Doctoral Dissertation Research: Reproductive Technologies and Social Change

Cuny Graduate School University Center, New York NY

Investigators

Abstract

Technological advancement in today’s world changes how human beings interact, communicate, and obtain goods and services. Medical technologies in particular can affect how doctors understand and treat illness, how patients access healthcare, and how societies define healthy bodies. When technologies enter a new context, their use and significance is shaped by the existing political, economic, and cultural conditions in that locale. At the same time, the broader global medical aims of the technology can also impact and change the local culture. This study examines the introduction of a significant new pharmaceutical treatment in reproductive healthcare to ask: how do biomedical technologies affect cultural meanings about bodies, health, and reproduction? Answering this question will provide important data about the interaction of technologies and medical care in new cultural contexts globally. This research will train a graduate student in scientific anthropology and science and technology studies. Findings will be shared with medical professionals, public health administration, and public policy experts in an effort to inform healthcare implementation and policies. The researchers will investigate the social, historical, and cultural implications of the use of new medical technologies in women’s healthcare. The research will be focus on populations experiencing recent changes in healthcare law and practice to study how use of a new medical drug affects cultural beliefs about health, reproduction, and healthcare. The researchers will focus on the medical professionals, health and policy administrators, patients, and non-medical social actors who are implementing or experiencing the use of the new medicine. The researchers will visit hospitals and medical clinics, attend meetings of policy and healthcare non-profits, and conduct qualitative interviews across these populations to find out how this new technology is changing the practice of medicine and the culture surrounding reproductive healthcare. 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.