This summer, I will be working with the Family Medicine Department at Michigan Medicine on the ENDS Study. The ENDS Study – Equity in Newborn Drug Screening Study – is under the Antiracism and Health Equity Program through the medical school. One of the main goals of the project is to examine the racial disparities within newborn drug screenings. This disparity was detected during through data analysis within the last year of newborn drug screenings at Michigan Medicine. Of the newborns that were drug screened, a high proportion of them were Black. My role as a summer research assistant will be to interview parents whose newborns were drug screened. Through this data, my mentors hope to develop patient-focused standards surrounding newborn drug screenings.
Due to the sensitive topics surrounding this project – the birth experience, drug abuse, CPS reports – research ethics will play an extremely important role. My mentors and I don’t want to criminalize the parents or place any judgement towards them. The goal is to truly understand their perspective during the screening process as well as any recommendations they may have for a better screening experience. Additionally, some of these patients may have developed discomfort with the Michigan Medicine system after their personal birthing experience. To mitigate any feelings of discomfort or any perceived power-imbalance, my mentors have decided to not use any people directly related to the Michigan Medical system to conduct interviews (i.e. physicians, residents, medical students). Instead, another undergraduate student and I will be conducting a large number of the interviews. We’re hoping that this action can help to mitigate any harm that the patients may feel when recounting their personal experiences.
Thanks for sharing more about your research project, I am glad you and your research mentor have discussed the role of ethics in your project.
– Emily