PCH's Genvieve Martínez-García awarded Mabel S. Spencer Award for Studies in Youth Pregnancy Among Hispanics

Genevieve Martínez-García, a doctoral student in Department of Public and Community Health, has been awarded the Mabel S. Spencer Award. The award, which honors excellence in graduate achievement by a deserving Maryland graduate student, includes a $15,000 stipend and doctoral candidacy tuition remission.

The award will also allow Martinez-Garcia to continue her community-based participatory research with at-risk Hispanic youth in Montgomery County. She will use funds from the award to to explore the risk factors associated with unplanned pregnancies among Hispanic youth in Montgomery County.

The Healthy Turtle talked with Martínez-García about the award, working with at-risk youth and how her research has surprised her:

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Healthy Turtle: The award mentions that you’ll be studying the risk factors for unintended pregnancies among Hispanic youth. What interests you about this particular area of study?

Genevieve Martínez-García: Although teen pregnancy has been thoroughly researched, there are still significant gaps. Hispanics have been left behind. We do know many risk factors concerning familial, environmental, social and economic factors. However, there is not that much research about personal factors, such as attitudes and motivators for pregnancy prevention behaviors.

Recently, there has been a widely publicized rumor about Latinas just wanting to become pregnant. Although there is no evidence for this—that is in people’s mind, particularly when they see sky-rocketing rates of teen birth rates. Therefore, I am also addressing Latinos’ intentions or desires to become pregnant. That is what interests me the most about this study. The scale I developed has revealed that Latinos have strong positive childbearing attitudes that might make them more susceptible to pregnancy.

HT: In you work with at-risk Hispanic students, what parts of your job do you find most rewarding?

GM: The most rewarding part of the research is actually working with Latino youth who are helping me recruit other youths. I have a team of about 17 recruiters between the ages of 16 and 20, from two community organizations who are actively recruiting youths to complete the survey. I have enjoyed the process of getting to know them, talking about their futures, and hopefully getting them motivated to continue their work in public health or at least motivate them to go to college.

I have also enjoyed the process of getting to know the community better, going to health fairs, small community clinics, and participating in community activities. By far, what is most rewarding is the expectation that the results of this research will be used by actual organizations working in the community. Knowing that my dissertation can actually make an impact is what drives me to do this.

HT: What about the most challenging parts of your job?

MG: The most challenging aspect has been translating the methodology of the research and the importance of following the recruitment steps to recruiters that have no research background. I train them as best as I can, go out with them to coach them, and then I cross my fingers.

It’s has been challenging working with a group of youth that have different communication patterns, vocabulary, needs. We communicate in two languages, sometimes speaking English and Spanish simultaneously and we communicate almost exclusively via texting (something I am not used to doing). It’s challenging to adapt the perfect recruitment process to what is actually feasible given the people you are recruiting and the places you are recruiting from. Staying flexible and open-minded is a challenge but it is necessary when working at the community level with community people. It forces me to think outside the box and be creative.

HT: Have there been moments in your research when you remember being particularly surprised by something you found?

GM: Since data collection barely started, I don’t have preliminary data to which I can react. However, I conducted extensive focus groups with Latino youth in order to develop the survey. During the focus group, youths who were parents commented on the decisions they made that resulted in a pregnancy. Based on their stories, I realized that youth play Russian roulette with sex. They have unprotected sex, knowing they can get pregnant and not wanting to become pregnant. If they have a scare they take the test, and if it’s negative they take a deep breath and keep on having unprotected sex.

HT: What does it mean to you to receive the Mabel S. Spencer Award?

GM: I was very excited to receive the Spencer Award. As you may know, Dr. Spencer was an advocate for women’s education and the local community. In a sense, this study reflects her values and mission. Hopefully, the findings of the study will help local organizations craft programs to keep minority students, particularly women, in school and in college.