Infant Mortality Study

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Hi There Alfunsia,

I am advising that you follow certain principles related to that. I suggest this simple outline:

1. Your study - what is it about? What is your purpose - 150 words
2. Grassroots efforts - the relevance of such a study for social change - 150 words
3. Theoretical framework - 150 words
4. Quantitative method - 150 words
5. Posited Impact - community awareness - community psychology - 150 words
6. Outcomes - 150 words

This outline should yield around 900 words which I think should satisfy what is being asked of you in this particular task. I have been working out in my mind the most applicable theory that ought to be a match with your grassroots idea and I can't think of anything better than a constructivist perspective, coupled with principles of community psychology and the time series data measurement approach. Just let me know via the feedback section if you need further clarification or assistance in this particular task. You can also use the listed resources to further explore the topic. Good luck and a happy New Year to you!

Sincerely,
Xenia

Introduction

As a social worker and human services expert, one of my key tasks is to oversee certain communities in my city, Memphis. These communities are among the most hard-up and it's no surprise as Memphis was not spared in the recent economic crunch. The Memphis Business Journal (2012) reports - "The rate of Memphis families living in poverty is 14.4 percent, higher than the national average of 10.1 percent." While Memphis does not have it as bad as Brownsville (20.4% of families live in poverty in the city, according to the same article), this means that in the metropolis, around 200,000 Memphians live in poverty, where a family of four subsist with less than $22,000/annum. Such an amount is not enough to meet basic needs like food, shelter, clothing and medicine. In conditions or situations of poverty - healthcare is one of the first that families do without, the focus of expenses being the most immediate, which is food and shelter.

My study focuses on one of the many sad impact of the city's poverty rate - infant mortality. In my professional role, I come across young mothers who have lost their babies for similar reasons - lack of healthcare, lack of education, lack of finances and lack of support. These of course are just among the many but what to me is most disconcerting is the fact that in Memphis, there are 15 deaths for every thousand which is twice the US average. McCall (2007), writes -

"Broken down by ZIP code, centering on the poorest places in this very poor city, there are spots where babies die at a higher rate than they do in some Third World countries. Some health officials object to that characterization because the figures are small enough to call their statistical significance into question. But no one denies that there is an epidemic of dead babies here."

Infant mortality in Memphis, according to McCall happens for the following reasons - infant death syndrome, suffocation, risky environment, exposure to deadly chemicals, being fed dangerous foods like potato chips and so that majority die of malnutrition. It is for this reason that I would like to undertake a critical study of infant mortality rate in Memphis, a study that will look into the driving force behind the phenomenon as well as offer solutions. My idea is to take on a grassroots level study to determine and measure the situation in the communities that I serve. In order to measure outcomes, I am going to look into the work of an advocacy group who has taken ...