Black women are disproportionately burdened by type-2 diabetes (Bancks et al., 2017) and their experience of health inequities is negatively shaped by institutionalized racism in the US (Feagin & Bennefield, 2014). Previous research has demonstrated the impact of type-2 diabetes on the Black community, yet fails to adequately capture the complexity of Black women’s experiences navigating the disease (Hurt et al., 2017). This two-phase qualitative dissertation study addresses this gap in the literature. Drawing from critical race theory (Delgado & Stefancic, 2012), feminist theory (Collins, 2002) and popular education (Freire, 1970), photovoice and interview methods were employed to examine how one group of Black women residing in Boston experience type-2 diabetes. Phase I included a photovoice project with 11 Black women between the ages of 36 and 69 recruited from an area diabetes clinic and community agencies. Phase II included one focus group (N=4) with interdisciplinary diabetes providers from an area diabetes clinic and 13 individual interviews with interdisciplinary diabetes providers including: physicians, nurse practitioners, clinical pharmacists, dieticians and social workers from three Boston medical institutions. The researcher explored provider perceptions of the photovoice findings and their implications for provider education and training. The researcher used inductive thematic analysis (Braun & Clark, 2006) to further contextualize the photovoice findings in phase I and to analyze providers’ reactions to the photovoice analysis in phase II. Photovoice participants and providers interpreted the photovoice findings differently. The photovoice participants’ analysis reflected a hopeful, aspirational message despite the complexity of navigating type-2 diabetes and the competing messages about health and wellness many Black women internalize. In contrast, provider reflections were more deficit driven and focused on medical management. Further, providers shared some biased assumptions about Black women’s experiences with type-2 diabetes such as inferring substance use as a concern from one of the photos. This research highlights the transformative power of photovoice methods (Wang & Burris, 1997) to engage Black women to make meaning of their experiences with type-2 diabetes and communicate their health priorities. These findings have important implications for interdisciplinary teaching models and future social work research and practice with Black women and other marginalized groups coping with chronic disease. / 2023-05-07T00:00:00Z
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bu.edu/oai:open.bu.edu:2144/42512 |
| Date | 07 May 2021 |
| Creators | Dimitri, Noelle Catherine |
| Contributors | Sprague Martinez, Linda S. |
| Source Sets | Boston University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis/Dissertation |
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