Cesarean rates in the United States have been creeping upward for the past three decades. These rates are not uniform, however, and a woman’s chance of having a cesarean birth can depend as much upon who she is and where she gives birth as her particular medical history. Our research aims to tease apart the variance in cesarean birth rates in King and Yakima Counties in Washington State. In particular, we will examine the role of race/ethnicity and socioeconomic factors in determining cesarean birth rates. The “Latina Paradox” is when women from Latin America with low socioeconomic status have better than expected birth outcomes as measured by lower rates of preterm labor and low birth weight babies. Data from the Department of Health indicate that cesarean birth rates in Yakima County, an area containing a large Latina population, are much lower than the cesarean birth rate in King County. We hypothesize that Latina ethnicity is associated with the low cesarean birth rates in Yakima County. To test this theory, we will conduct bivariate analysis of anonymized birth statistic data obtained by the Washington State Department of Health for all births occurring in King and Yakima Counties in 2012-2013. We will analyze the data using SPSS software to determine if there is an association between race/ethnicity and mode of delivery. We will then conduct logistic regression to determine the role of socioeconomic factors and cesarean delivery. If we find a statistically significant association between these demographic factors and cesarean birth, we will conclude than there is a possible connection between Latina ethnicity, socioeconomic factors and mode of delivery. This information can be added to the growing examination of the Latina Paradox. Further research will be needed to determine what characteristics of Latina ethnicity may contribute to better than expected birth outcomes.

Reginald Copeland Plummer was an otolaryngologist who was born in the late 19th century in Langsing, Michigan and practiced in the early 20th century in both his hometown and Seattle. He was important in early Seattle because he was a leader in his field and studying his life will help us see how medicine has changed across time in the Pacific Northwest. For the past year, I have researched his life, his contributions to the field of otolaryngology, and his impact on the Seattle community. I first cataloged his personal medical equipment, a small collection of antique medical instruments owned by the Department of Bioethics and Humanities in the School of Medicine. Then, I spent some time at the University of Washington libraries, Seattle Public libraries, and the library at the King County Medical Society collecting primary resources. Plummer graduated from the University of Michigan and served as an intern at the Ann Arbor Hospital, specializing in ear, nose, and throat work. After finishing his internship, he became the assistant to Dr. Roy Bishop Canfield and an instructor in the Department of Otolaryngology. In 1912, he spent several months in Vienna before he settled in Seattle to continue his practice. Because of the First World War, he became a member of Seattle Post No. 1, and Base Hospital No. 50 in France. After the war when he returned to Seattle, he was elected the president of King County Medical Society in 1922. Dr. Plummer was a skillful surgeon proficient with his hands and specialized in the removal of foreign objects from the esophagus. He was a well-respected otolaryngologist in the Seattle area. On Saturday, December 26, 1936 Dr. Plummer passed away due to a chronic illness. He is interred at Lake View Cemetery near Seattle’s Volunteer Park.

The onset of disease can be brought about as a result of both environmental as well as genetic factors. Recently, other factors have also been given increased attention such as the classification of racial groups, with respect to gender and class, and their influence on human physiology and wellness. This project seeks to examine the relationship between socioeconomic and racial factors with respect to rates of lung cancer as a result of smoking. We argue that social and political constructions of group identities affect survival at the level of the individual by influencing their propensities for contracting stress-related diseases and illnesses, in this case lung cancer. By using a biological and critical theoretical framework as the foundation of our analysis, we have challenged the current ideas of illness by suggesting that social and cultural influences at the time of and after birth play a great role in determining a person’s disposition for health or sickness. Our paper utilizes arguments presented by Michel Foucault's "Society Must be Defended" and George Lipsitz's "The Possessive Investment in Whiteness" to support our claims. Additionally, using a keyword search on various journal databases, we reviewed a number of other literature that provided evidence of structural inequalities which highlight the relationship between social identities and quality of health. This paper raises awareness of the need for scholarship on the impacts of societal effects during the early years and how interventions at this time might decrease the disproportionate rates of disease in marginalized and underrepresented groups.

