2016-2017 Undergraduate Research Award "Ethnographic Study of Cardiovascular Disease Attitudes among Adolescents in India"
For my Senior Capstone Project, I will be traveling to India to conduct my study. I am interested to understand if and how a scenario-based board game can facilitate discussions about cardiovascular disease attitudes and beliefs among adolescents in my village district in India.
This experience connects to my selected Grand Challenge, because I seek to transform my board game into a culturally sensitive tool. This tool can be used to advance health education with cultural sensitivity - a form of personalized learning (this is how my experience ties to my grand challenge).
Grand Challenge: Advance Personalized Learning Experience Level: Gold Duration of Project: Spring 2016 - Spring 2017; ~300 hours
Personal Reflection: Through this project, I had to work with multiple stakeholders to complete my project. This experience tested my ability to reconcile differing perspectives and face challenges in global fieldwork. I ran into many administrative issues, and it was crucial to think of quick fixes (especially given my short stay). Even though I was visiting my native country, I learned more about the local beliefs about health and the healthcare system. It broadened my perspective on what I want to accomplish with my career (i.e. add an international component to my practice).
Program-Wide Learning Objectives:
Integrity - making sure I maintain my ethical research standards, even though host country does not hold same expectations
Perspectivism - gaining perspective on local health beliefs
Realistic Vision - having a modest goal for project outcomes
Teamwork - working with local facilitators and mentors
Persistence - making sure I secure alll of my field sites
Flexibility - last minute changes in fieldwork
Global Perspective Learning Objectives:
Working with Diverse Teams -For my fieldwork, I had to work with facilitators of varying opinions and cultural frameworks
Global Citizenship - I exhibited characteristics of global citizenship by asking culturally-sensitive questions and understanding their limitations to healthcare access.
Cultural Awareness - My research project was a successful attempt to increase my cultural awareness.
Openness to Difference - I approached this project a medical anthropology student, who is open to cultural differences (cultural relativism) and seeks to understand the why behind their cultural beliefs.