A Shift From The Deficit Perspective
Janae Best, HBHE Student
March 5, 2019
The question is not how can I fix or save the community? The question is how can I best be of assistance? How can I make myself useful? As a public health student-researcher, in the past when working on projects my initial impressions of the community have been from a deficit perspective mostly because of my outside-group membership and due to the way that the health problem is often presented. The structure of the project, using a community-based approach has made my initial impression very positive because of the opportunity to hear about the community from the experience of a community member before I had the chance to form my own biased opinion. I am excited to see how the solution my team plans to develop will incorporate community assets rather than focusing on deficits.
My project will be examining the role of health messaging in reducing infant mortality in Hidalgo County. I am elated because not only does the project topic align with my passion for maternal and child health, but I have the opportunity to gain skills I have always wanted. My group and I will be interacting with Latina women through focus groups in order to gauge what health messages are needed by understanding the barriers to accessing prenatal care in Hidalgo County. So far, we know these barriers include transportation, immigration status, and policy. We learned that policies in Texas do not allow comprehensive sexual health education to be taught in schools. In addition, teen girls at risk of teen pregnancy are not allowed to receive information regarding sexual health education until after they have gotten pregnant. Even then, teen girls are not allowed to make decisions for themselves regarding their own health such as contraceptive use. They must receive permission from their parent in order to receive reproductive health care although they are legally able to make decisions for their child, shockingly due to their minor status they are not allowed autonomy over their own bodies. While in Texas, I am interested in learning more about the complex ways in which policy and politics impact the health of individuals living in Texas and specifically on the border. I am thankful for the opportunity to have a perspective shift and look forward to learning more about community assets.
