Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Research Question

As of lately the hardest problem for me is trying to come up with a good research question that is interesting enough to dedicate multiple months to but is simple enough for me to do within a "short" amount of time. I am interested in so many different topics that I find it difficult to pick just one topic and then narrow that topic down. Something that has helped me the most in this process has been the research proposal we were given, specifically the sub-section of the "qualifications". Since I am at the end of my undergrad career as a public health student i've been thinking of the qualifications that i have. My qualifications are important mostly for the ability to perform a good project. Initially when I think about my qualifications I realize how little I am qualified. However, I think that part of being qualified is my ability to improve my skills and find out more information about my topic. As a student and as someone who enjoys traveling and experiencing different situations I am qualified in those areas. I also have good resources as a student so I am able to learn more and make myself more qualified. For example, I am well experienced in using different specific public health search engines to be able to do primary research. I have also taken many classes where I made a mock program or research project, specifically in foreign countries and with foreign cultures. These experiences have been very valuable to me so far. So I have not just been thinking about my acutal qualifications, but my ability to improve my qualifications as well.
I am mainly interested in the topic of HIV among women in India. I feel comfortable with this topic becuase it is and will continue to be a topic of interest among the Public Health educators around the world. I also find the cultural dynamic of HIV prevention and control to be very intersting. For example, we tend to believe that if a person has contracted HIV it is their own fault. After all, it is an STD that can be "100%" avoidable. However, what happens if a woman lives in a culture where she has very little say who she has sex with or even if it is protected or not? Or what happens if she is loyal; however, she lives in a culture where it is acceptable for her partner to be promiscuous? According to all of the suggestions to stay HIV free she is doing everything within her power not to contract the disease, unfortunately she is not able to control what her partner does and it is not socially acceptable for her to take her own sexual health into her own hands.
I am interested in the prevention program aspect of this situation. What are public health officials doing to help prevent HIV transmission in a different culture? Are they using the same methods that are used here in the US? Are these methods working? How do the target audience feel about these methods? I don't think that I will have the time or resources to find ways that they can improve what is being done; however, I do feel that I can research what is being done and why it is being done in that way. So although I may change my research question when more research is done, my project question is: What is currently being done in India to prevent HIV transmission and do the target audience feel that it is effective?

1 comment:

  1. I have (a movie to lend you/someone to introduce you to) on the subject of HIV women in India. Remind me if I don't bring it up sometime soon!

    Sounds like you've got a really decent start on a project question ... what "target audience" are you thinking of working with? Is there a particular age group? You're talking about people who don't have HIV/AIDS but are being educated on how to prevent the spread of the disease, yes?

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