Date of Award
2022
Document Type
Honors Thesis (Open Access)
Department
Colby College. Science, Technology and Society Program
Advisor(s)
Ashton Wesner
Second Advisor
Nadia El-Shaarawi
Abstract
Healthcare inequities within the United States’ Western model of medicine have existed for hundreds of years. The purpose of this year-long project was to analyze the existing qualitative and quantitative studies of healthcare barriers for the Southern Maine Somali Bantu population, as well as compiling narrative pieces from Maine non-governmental organizations that provide community resources. In doing so, the idea of healthcare access and literacy was analyzed through means of understanding systemic barriers. Overall, the findings of this exploratory project point to a lack of cultural humility within medicine, the importance of recognizing intersectional identities in quality of healthcare, and the usage of healthcare literacy as a means for the healthcare system to exclude the Somali Bantu community from receiving equitable care.
Keywords
Somali Bantu, public health, healthcare, medical inequities, Southern Maine, community advocates, community healthcare workers
Recommended Citation
McClintock, Jordan R., "The New Mainers: An Exploratory Analysis of Healthcare Experiences in the Somali Bantu Community" (2022). Honors Theses. Paper 1384.https://digitalcommons.colby.edu/honorstheses/1384