Dissertation Research: K'iche' Mayan Men's Influences on Maternal and Child Health in Guatemala

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0109311Worthman / Dudgeon Men in traditional communities are often thought to be less concerned about maternal health and mortality than women, the difference stemming from the traditional division of labor of men focusing outside the household, and women relating more towards inside the household events. This dissertation research project by an anthropology student from Emory University will study the role of men in maternal health and mortality in the Mayan community of Cantel, Guatemala. The study will examine patterns of men's influences on health in the context of Guatemala's recent civil violence and subsequent Mayan ethnic activism. The student will investigate men's beliefs, attitudes, and contributions to household health status through a combination of health surveys, anthropometric health indicators, and qualitative interviews and observations. Hypotheses will be tested relating maternal morbidity and mortality with household access to health care, maternal health, socioeconomic indicators, ethnic identity, and an array of men's activities. The results from this study will be valuable correctives to the relative paucity of information on men's' household health contributions; will inform health interventions directed towards improving maternal and infant health; will contribute to the training of a young social scientists, and will advance our knowledge of this important region of the world.