Separate and Unequal: A Multidisciplinary Study into the Phenomenon of Segregated Health Care
Jennifer Dunn, Professor
UC San Francisco
Closed. This professor is continuing with Fall 2024 apprentices on this project; no new apprentices needed for Spring 2025.
This project will take an interdisciplinary approach to study the phenomenon of health care segregation in the United States through historical and legal research and qualitative methods. Students will have the opportunity to engage in online and archival research, transcribe and analyze audio files of interviews, write literature summaries, and prepare analytical memos. Students who continue to work with the project through the spring semester will have the opportunity to plan and prepare for the second annual Symposium on Segregated Healthcare at UC Law in San Francisco. This event will include health care professionals, community-based organizations, public health officials, social scientists, and legal scholars.
UCSF faculty, Jennifer Dunn, JD, and Jen James, PhD, MS, MSW, will lead the project and co-supervise undergraduate student researchers, with day-to-day supervision based on the assigned tasks and learning objectives.
Role: Role [multiple student positions available]
URAP students will engage in the following research activities under supervision of UCSF faculty in Nursing and Sociology:
1. Literature reviews and literature summaries.
2. Historical research into health policy, federal funding and civil rights enforcement, labor and union policies, de-segregation efforts and resistance to integration in 1930-1970 as precursors to contemporary racial and economic segregation in health insurance and health care delivery.
3. Research into the history of medical residency programs, funding for resident training, and how resident training and "resident clinics" became associated with Medicaid or "charity" care.
4. Transcription and cleaning of qualitative interviews.
5. Data collection and analysis, depending on prior experience with Atlas.ti or similar qualitative software.
6. Administration and program management tasks related to community engagement, academic collaborations, research team meetings, communication strategies, and website development, depending on student interest and experience.
7. Experience with graphic design (maps, charts, tables, graphs) for reports, policy briefings, and slide presentations desirable, depending on student interest and experience.
Learning outcomes include:
1. In-depth exposure to qualitative interview methods and analysis and participation in team research meetings.
2. Improved understanding of our health care system, health care law, and health care organization practices, as well as the impacts of these laws, policies, and systems on women and people with the capacity for pregnancy.
3. Improved understanding of civil rights, racial segregation, economic and class stratification, and health equity.
4. Exposure to research administration and protocols.
5. Data collection and data analysis, depending on experience.
Qualifications: Qualifications:
1. Strong writing skills as well as attention to detail.
2. Strong initiative and willingness to accept and act on feedback.
3. Accountability and dependability, including providing regular status updates, attending project meetings, timeliness in meeting project deadlines.
4. Strong communication skills, including taking responsibility for communicating project status, identifying any limitations in experience (whether known before the project or arising during a project task), asking for additional support when needed, and letting supervisors know as early as possible when illness or other challenges may pose a barrier to meeting deadlines.
5. Ability to work effectively both independently and as part of a team.
6. Interest in health equity, reproductive health, and/or issues of equity for women and people with the capacity for pregnancy.
7. Preferred: Students with work or personal experience with Medi-Cal and/or safety net care are strongly encouraged to apply.
The Study on Segregation in Health Care is committed to equity and inclusion in our research, advocacy, mentoring, and hiring practices. We highly encourage students from different backgrounds, identities, and experiences to apply.
Day-to-day supervisor for this project: Jennifer Dunn
Hours: to be negotiated
Off-Campus Research Site: Research meetings will typically take place over Zoom and assignments can be carried out remotely. In person meetings and 'check ins' may also take place in the Project Directors' faculty offices in the UC Berkeley Social Sciences Building (Prof. Jennifer Dunn) or UCSF Mission Bay Campus (Dr. Jennifer James) if mutually convenient.
Related website: https://profiles.ucsf.edu/jennifer.dunn
Related website: https://profiles.ucsf.edu/jennifer.james