262943 A working group for reproductive justice: Using social movements to invigorate traditional public health theories on sexual and reproductive health

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Arianna Taboada, MSW, MSPH , Schools of Social Work and Public Health, UNC Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
The intersection of immigrant status and health is a topic wrought with issues of social inequity and justice in all regions of the world. Due to the difference in development between North America (USA and Canada) and the rest of the Americas, immigration is typically conceptualized as movement from the south to the north of the continent. Nevertheless, Latin American countries also present diverse levels of economic growth and human development among themselves, a context that leads to other, often understudied, migration patterns and social determinants that affect health. An interdisciplinary working group started by graduate students used a Reproductive Justice framework, developed in the USA by a social movement led by women of color, to develop a critical research agenda for sexual and reproductive health of migrant women across the Americas. While examining current theories used in reproductive health, we recognize the nuances of migrant women's experiences, and how such theories are often inadequate in capturing complex structural determinants of reproductive justice such as trade agreements and migration policies. This poster highlights how our activities critically examine typical theories for studying reproductive health that are based in legal and life-course perspective in order to understand what reproductive justice means for women whose reproductive rights and overall health are often neglected by countries of origin, transit, and/or destination. Research, policy and practice implications are addressed.

Learning Areas:
Advocacy for health and health education
Assessment of individual and community needs for health education
Diversity and culture
Public health or related education
Social and behavioral sciences

Learning Objectives:
1) Define reproductive justice and how it differs from reproductive rights 2) Explain how a reproductive justice framework encourages graduate students to re-consider a life-course perspective in reproductive health research 3) Identify theories from interdisciplinary fields that can be used to advance reproductive health discourse within the context of migration

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I serve as graduate student coordinator for the Working Group on Reproductive Justice and Migration
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.