Dissertation Research: Comparative Study of Gender and Disease Patterns Among Mexican Women in Atlanta and Mexico

本项目涉及约翰霍普金斯大学人口人类学专业学生的论文研究。该项目通过比较最近在佐治亚州亚特兰大的墨西哥移民妇女和仍生活在墨西哥原籍城镇的类似妇女群体的经历，研究性别与生殖之间的联系。将根据社会和文化背景的广泛差异，研究避孕药具使用模式和性传播疾病预防方面的差异。利用深入访谈和参与性观察的民族志技术，学生将在亚特兰大研究一小部分妇女的生殖和疾病史，时间为6个月，然后在墨西哥的村庄重复该研究，时间为6个月。然后，将设计一项调查，对两个地点的更大人口进行调查，以检验关于避孕药具使用和性病预防差异原因的假设。本研究将推动关于过渡性社区的性质和性别的社会建构的讨论。所获得的知识对于关注人口增长和性传播疾病预防的计划人员将非常重要，因为深入的人种学和广泛的调查相结合将产生对生育率和疾病变化模式的理解，这将对这一人口有效和具有代表性。

This project involves the dissertation research of a student of demographic anthropology from Johns Hopkins University. The project studies the connections between gender, and reproduction by comparing the experiences of recent Mexican immigrant women in Atlanta, GA and a similar group of women living still in their town of origin in Mexico. Differences in patterns of contraceptive use and sexually transmitted disease (STD) prevention will be studied in relation to the broad differences in social and cultural context. Using ethnographic techniques of in-depth interviews and participant observation the student will examine the reproductive and disease histories of a small sample of women in Atlanta for six months, then repeat the study in the village in Mexico for another six months. Then a survey will be designed to be administered to a larger population in both sites, to test hypotheses about causes of variations in contraceptive use and STD prevention. This study will advance discussions about the nature of transitional communities, and the social construction of gender. The knowledge to be gained will be very important to planners concerned with population growth and with STD prevention, as the combination of in-depth ethnography and extensive surveys will produce an understanding of patterns of variation in fertility and disease that will be valid and representative for this population.