones et al., “School-Based Interventions for Preventing HIV, Sexually Transmitted Infections, and Pregnancy in Adolescents (Review),” Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, no. 11 (2016), http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD006417.pub3/epdf; Kaymarlin Govender et al., “HIV Prevention in Adolescents and Young People in Eastern and Southern Africa Region: A Review of Key Challenges Impeding Actions for an Effectiv Response,” The Open AIDS Journal, no. 12 (2018): 53–67.

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Research Portfolio Post #8: Qualitative Data Sources for Interpretivist Research

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I plan to research the media discourses surrounding the portrayal and characterization of HIV victims to help my reader understand how the media’s definition of the current HIV victim influences who does or does not receive treatment or preventative care. Specifically, I would like to understand how the media discourses may have contributed to the negligence in HIV treatment and prevention methods for women living in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).

In previous posts, I discussed how young women in SSA are increasingly more susceptible to HIV infection than any other population in SSA.[1] I discussed several determinants that place young women at risk for HIV. However, I have not discussed how the media discourses may have possibly contributed to the lack of treatment and preventative care for young women in SSA.

I found three separate New York Times articles discussing the development of HIV treatment and the progression of the disease’s outbreak. The first was titled “Rare Cancer Seen in 41 Homosexuals” and was published on July 3, 1981. The second was titled, “20+, HIV+” and was published on April 17, 1994. The third and final article I will discuss was titled “IDS, The Worsening Epidemic” and was published on December 5, 1999.

Each data source re-conceptualizes what researchers have learned about the disease. This means they largely discuss who is being impacted by HIV the most and how it should be treated, or who should be worried about infection. For example, Lawrence Altman’s piece was the first article published about HIV. However, HIV had not yet been named, and was believed to be a rare cancer exclusive to homosexual men.[2]  The author defines the victims of the disease to sexually promiscuous gay men, who experiment with multiple types of drugs.[3] He also offers a tidbit of advice to readers, saying that there was “no apparent danger to nonhomosexuals”.[4] The identity of an HIV victim is clearly defined, and anyone who does not fit this bill should not be worried. Similarly, due to the fact that researchers at the time believed HIV to be cancer, they were unsure how it was spread, and did not think that it spread at all (from person to person), as cancer is not an infectious disease.

The second article published in 1994, titled, “20+, HIV+” emphasizes that HIV’s victims are not just gay men who are sexually promiscuous and experiment with drugs. Instead, HIV’s victims are anyone from “young, bright talents to spoiled shoplifters on government assistance”.[5] Most importantly, he emphasizes that both of those categories of people are equally susceptible to HIV infection. In this piece, HIV’s victims are still defined by America’s borders. The author chooses to focus on the HIV epidemic at home rather than abroad.

My third article was published in 1999 and was titled, “AIDS, The Worsening Epidemic”. This piece was published 5 years after Beachy’s, and essentially explains that the scope of HIV expands well beyond America’s borders. The article emphasizes that wealthy nations may be better off at fighting the HIV epidemic, and should share their wealth to African nations. He argues that “the developed world needs to provide more leadership and resources to attack an epidemic that is overwhelming the world’s poorest societies”.[6] Interestingly, the author shifts their scope to the African continent, instead of focusing domestically,as previous journalists had before him. In this instance, HIV’s victims are “Africans”. The continent was grouped together, not distinguishing region. However, it did emphasize that HIV was killig far more across the Atlantic, than it was at home. This piece was one of several that marked a shift in thinking around HIV infection and treatment.

All three articles mark a transitional thinking towards today’s current thought, that HIV victims largely impact lower income women in SSA. Each text defines a victim drastically differently, and largely impacted who would receive treatment in that climate.

 

[1] Daniel T Halperin and Helen Epstein, “The Role of Multiple Concurrent Partnerships and Lack of Male Circumcision : Implications for AIDS Prevention,” The Southern African Journal of HIV Medicine, no. MArCH (2007): 19–25.

[2] Lawrence Altman, “Rare Cancer Seen in 41 Homosexuals,” New York Times, n.d.

[3] Ibid.

[4] Ibid.

[5] Stephen Beachy, “20+, HIV+,” New York Times, n.d.

[6] “AIDS, the Worsening Epidemic,” New York Times, n.d.

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Research Portfolio Post #7: Qualitative Data Sources

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For my small-n research approach I ask: What explains why women are more likely to contract HIV than other key populations in Tanzania? More specifically, I am exploring social or economic determinants of health that may potentially contribute to an individual’s likelihood for HIV infection. I chose to focus my research in Tanzania because there are currently 1.5 million people living there with HIV.[1] Most importantly, heterosexual sex accounts for the majority (80%) of all HIV infections in Tanzania, and women are particularly more impacted than men.[2] Therefore, I am most interested in determining why women in Tanzania are most at risk for HIV infection compared to women in other regions of the world. Unlike the Atzili reading, my case will not feature the “most likely case” approach.[3] Instead, my cases will be actual young women, who have been interviewed regarding their social and behavioral habits that possibly contribute to their HIV risk.

