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- All Subjects: Climate Change
- All Subjects: Stigma
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- Creators: Wutich, Amber
Description
Obesity has become a major area of research in many fields due to the increasing obesity rate not only in The United States, but also around the world. Research concerning obesity stigma has both physical and mental health implications. Weight bias and obesity stigma represent important research areas for health professionals as they confront these issues on a daily basis in interactions with their patients. To explore how gender, ethnicity, and a person's own BMI affect the stigma of certain weight related terms, a set of 264 participant's surveys on weight related situations on the campus of Arizona State University were analyzed. Using univariate analysis to determine frequency of words deemed most or least acceptable as well as independent t-test for gender and ANOVA for ethnicity and own BMI, we found that participant's view more clinical terms such as "unhealthy BMI" and "BMI" as acceptable words for use during a physician-patient interaction. Analysis across genders revealed the highest number of differences in terms, with females generally ranking terms across the board as less acceptable then men. Differences varied little between ethnicities; however, own BMI revealed more differences between terms; underweight participants did not rank any terms as positive. We analyzed average ATOP (Attitudes Toward Obese People) scores and found that there was no significant difference in average ATOP scores between gender and a participant's own BMI, but a statistical significance did exist between ethnic categories. This study showed that the term "obese/obesity", although normally considered to be a clinical term by many was not ranked as very positive across gender, ethnicity, or own BMI. Based on these findings, new material should be created to inform physicians on how to talk about weight related problems with certain populations of patients.
ContributorsBlasco, Drew Adair (Author) / Wutich, Amber (Thesis director) / Brewis Slade, Alexandra (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / School of Human Evolution and Social Change (Contributor)
Created2014-12
Description
Understanding more about the similarities and differences in cultural perceptions of climate change-related disease causation can better inform culturally specific public health measures. Using interviews conducted with 685 adults in eight diverse global locations ranging from Fiji and China to England and Phoenix, Arizona, this study explores climate change-disease beliefs within and across diverse cultures and comparisons between cultural and scientific models. A cultural consensus analysis was employed to identify a "culturally correct" model for each study site. Next, a scientific model was generated based on current scientific consensus regarding climate change- disease connections. Using the Quadratic Assignment Procedure (QAP), we determined the amount of correlation shared between the scientific model and each cultural model. The analysis revealed a high level of intercorrelation between the models of English speaking, economically developed sites such as Phoenix, Arizona. Additionally, cultural models from the non-English speaking sites were highly intercorrelated with one another. Overall, the English speaking sites tended to have more complex models with a greater density of causal links. Cultural models from the English speaking sites also demonstrated high levels of correlation with the scientific model. In comparison, the cultural models from the non-English speaking sites exhibited little correlation with the scientific model. Based on these findings, we suggest that cultural beliefs related to climate change-related disease causation may be influenced by complex local factors. For example, differences in education and media influences along with localized differences in climate change impacts may, in part, contribute to divergences between the cultural models.
ContributorsMcAlister, Alyssa Brittney (Author) / Wutich, Amber (Thesis director) / Brewis Slade, Alexandra (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Earth and Space Exploration (Contributor) / School of Human Evolution and Social Change (Contributor) / School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
Climate change presents a significant threat to human health, both mental and physical; as a result, it has become one of the most commonly discussed phenomena of the 21st century. As many people are aware, a wide range of social and physical factors affects mental health. However, many people fail to realize that these increases global temperatures also have a significant impact on mental health as a result of increased vulnerability that is often manifested through one's emotions. By analyzing perceptions of people across the globe, in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and Fiji, we were able to pinpoint these emotions and trace them individual's feelings of worry, distress, and hope that resulted from their perceived impacts on climate change. Overall, we found that people tend to have overall more negative emotional reaction when it comes to the perceived effects of climate change. Of the respondents, more men than women expressed concern regarding the various negative implications. Finally, those in the United Kingdom exhibited a stronger emotional response, followed by those in New Zealand and Fiji, respectively.
ContributorsSmith, Austin Lee (Author) / Wutich, Amber (Thesis director) / du Bray, Margaret (Committee member) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / School of Human Evolution and Social Change (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-05
Description
Previous research on shame and stigma has demonstrated that undesired differences can lead to community divides and produce harmful stereotypes in communities. This is particularly true in the context of hygiene, where shame has been used to try and produce better hygiene, and instead has led to increased levels of hygiene stigma in communities. As part of the 2015 Global Ethnohydrology Study, we asked 66 respondents from rural Guatemala questions about their hygiene behaviors and beliefs. The hygiene behavior data was statistically analyzed in order to test for correlation and differences between different demographics such as gender and age. There are significant differences between both gender and age in relation to hygiene behavior and practices. Gender was the stronger determinant of positive hygiene behavior. Using the definitions of stigma from literature, the results of the hygiene behaviors measured were contextualized in order to form conclusions about hygiene stigma overall in Guatemala.
