Instructor: Dr. Richard Adanu

Project: Infertility Studies in Southern Ghana

In an extensive research project with Dr. Richard Adanu, the student will explore the causes of infertility both within and outside of a hospital setting in Accra. Both qualitative and quantitative research methods will be used, as the student will spend much time speaking with patients and families, examining old case folders to retrieve information and collect data, and in a conclusion of the project studies, the student will produce a work that may be published and lead to more extensive studies.

The beginning of the student's research project will consist of one-on-one studies with Dr. Richard Adanu, where the student will learn research and interviewing methods and also developing a methodology for fertility studies. As the project outline is very flexible, the student will get to choose whether they are interested in comparative studies between different regions, social and gender issues that generally accompany infertility cases, or a juxtaposition of American and African conditions. The student is not required to have a background in premed, as this project will explore social, environmental, and psychological factors, as well as biomedical studies, and all research techniques will be taught before the student begins their case studies.

Among several other questions, the following will be explored:

• What is infertility? How is it defined?
• What is the difference between the way that medical personnel define infertility and those who have non-medical backgrounds? How do personal approaches to infertility differ between these groups?
• Does one social/cultural group encounter greater infertility counts? Why or why not?
• Is there a difference between rural and urban fertility rates?
• What treatment options are available? How do the options differ in their affects upon social, psychological, and familial conditions? What are the social alternatives?