Three Current Research Projects
1. Drug Users' Access to and Use
of Treatment
Services:
Ethnographic Research
This research project will provide the New Mexico (NM) Department of
Health, which is funding the project, with ethnographic research that will
examine the treatment-seeking behavior of illicit drug users in Rio Arriba
County, NM. This will lead to in-depth description, analysis and policy
recommendations to optimize drug users' access to, and use of, treatment
services. The ethnographic research includes in-depth, semi-structured
interviews with key informants and observations in the field. The Primary
Investigator is Cathleen E. Willging, Ph.D. with the University of New
Mexico Medical School, Division of Community Health.
There are two other important aspect to this research: 1) Rio Arriba
County is reported to have the highest per capita rate of heroin overdoses
of anywhere in the United States, and 2) Rio Arriba County is also reported
to have, current and active, inter-generational heroin addiction amongst
male family members. This appears to be a phenomenon unique to this area.
2. Epidemiological Contradiction
in Latinas' Mental
and Physical
Health Outcomes
I am attempting to prove, or disprove, conclusively that the Epidemiological
Paradox (EP) exist. The basic premise is that Latinas' are at similar,
or greater, risk of poor mental and physical health outcomes as are other
minority women in the United States, but Latinas appear to exhibit mental
and physical health outcomes similar to, and in some cases such as depression
and cancer, better than EuroAmerican women. In particularly, Latinas should
evidence the same, or similar, outcomes as Afro-American women because
Latinas have similar or lower socioeconomic status as Afro-American women,
and both tend to be co-location and share similar settlement patterns.
There is a great deal of literature for and against the existence of EP
of Latina health outcomes.
I am also exploring a newly created hypotheses based on historical
materialism and collective medicine methodologies. This new hypothesis
looks at the collective meaning of community status amongst Latinas vis
a vis the EP, particularly in ethnic enclaves and unacculturated life situations.
Viewed from the Latinas' communal status perspective the EP may be a moot
point.
I have generated two papers
on the topic: one has been accepted for publication in this years Sociology
Graduate Student Association's "Southwest Working Paper Series." The second
paper is being edited for submission to a medical journal such as Lancet
or JAMA. The research is currently unfunded.
3. Diversity Institute
This New Mexico Not-for-profit corporation was created as a research
institute which will concentrate on Community oriented Action Research
methodologies. Our first project was research to assist homeless women
in Albuquerque, New Mexico. It is our belief that, given the opportunity
and appropriate tools, homeless women will design interventions that will
assist them in permanently escaping the cycle of poverty. The specific
research aims are to guide homeless women in a self-directed approach facilitate
by women for women. The current project is based on extensive research
done by the Chair of the Department of Sociology at the University of New
Mexico, Susan Tiano, Ph.D.