The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA

Abstract #50361

Mary K. Anglin, PhD, MPH¹, Jill T. Owczarzak, BA¹, Sonja Feist-Price, RhD², Rick S. Zimmerman, PhD³, and Pamela K. Cupp, MA³. (1) Department of Anthropology, University of Kentucky, 211 Lafferty Hall, Lexington, KY 40506-0024, 859-257-1051, manglin@pop.uky.edu, (2) Department of Rehabilitation Counseling, University of Kentucky, 136 Taylor Education Building, Lexington, KY 40506-0017, (3) Department of Communication, University of Kentucky, 245 Grehan Building, Lexington, KY 40506-0042

This paper reports on ethnographic research conducted in an urban housing development from May, 2000 until December, 2001 as part of a large, multi-site prevention project focusing on adolescents at risk for HIV/AIDS in a Midwestern city. A qualitative approach, ethnography relies on techniques such as participant observation of social settings, informal conversation, and semi-structured, intensive interviews as means of collecting data in field settings. The ethnography was located in the public spaces of one housing development (selected as a control site for the larger study) to gather data about the social networks, gendered and racial/ethnic identities, and daily lives of the female adolescents residing there. Interviews were conducted with forty teenaged residents, all of whom were African American. In this paper, we describe: 1) the framework of the ethnographic project; 2) the relationship of the ethnography to the larger study; and 3) initial findings from the ethnographic interviews. In particular, we report on that aspect of the interviews dealing with respondents' descriptions of the neighborhood in which they live, ideas about what they like and what they would change about this setting, responses to stereotypes about "the Projects," and notions of community. Finally, we discuss the broader implications of the study for developing culturally sensitive HIV prevention projects.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participant (learner) in this session will be able to

• Describe this study's findings on the ways that young African American females in urban Kentucky define community, including their ideas about neighborhoods and local social networks;
• Discuss the implications of this study for community-based HIV prevention projects targeting socio-economically marginalized populations;
• Assess the value of ethnographic methods in public health research

Keywords: Adolescent Health, African American

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.