Barrett, The Honors College Thesis/Creative Project Collection
Barrett, The Honors College at Arizona State University proudly showcases the work of undergraduate honors students by sharing this collection exclusively with the ASU community.
Barrett accepts high performing, academically engaged undergraduate students and works with them in collaboration with all of the other academic units at Arizona State University. All Barrett students complete a thesis or creative project which is an opportunity to explore an intellectual interest and produce an original piece of scholarly research. The thesis or creative project is supervised and defended in front of a faculty committee. Students are able to engage with professors who are nationally recognized in their fields and committed to working with honors students. Completing a Barrett thesis or creative project is an opportunity for undergraduate honors students to contribute to the ASU academic community in a meaningful way.
Eosinophilic Esophagitis, EoE, is a newer autoimmune chronic esophageal inflammatory illness that results from food allergen triggers (Lucendo, 2017). EoE has created a wide range of diagnostic challenges for physicians because of the similarities that it has compared to gastroesophageal reflux disease, GERD. Current research indicates that EoE predominately impacts males at higher rates compared to females, while White males are most affected by and at risk for developing EoE compared to people of other racial and ethnic backgrounds (Sperry, 2012). Despite these findings, there continues to be an absence of research on social factors and identities like gender, race, ethnicity, income, sexuality and more, that are neglected in understanding how these features interact with EoE. Thus, the purpose of this thesis was to provide more evidence on identity and social aspects in relation to EoE that remain ignored and explain why there might be difficulties in investigating these topics. Moreover, a survey was also developed in order to better understand the current EoE population between the ages of 18 to 26, in which the transition from pediatric to adult care occurs. Language has been shown to affect patient’s care and treatment regarding their health because of discriminations that patients have been subjected to in the past. Therefore, it is important to discuss the role played by language and political correctness, especially within surveys. This thesis will explore the depth of study that has been completed within neglected areas of research surrounding marginalized communities, while providing new insights and questions for future possible research regarding EoE. This will be accomplished by discussing the existing problems within each topic and draw conclusions as to why EoE research may have been hindered within these neglected subjects. This project will provide a literature review, survey development, and language strategies for conducting inclusive and diverse populations and research topics centered around EoE.
