9724132 Purcell & Kearly This dissertation enhancement grant supports a US graduate student, Ms. Elizabeth Kearly, working under the guidance of Dr. Trevor Purcell, Professor of Anthropology at the University of South Florida, to do field research in Kenya. During the past two decades many of Kenya's traditional birth attendants (TBAs) have periodically attended biomedical workshops where they have been trained in western biomedical practices concerning maternal and child health care. As a result many TBAs have incorporated this knowledge into their own indigenous health care methods, resulting in an integrated approach which lets them select the most appropriate biomedical or indigenous treatment for each patient's situation. Due to Kenya's long history of colonization, even the untrained TBAs have some exposure to western biomedical knowledge, but many of them still continue to only use the traditional practices. Ms. Kearly hypothesizes that the untrained TBAs do not integrate the two knowledge systems because they lack adequate access to western medical facilities and supplies, and they view their indigenous methods as having more authority, or relative influence, as a result of the various cultural, socioeconomic, and political factors embedded in their traditional health care beliefs. Based on information she will collect on how trained and untrained TBAs in the rural Migori District acquire and use both forms of knowledge, Ms. Kearly expects to identify the various levels of authority they ascribe to each form of health care knowledge and how that authority then influences their selection of the best method to be used in various health situations. The discovery of such selection patterns will prove useful in predicting how people integrate and use knowledge systems under different conditions. In-depth interviews, participant observations, and archival research at the Indigenous Knowledge Center and the Kenya National Archives, will be used durin g this study. Staff members at the Maseno University will collaborate with Ms. Kearly on this project. This study will make an important contribution to existing knowledge on the societal dynamics involved in the integration of western and traditional forms of knowledge concerning obstetrical practices in a rural area in a developing country. The grant will also provide support to enable a promising study to establish a strong, independent research career. ***
