Aneeq and Michael had a very interesting presentation. They clearly laid out an overview of their research at the beginning and explained why they decided to focus on the role of alcohol consumption in rural Nicaraguan communities. Alcohol is often overlooked in a country that has a history of serious substance abuse. They did not have a lot of information to go off of, but they made the most out of what they had to provide a pretty in-depth analysis on the underlying issues and effects of this problem.
I liked the way that they approached the research by asking the question, "what can we find out" and breaking it down into three parts. I agree with their analysis that researchers potentially run into the problem of assuming that they know the problem that the people face. Without a thorough understanding of the community, researchers cannot draw strong conclusions or perform serious analysis without introducing some element of bias.
Part of their presentation was a bit sobering. It was sad to hear about how kids at such a young age get involved in drinking and drugs and that such behavior often has ties with direct family members. This presentation reminded me of my interview with Treeman Baker, whom I interviewed for the oral history project, who described how frequently he observed men of socioeconomic class participated in heavy drinking. That was another point that I found interesting: the split between men and females who drink. This indicates that there are social factors at play that are influencing the decision to drink for these Nicaraguans. I have no doubt that their research will prove beneficial and potentially help educate members of the community that the CD and CH team will be visiting this December.
I also found Leah, Valentina, and Kate’s presentational very interesting, especially in comparison to Aneeq and Michael’s. It was interesting to see the links between mental health issues and physical substance abuse. This presentation focused largely on women’s mental health and brought up a number of issues that I had not thought about before. Furthermore, their extensive use of statistics throughout proved very informative and quantified some of the issues at hand.
One of their main points is that people will often speak about mental health illnesses and wish to help those who suffer from them, but then do not actually take any measures to make a difference. There is a definite gap between the recognition of mental illnesses and actual practices in pace to help those who suffer. Many of the people in poor countries do not see their mental heath as a necessity and instead attempt to tough it out on their own. It does not need to be that way. Mental health should be understood as a basic necessity along with physical wellbeing.
Overall, I learned a lot from both of these presentations. I would not of otherwise been exposed to many of the points that they brought up and am glad that each group chose the topic that they did. I do not have much health or medical-related experience or coursework, so it is always intriguing to learn more in these subjects.