New Technologies and Health Care Decision-Making

Fordham University, Bronx NY

Investigators

Abstract

The average age of parents in the United States has increased significantly and steadily in recent years, in part because of advances in medical technologies that assist older people in having children. However, we still have a limited understanding of the diverse reasons that people access these technologies, which are likely to relate to cultural, religious, and socioeconomic factors. This research will address this gap by examining gamete transfer and donation in an understudied U.S. population. This project explores what impact the availability and effectiveness these technologies have in influencing reproductive decision-making. The findings from this project will be disseminated to organizations and individuals who inform public health practices and policies related to healthcare decision-making. The project also provides training for undergraduate students in methods of rigorous, scientific data collection and analysis. Dr. Daisy Deomampo of Fordham University will investigate the following research questions: How do sociocultural beliefs influence experiences of infertility and the use of assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs)? How do views and practices in reproductive medicine and science shape popular ideas about gamete donation? How do legal cases shed light on sociocultural understandings of the value of gametes? The research will focus on a cohort of Asian American gamete donors and recipients, selected because they are overlooked in research on gamete donation, yet have a high rate of ART utilization, and an older mean age of mothers at first birth compared to other ethnic groups. In order to comprehend how diverse groups in Asian America experience social and cultural issues related gamete donation, this ethnographic study is located in three metropolitan areas with significant diversity in Asian populations: New York, NY, Los Angeles, CA, and Honolulu, HI. Data collection will include in-depth interviews and participant observation with doctors, donor coordinators, and gamete providers and recipients. This project will also include textual analysis of court cases, media coverage, online forums, and policy documents. These data will be used to facilitate analysis of two important themes: the social construction of identity in medical practice, and the role of identity in shaping ideas about reproduction and genetic inheritance. By exploring the social meanings attached to identity and DNA in the context of gamete donation, this project will offer much-needed ethnographic perspective on the bioethical and policy implications of reproductive technologies. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.