Increasing car dependence over the past few decades has clearly affected the physical landscape of our cities. This changing urban landscape prompts the question of the broader effects of the built environment on the health of individuals and communities. The purpose of this research project is to discover whether or not there is a statistically significant correlation between commute modes/lengths and self-reported happiness levels. My first hypothesis is that a statistically significant correlation will be found between active commute styles (walking, biking) and higher overall self-reported happiness levels, while inactive commute styles (driving, bussing) will correlate with lower overall self-reported happiness levels. My second hypothesis is that shorter commute times will result in a statistically significant correlation with higher overall self-reported happiness levels. In order to test these hypotheses, I have conducted surveys at the Dravus Street QFC in Seattle. I have used statistical analyses (primarily linear regressions and chi squared analyses) in order to test the significance of any correlations found between self-reported happiness levels and commute modes/lengths. The findings of my research will fit into a broader body of evidence relating car-dependent development to societal impacts, not only in the realm of sustainability and equity, but also in the realm of individual and community health and happiness.

Rape is a universal violation. Nationally, it is estimated that one in five women in the United States will experience rape in their lifetime. At the University of Washington, between 25% and 40% of students have experienced sexual violence, but only 1 person reported rape to the UW police department in 2013. These data come at a time when there is increased attention to universities across the U.S. due to violations of Title IX. Title IX, among other things, requires universities to dedicate set rights and resources for survivors of sexual assault and rape. While most universities have complied, the Department of Education has been negligent in the following: 1) enforcing codes, and 2) holding universities to standards of efficacy and usability. As a result, an unknown number of survivors have grown the confidence to report and been denied prosecutorial rights and sufficient support systems (demonstrating that survivors are unheard and unsupported both nationally and locally). In an effort to observe why students aren’t accessing support on UW’s Seattle campus, the goals of this research were threefold, to 1) understand UW students perceptions of support agencies, 2) create a baseline evaluation of resources for survivors on campus, and 3) examine what structures could be placed in collaboration with existing resources to increase support. To do this, methods included putting the data in conversation with the author’s experience of support agencies (autoethnography), an informal examination of student networks, and formal interviews with support agencies on campus. What emerged was evidence of organic student advocacy (resource seeking amongst networks), doula disclosure (organic advocacy encouraging discussion and healing), and an institutional intent to support that encountered barriers to bridge building. Ultimately, it will serve as a portrait of a campus struggling to overcome barriers between structured support and those they seek to support.

The reasons why we love our neighborhoods vary from person to person, but these feelings lead us to care about a community. Even when a person doesn’t have a home, they still feel attachment to places. The question I’m asking is: how can we help the homeless live in neighborhoods that they care about while assuaging the fears of the community and working within our resource constraints? Currently, King County’s four sanctioned tent cities switch locations every three to six months looking for new or repeat hosts. This migration of up to 100 people for each tent city displaces residents and turns daily routines inside out. This also strains local service providers who receive 100 new homeless individuals. In response to this issue, this research will look into alternative housing systems using theories of place attachment to strengthen the bond between communities and the homeless. A guidebook will be created and distributed to neighborhood groups and the city to include guidelines from how to engage homeless populations to steps that must be taken throughout the city of Seattle to establish a more effective system. The University District’s encampment and Tent City 3 will be the prime case studies for tent cities in Seattle. My methods include participatory observation in how tent cities are operating and in-depth semi-structured interviews of Seattle homeless, host organization members, and professionals to gather best practices as well as challenges communities had to overcome to create a vibrant tent city that can coexist with a community. These interviews will be a narrative of the real effects of tent cities on place attachment. The guidebook will be a toolbox which homeless communities and Seattle neighborhoods can reach into and draw out the aspects that will best work for them.