what i should be doing in amsterdam

Here's a link to the wiki of what I will be doing in Amsterdam....

http://courses.washington.edu/uwvks/wiki/index.php?title=Health_Information_Needs_of_Sex_Workers

Organizing an In-Depth Interview

I had difficulty trying to find a contact related to the research Haley and I are going to conduct in Amsterdam. Instead, I decided it would be best to focus on healthcare and insurance and I selected a coworker from my work to get his perspective. The interview was briefer than I thought it would be and he had pretty staightforward answers to my questions. I could have created more questions to dig deeper. I found that my subject commonly answered the next question before I even asked it.

A) Fact sheet

In order to maintain the anonymity of who I interviewed, he will remain nameless. I interviewed a co-worker at my internship within the King County Library System, and asked him the questions listed below.

B) List of "things to discuss"

The purpose of this interview is for me to gain practice organizing an in-depth interview in preparation for my research in Amsterdam. Though I am focusing on the health information needs of sex workers while abroad, this interview will not be related to that topic. Instead, I would like to know your opinion of healthcare in the United States.

Your responses will not be linked to your name to ensure anonymity and confidentiality.

Some of the questions may be silly or difficult to answer, but please remember that there are no right or wrong answers. It would be great if you tried your best to answer all the questions. I am only interested in personal opinions and experiences.

Please feel free to interrupt, ask for clarification , criticize a line of questioning, etc.

I am a second year master’s student at the University of Washington’s Information School.

May I please have your permission to tape record our interview?

C) Questions:

Do you currently have medical insurance?

Are you happy with your coverage?

What do you think about the healthcare package offered at your work?

Do you think it is better or worse than what other employers offer?

What is your opinion of universal healthcare?

Some people think everyone should have equal access to healthcare. What do you think about that?
Are there any health related issues that you feel there should be more information about?

Are you happy with your ability to access health information?

Do you feel confident when searching for health information?

D) Write Up

My subject currently does have health insurance and he is pretty happy with it in relation to other insurance plans, however, he thinks it should be free. His healthcare covers subcriptions, prescriptions, eye, and other alternative medicines such as massage and accupunture. He also receives dental separately, that is very good and good for him because he doesn't go to the "doctor" that often but does go to the "dentist." He doesn't like the alternative coverage that much because he thinks it covers things that people request. But it's usually people who go to the doctor a lot, while people who have more pressing needs don't go to the doctor as much and may not have insurance.

My subject thinks that everyone should have equal access to healthcare.

3 questions

NOTE: I will build on this once I finish up the reading for today.
The biggest challenge Haley and I face is how to actually contact prostitutes and whether we're going to have structured, or informal interviews.

1. How will we find prostitutes? Specifically, illegal prostitutes? Should we go to them? Or set up an area where they can come to us?

2. What types of questions will we use to get the information we need to understand where there are gaps in information? How will we measure that? Will we have to code our data?

3. What various technologies will we suggest that may prove helpful for prostitutes? The Internet? Text messages? Brochures? What pathfinder can we create to get information to them after our research is done. (This is kind of not the point, I know, but I'm having trouble thinking of other questions.)

The concept of e-Research

Yeah, so e-Research. Given our lively discussion in class last Monday, I'm not even sure how to define research. My head hurt after that class. I like the idea of research contributing to some sort of knowledge outside of an individual alone. That that is what differentiates information from research I guess I would take that concept and apply that to eResearch as well. As long as information is being shared, in this case virtually, it can be considered research. ???? Hmmmm... I have a feeling this entry will be edited after class...

In regards to my own research, I envision using the web to find recent information on health care and prostitution. I think it would be great to create some sort of wiki or pathfinder for sex workers to use, but like Haley said, I'm not sure how utilized that would be. Studies would have to be done to see if this would be a helpful resource.

Alright, it's time to eat some birthday sushi!!!!!!

Reading response

Place holder until I can get to this later this week!

jessica's assignment

subject: student sex: female age: 27 religion: not known

1.Subject was 5 minutes late to class and appeared a bit frazzled and rushed. She wore Levi's jeans that were slightly folded up at the bottom. The subject's shirt was dark navy and a little crumpled and appeared to be a mix of cotton and linen. The shirt is short sleeved with a Nehru type collar descending into a vee with a series of cotton covered buttons ending towards the middle. The shirt is somewhat sheer and the subject was also wearing a navy tank top underneath tucked into her Levis. The subject wore bright green loafers with no visible sign of socks. She also wore a navy silk belt with small green turtles.

Subject's hair is unkempt and pulled back into a ponytail. The subject wore tortoise shell glasses and no visible signs of make-up other than some chapstick. The subject's nails are clipped short and clean. The subject also carried a tote advertising a publishing company that could stand to be washed. She appeared to fumble through it for items throughout class.

2. Mondays are always difficult for me to make it to class on time. I staff a reference desk in Redmond until at least 2pm and then I run home grab a bite to eat and change into something a little more casual for class. I was running late and quickly changed into Levi's still keeping the shoes and shirt I wore to work on. This past Monday, I made the realization that it would be better to just go to campus from work and grab something on the ave so I'm less stressed. I wasn't necessarily in a hurry on my way to work, but I usually select my loafers when I'm feeling a little pressed for time. The shirt I wore needed to have a lint roller taken to it because I had hand washed it with items that left fuzzies on it. I did that and then decided I didn't need to shower since I had taken a bath the night before. That is why my hair was a bit of a mess. The only jewelry I wear are different types of earring, but I usually don't wear earrings and glasses at the same time, and since I elected to wear my glasses, I didn't put on any earrings. I sometimes wear makeup but didn't feel like it on that day. I also realize that I need to clean out my tote bag so I can get to things more quickly.

My loafers and shirt were a gift from my mom when she visited me last summer from j.crew. The belt too. I bought the levi's on sale at the levi's store downtown. I've had my glasses for over 4 years because I keep breaking any new ones I get. I bought them when I was an undergrad in Santa Cruz at some fancy pants store. I got my bag for free from the American Libraries Association convention in Seattle.

Had I known we were going to evaluate our dress, I probably would have chosen to snazz up my image!

comments on research

for our online component, we could also look into creating some sort of a wiki that would contain links to pertinent health information...