ContributorsHawkins, Emma Nicole (Author) / Wutich, Amber (Thesis director) / du Bray, Meg (Committee member) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / School of Human Evolution and Social Change (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12
Description
While women in higher income countries can expect to survive a diagnosis of breast cancer, women in lower- and middle-income countries such as Bangladesh have mortality rates near 50%, suggesting that there are significant barriers to care seeking for breast problems. Given limited literature on barriers to care among native, rural South Asian populations, this study thus sought to understand 1) the impacts of breast problems on women and their families, including the extent of abuse among women with breast problems, and 2) the barriers and facilitators of care for women with breast problems in rural Bangladesh.
Sixty-three study participants (43 women and 20 men) were interviewed about their experiences. Interviewers elicited barriers to care, facilitators of care, and questions about the attitudes and behaviors of family and community members were in structured interviews.
The study found that breast problems and their treatment put significant resource and emotional strains on the family. Furthermore, over a third of women in this study reported abuse of some kind, with emotional abuse, neglect, and abandonment being the most frequently reported.
The study reinforced barriers to care identified in the literature for South Asian populations, but only a quarter of participants reported stigma of any kind. Lack of knowledge about breast cancer and inability to pay for care were the most frequently reported barriers, followed by access to care and fear of treatment. Facilitators of care among women who received a biopsy point to the importance of support by the husband and husband’s family, as well as the ability to identify economic support for and knowledge about care.
This study contributes to the understanding of two overarching themes: structural violence and the value of women, as well as how these themes influence poor outcomes for women with breast cancer in rural Bangladesh. Suggestions for future studies and short and long-term interventions to address study findings are offered.
Sixty-three study participants (43 women and 20 men) were interviewed about their experiences. Interviewers elicited barriers to care, facilitators of care, and questions about the attitudes and behaviors of family and community members were in structured interviews.
The study found that breast problems and their treatment put significant resource and emotional strains on the family. Furthermore, over a third of women in this study reported abuse of some kind, with emotional abuse, neglect, and abandonment being the most frequently reported.
The study reinforced barriers to care identified in the literature for South Asian populations, but only a quarter of participants reported stigma of any kind. Lack of knowledge about breast cancer and inability to pay for care were the most frequently reported barriers, followed by access to care and fear of treatment. Facilitators of care among women who received a biopsy point to the importance of support by the husband and husband’s family, as well as the ability to identify economic support for and knowledge about care.
This study contributes to the understanding of two overarching themes: structural violence and the value of women, as well as how these themes influence poor outcomes for women with breast cancer in rural Bangladesh. Suggestions for future studies and short and long-term interventions to address study findings are offered.
ContributorsSteiness, Heather Lynn Story (Author) / Hruschka, Daniel J (Thesis advisor) / Wutich, Amber (Committee member) / Ginsburg, Ophira (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2016
Description
Climate change poses a threat to the emotional well-being and livelihood strategies of individuals in biophysically vulnerable communities. While the biophysical effects and possibilities of climate change are well-documented, understanding the emotional impacts on individuals in these communities is an avenue of research that requires more exploration. Using an ethnographic approach, this study analyzes the emotional responses of individuals, first in three biophysically vulnerable communities in the United States, and second, in island communities. Study sites in the United States include Mobile, Alabama; Kodiak, Alaska; and Phoenix, Arizona, each of which have different vulnerabilities to the effects of climate change. Internationally, we conducted research in Viti Levu, Fiji; Nicosia, Cyprus; Wellington, New Zealand; and London, England. Using the 2014 Global Ethnohydrology Study Protocol respondents were asked about their emotional responses to the current effects of climate change, the effects of climate change on livelihoods in their area, and the effects of climate change on the younger generation. Using cross-cultural data allows for a broader understanding of emotional distress and wellbeing in response to climate change in areas with similar expected climate change outcomes, although with different levels of biophysical vulnerability, as well as understanding emotional distress and wellbeing in areas with different expected climate change outcomes, and similar levels of biophysical vulnerability. Results from this research can be used to understand possible mental health outcomes, the possibilities for political activism, and how to create mitigation strategies that resonate with local community members.