My dependent variable is new HIV infections. It is operationalized as a dummy variable (yes, she has HIV, or no, she does not have HIV). For this approach, I would likely have to use a new source that would provide me with detailed interviews with young women. This strategy has been used in almost every source that I’ve read on this topic.[4] For example, in an article by Mantsios, she recruited participants and conducted “27 in-depth interviews”.[5] Researchers asked about the participants age, marital status, how many children they had, education, and HIV status. They found that the majority of young women interviewed (80%) had no formal education past primary school and the majority (73%) were also infected with HIV.[6] In other words, they found a strong correlation to lack of education and increased risk for HIV. I believe that this strategy would be very well suited for my research question.

I could possibly continue on this path. However, the large-n work seems to fit my research question quite well. Whether or not I pursue this path would be dependent on my access to data or my ability to conduct interviews either domestically or internationally.

[1] AVERT, “HIV and AIDS in Tanzania.”

[2] Ibid.

[3] Boaz Atzili, “When Good Fences Make Bad Neighbors: Fixed Borders, State Weakness, and International Conflict,” International Security 31, no. 3 (2006): 139–173.

[4] Andrea Mantsios et al., “‘That’s How We Help Each Other’: Community Savings Groups, Economic Empowerment and HIV Risk among Female Sex Workers in Iringa, Tanzania,” PLoS ONE 13, no. 7 (2018): 1–16; Sarah Palazzolo et al., “Documentation Status as a Contextual Determinant of HIV Risk among Transgender Immigrant Latinas. In Press at LGBT Health.,” LGBT Health Epub ahead, no. 15 December 2015 (2016); Thespina J. Yamanis et al., “Social Venues That Protect against and Promote HIV Risk for Young Men in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania,” Social Science and Medicine 71, no. 9 (2010): 1601–1609; Suzanne Maman et al., “Leveraging Strong Social Ties among Young Men in Dar Es Salaam: A Pilot Intervention of Microfinance and Peer Leadership for HIV and Gender-Based Violence Prevention Suzanne,” HHS Public Access 13, no. 11 (2016): 1–2; Thespina Yamanis et al., “Legal Immigration Status Is Associated with Depressive Symptoms among Latina Transgender Women in Washington, DC,” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 15, no. 6 (2018): 1246, http://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/15/6/1246.

[5] Mantsios et al., “‘That’s How We Help Each Other’: Community Savings Groups, Economic Empowerment and HIV Risk among Female Sex Workers in Iringa, Tanzania.”

[6] Ibid.

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Research Portfolio Post #2: Mentor Meeting

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My faculty mentor’s name is Dr. Rachel Robinson. I met with her for about 30 minutes on Wednesday, September 5. As I mentioned previously, I was interested in investigating a correlation between increased prevalence rates of HIV in climate-change-impacted areas. I introduced my research interests to her, and we essentially discussed the probability of me being able to complete a research project on HIV and climate change given the resources at my disposal. We both agreed that given my location, it would be more interesting and beneficial to investigate a topic in the city of Washington.

She proposed that I perform interviews in D.C. rather than use already-existing data from other countries/states. Therefore, I decided to change my research interest. I’d like to further understand how schooling can impact an adolescent girl’s likelihood of contracting HIV. It is a well-established notion that young girls are at high risk for contracting HIV in their life time. Specifically, young women in the southern Africa region. In fact, adolescents in this region account for the greatest percentage of AIDS-related deaths (Govender, K., Masebo, W. G. B., Nyamaruze, P., Cowden, R. G., Schunter, B. T., & Bains, A., 2018).

However, since meeting with Dr. Robinson,  a previous professor of mine, Dr. Yamanis (and also a mentor figure) suggested I analyze the data that she is currently collecting about adolescent girls in Tanzania. I will be reviewing the survey/interview questions this week, and determining if I’d like to utilize this data source. This would give me the opportunity to use current and relevant data, perfect for my research interests.

I’m also interested in looking into the possibility of doing a comparative case study of adolescent girls in Tanzania and adolescent girls in D.C.. However, I’m not entirely sure what this would entail, as I’d have to create survey questions, and recruit participants. Also, because the HIV epidemic in D.C. is not generalized like it is in Tanzania, the disease likely doesn’t impact young girls like it does to those in Tanzania. I need to read about HIV in D.C. and how public education may influence their likelihood of contracting HIV.

Govender, K., Masebo, W. G. B., Nyamaruze, P., Cowden, R. G., Schunter, B. T., & Bains, A. (2018). HIV Prevention in Adolescents and Young People in the Eastern and Southern African Region: A Review of Key Challenges Impeding Actions for an Effective Response. The Open AIDS Journal, 12, 53–67. http://doi.org/10.2174/1874613601812010053