Dissertation Research: Women's Work? Household Health and Economic Restructuring in Appalachian Kentucky

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This project supports the dissertation research of an anthropology student from the University of Kentucky. The project will examine the changing patterns of women's labor and household health practices in an Appalachian Kentucky country experiencing an increase in women's wage labor participation. Using ethnographic techniques of participant observation, structured in-depth interviewing, and diaries in which women record health incidents in their households, the student will describe and analyze the new strategies women develop to comply with their responsibilities to care for the health of their households while at the same time working in the labor market. This research is important as it will advance our understanding of how the human capital of households is being affected by the global processes of economic restructuring, whereby women are entering the labor market. Understanding how women are coping with the new demands on their services will enable policy-makers to design programs to maintain the health of families while enabling women to be productive in the wage market.