ContributorsDu Bray, Margaret V (Author) / Wutich, Amber (Thesis advisor) / BurnSilver, Shauna (Thesis advisor) / Bolin, Bob (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2017
Description
This dissertation provides a foundation for understanding who decides and proceed local climate change policymaking, how race and ethnicity, class, and political ideology inform climate beliefs, the role of personal exposure to heat-related illnesses in climate change beliefs, and finally differences in perceptions of local extreme heat and global manifestations of climate change. The first focus examines urban climate governance, the influence of state policy, and stakeholders’ climate agenda-setting in a state-centric urban governance structure. A new conceptual model is developed to explore climate governance in Istanbul, a Turkish megacity, under a unitary system of government, in a transcontinental country straddling Europe (in candidate status with the European Union) and Asia. The qualitative analyses show that swings in political leadership, the divergence between the existing laws and newly adopted urban climate agenda, and conflicting priorities between policy entrepreneurs generate barriers to long-run and tangible climate change actions in Istanbul. The second focus unveils the influence of personal heat exposure and sociodemographic characteristics affecting climate change perceptions in a large American city facing substantial climate change impacts, Phoenix, Arizona. Using the 2011 Phoenix Metropolitan Area Social Survey, a two-level logistic model examines what factors influence a belief that “global warming and climate change are already occurring.” The integrated econometric model of climate beliefs and justice shows that climate change and global warming are positively associated with non-white race and non-Latinx ethnicity, high levels of education, personal experience with heat-related illnesses, and liberal beliefs. The last focus of this dissertation explores how threats of extreme local weather conditions and global climate change are perceived differently by individuals depending on their vulnerability and adaptive capacity to the changing climate. Using the 2017 Phoenix Social Survey, the individual-level regression models demonstrate that greenspace and tight-knit communities, aspects of adaptive capacity, serve as protective elements reducing the perception of climate risk. Factors such as ethnic identity and connection to place are more closely associated with local versus global risks. In contrast, political ideology and personal experiences moderate perception of both local and global risks.
ContributorsYazar, Mahir (Author) / York, Abigail (Thesis advisor) / BurnSilver, Shauna (Committee member) / Wutich, Amber (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2021
Description
There is an enormous unmet need for services, education, and outreach to improve women’s breast health. Healthcare systems and insurance systems vary widely around the world, and this may play an important role in understanding variability in women’s breast health knowledge and behavior globally. The goal of this study is to determine how varying healthcare systems in three countries (Japan, Paraguay, US) affect a woman’s likelihood of seeing a physician in regard to their breasts. For example, Japan is a clear example of a region that provides universal health insurance to its citizens. The government takes responsibility in giving accessible and equitable healthcare to its entire population (Zhang & Oyama, 2016). On the other hand, a country such as Paraguay is composed of both public and private sectors. In order for citizens to gain insurance, one would have to either be formally employed or choose to pay out-of-pocket for hospital visits (“Paraguay”, 2017). A country such as the United States does not have universal health insurance. However, it does have a mix of public and private sectors, meaning there is little to no coverage for its citizens. To accommodate for this, the United States came up with the Affordable Care Act, which extends coverage to the uninsured. Although the United States might be a country that spends more on healthcare than any other nation, there are residents that still lack healthcare (De Lew, Greenberg & Kinchen, 1992). This study, then, compares women’s breast health knowledge and behavior in Japan, Paraguay, and the US. Other variables, which are also considered in this study, that might affect this include wealth level, education, having general awareness of breast cancer, having regular health checks, and having some breast education. Using statistical analysis of breast check rates of women in Japan, Paraguay, and the United States, this research found that women sampled in Asunción, Paraguay check their breasts more often than either women sampled from Scottsdale, U.S. or Osaka, Japan. It was also found that women sampled from Paraguay were more confident in detecting changes in their breast compared to women sampled from the Japan or the US. Finally, it was noted that women sampled from Japan were least likely to partake in seeing a doctor in concern of changes in their breasts compared to women sampled from the other two research locations. These findings have relevance for the implementation of advocacy and public education about breast health.
ContributorsKumar, Navneet Surjit (Co-author) / Kumar, Navneet (Co-author) / Wutich, Amber (Thesis director) / Brewis, Alexandra (Committee member) / School of Human Evolution & Social Change (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
Hygiene stigma can exist in tandem to gender stigma which could mean the marginalization of certain groups due to stigmatized identities, specifically women. The marginalization of women is important because of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 5: Empowering women and girls and achieving equity. Figuring out how hygiene stigma specifically affects women in Fiji required researching the effects of hygiene stigma, gender inequity and indigenous Fijian societies could influence respondents’ answers. After researching these different topics, these questions were developed: does hygiene stigma and gendered stigma have an overlap? If so, are men more biased than women when it comes to objectifying women? Do indigenous Fijian societies possess an immunity to objectifying women since are considered to have Fijian women have more agency? The data was retrieved from the Global Ethnohydrology Study from 2015-16 in the Viti Levu, Fiji, which was specifically researching whether hygiene stigma is an effective method of helping people have better hygiene norms. A thematic analysis was then conducted, and the data was coded. Based on the results from 28 respondents we were able to conclude that there is gendered stigma within Fijian populations. We found that both men and women objectified women at similar rates and Fiji is not immune to hygiene stigma. The limitations to this analysis were there was no statistical analysis to find correlations hygiene stigma and gendered stigma. There was only one specific code that was being analyzed in this research project which limits the other types of stigma that may exist.
ContributorsKibuka Musoke, Paula Kulabako (Author) / Wutich, Amber (Thesis director) / Schuster, Roseanne (Committee member) / Brewis Slade, Alexandra (Committee member) / School of Molecular Sciences (Contributor) / School of Human Evolution & Social Change (Contributor, Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05