Hi everyone! Hope you are all doing well and continuing to stay safe. Let’s get right to it:
CATCH-UP
The past couple of weeks have been primarily the same as my last blog post: mainly sifting through patient data and analyzing parameters related to elective labor induction. I had been doing this in Excel before because we weren’t able to get the SPSS dataset software onto my hospital laptop, but I was just able to get it so I can transfer over all of the data I’ve organized. I think what I’ve been primarily reflecting on over the past couple of weeks is the way in which the “social identities” we talked about in seminar affect various aspects of research.
REFLECTION
As of right now, I have been thinking a lot about how I can use my privilege and platform to take a position of advocacy and amplify the voices of marginalized groups. Specifically, trying to deconstruct my privilege and educate myself on ways to support Black Lives Matter is something I’ve been attempting to work on, and I have a lot of learning to do. Tying this into my research, the original reason I became so interested in disparities within the realm of women’s health was after taking Women’s Studies 220 at Michigan during my freshman year fall semester – I remember learning about the discrepancies in more preterm births and lower birth weights for Black babies as opposed to white babies, and how this is an outcome of the perpetuating deep-rooted racism that has come about in the medical field (and just within society on a broad scale). I honestly believe that if anybody has those sorts of biases or attitudes towards not wanting to provide care to someone solely based on their race, class, gender, sexuality, and beyond, then they frankly do not belong in the medical field. It truly makes me (and clearly a myriad of many other people) so sad and frustrated seeing articles and stories of people being denied care simply because they are transgender or seeing their price of treatment go up simply due to their race. Simultaneously, I feel as though institutional change is so hard to bring about, especially when we’re all just students in undergrad and frankly don’t hold much power or credibility within those professional fields yet. As of right now, I think the best use of my time in an attempt to help combat these types of issues is educating myself on 1) what not to do and how not to approach these types of situations, and 2) existing solutions that have been successfully implemented elsewhere (e.g. in healthcare systems in other countries that have attempted to solve this problem). Health equity is something I’ve been incredibly interested in for a long time, and I have a long way to go before I help to truly alleviate any of the issues within the field, but I think I’m at a decent starting point (I’m also super receptive to any feedback/thoughts anyone has on this approach and my overall mindset, please feel free to reach out to me).
NEXT STEPS
With regard to my research, I will continue to update you all on the further progress I make in the upcoming weeks. After my spring term class is over as well, I hope to allocate more time towards educating myself and those around me on how to address the issues stated above (both racism and racial health equity inside and outside of the healthcare realm). If anyone has any specific books, shows, articles, or really any resources that they have found to be beneficial, feel free to pass them along! I’d love to continue learning and even discuss some of them with you.
CLOSING REMARKS
As always, if you have any questions or just want to talk, don’t hesitate to reach out. Hope everyone is continuing to stay safe and social distance. I know in Ann Arbor, where I am right now, the weather has been beautiful so if it’s sunny out wherever you are, definitely try to spend some time outside in the fresh air! Until next time, hope everyone continues to relax and stay healthy.
Take care and stay safe,
Charanya Rengarajan