No abstract

This article examines the experiences of women’s work by focusing on the lives of working class and middle class women, African Americans, Caucasians and Latinas. Research for this project was conducted in the Humboldt Park neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois, with adult women who live, go to school, or work there. We spoke with adult women working toward their General Education Degree and those with higher levels of education. Using intersectional analysis and a cultural constructivist framework, this study compares these women’s different perceptions of the Humboldt Park neighborhood and their varying experiences as participants in the labor market and unpaid household labor.

Gender-related factors and the social and economic conditions that impact the lives and health of women injection drug users (IDUs) in Chicago are described. Although study participants are highly imaginative and resourceful in terms of income-generating self-sufficiency, they engage in a variety of behaviors that put them at risk of contracting infectious diseases such as HIV and hepatitis B and C viruses. We point out that labor inequalities experienced by women IDUs, together with the gender ideologies that support those inequalities, provide reduced opportunities to practice harm reduction and other health care options.

Based on research conducted with women injection drug users (WIDUs), I discuss the ethical conflicts that researchers and sub-contractors face in gaining access to the life narratives of WIDUs. Foremost among these is the potentially exploitative nature of the study participant-researcher relationship. I suggest that federal and institutional guidelines for human subject research must incorporate additional safeguards to protect study populations such as WIDUs. Moreover, the ethical concerns related to health care research should be addressed in guidelines for ethical conduct with human subjects, research ethics seminars, and required training programs for researchers and subcontractors separately.

This paper presents exploratory data on occupational stress in restaurants prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic. In-depth interviews, biomarker data, and questionnaire responses identified salient factors to occupational stress. Findings highlight structures of the restaurant industry that contribute most to ill health and can inform more healthful and equitable practices.