User talk:SBanda

Some comments

We previously talked on my talk page. You posted your article. Currently there is a discussion about whether it should be deleted. I am writing here to talk through how Wikipedia editors review content. DStrassmann and I met in person at WikiConference North America, and she might join in the discussion also. The reason why I am including DStraussman is because what you did is typical for student contributions to Wikipedia, and this kind of exchange has played out thousands of times. I thought it would be interesting to share ideas on how classes and Wikipedia reviewers should discuss things.

I had suggested that before beginning to edit on this topic that you confirm that you can find source material on this topic. When you posted your draft, here are the titles of the sources you cited.

• Redden, Molly (2016-08-20). "Texas has highest maternal mortality rate in developed world, study finds". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2016-10-07.
• "Recent Increases in the U.S. Maternal Mortality Rate". Obstetrics & Gynecology. 128.3.
• "Maternal mortality ratio (modeled estimate, per 100,000 live births) | Data". data.worldbank.org. Retrieved 2016-10-07.
• Gammel, Hans (1898). Laws of Texas, 1822 - 1897. Austin, TX: Gammel Book Company. p. 556 – via JSTOR.
• Smith, Barbara (1980). Narrative Theories, Narrative Versions. The University of Chicago Press. pp. 213–236 – via JSTOR.
• Mohr, James (1978). Abortion in America. Oxford University Press. p. 4 – via Google Books.
• Mohr, James (1978). Abortion in America. Oxford University Press. pp. 166–167, 180 – via Google Books.
• Gammel, Hans (1898). The Laws of Texas 1822 - 1897. Austin, TX: Gammel Book Company. p. 556 – via JSTOR.
• Gammel, Hans (1898). The Laws of Texas. Austin, TX: Gammel Book Company. p. 553 – via JSTOR.
• Texas, Medical Association (Louisville, KT). Transactions of the Texas State. pp. 119–120 – via Google Books.

As a reviewer, the first thing that I notice is that you have only cited one source which features the topic, "maternal health in Texas" as the subject of the publication. That source is the Guardian article, which I would call a weak source because it is itself a popular science review of another source. Citing the original academic source is preferable. The other sources might talk about maternal health in Texas, but at a glance, it seems like they would be talking about this topic only as part of a broader discussion. For a topic to have its own Wikipedia article, the Wikipedia community expects the person creating the article to have identified sources featuring that topic as the subject of other publications. Another way to say this is that if Wikipedia is to have an article called, "Maternal health in Texas", then someone should identify some sources which feature "maternal health in Texas" as their subject. Perhaps the sources are doing this, but judging by the titles, only the Guardian source seems to be doing this.

I would like to post some excerpts from what you posted and give an opinion on the content.

The maternal mortality rate in the state of Texas has been compared to that of a "third world" nation.^[1]

The cited source does not seem to make this comparison. Can you say something about what information in the source you used as a basis for the comparison?

This rate is higher than any other state in the US as well as countries such as Japan, with 5 deaths,^[1] and France, with 8 deaths.^[1] The countries with levels of maternal mortality comparable to those in Texas are Mexico, with 38 deaths, or Turkey with 16 deaths and Chile with 32.^[1]

Wikipedia is supposed to be a summary of what other sources have said without doing additional original research. The cited source seems to be a database of information which is not interpreted. In the proposed text, this database is presented as backing an editorial claim that Texas is unlike Japan and France but more like Mexico and Turkey. In Wikipedia reviewers do not allow contributors to make interpretations of data, and instead leave interpretation of data to authorities who have published their ideas in reputable publications. When data is presented from primary sources it has to be done without making any editorial claims about it, so if data is not inherently meaningful, then it is left out.

In one study, the leading cause of maternal death in Texas has been found to be heart-related complications, accountable for 20.6% of 189 studied maternal deaths, and the second leading cause was overdoses, responsible for a shocking 11.5% of the 189 deaths.

One problem here is that a study is mentioned but there is no citation to the study. Another problem is verifying that this study is appropriate for making a general claim on "maternal health in Texas" when the information is from "one study" considering 189 deaths. Presumably there have been annual studies for decades. Wikipedia prefers to cite a review of studies which is published with interpretation, rather than present data from a single study which is not aggregated with others and interpreted. It could be misleading to present information from a study of a small cohort when the article is supposed to be about all maternal health in Texas over many years.

Doctors also opposed abortion as they became scientifically aware of the fact that the fetus assumed an identity before expecting mothers were alerted to life within them

This is a loaded claim and care has to be taken to be inclusive of all significant and relevant perspectives, even if some of the sources take a position in a controversial issue. Wikipedia might present multiple perspectives on a controversial issue, but making general statements about public perception of abortion between the 1854 the 1978 sources requires care. Can you clarify which part of the 1978 source reflects 1850s perspectives in Texas, or otherwise, what time periods you are summarizing?

Overall, can you tie the concept of abortion to maternal health? Lots of things affect maternal health, like for example employment, but concepts like legal status of abortion or employment are not inherently health issues unless there is a discussion of how these things affect health.

Thanks - I would talk more. I hope this helps. If the article is to pass the deletion review then some sources featuring "maternal health in Texas" need to be presented soon. Blue Rasberry (talk) 16:12, 9 October 2016 (UTC)

Additional comments and response

Hi Blue Rasberry, Thank you very much for explaining how content is reviewed and for the detailed suggestions.

I would like to explain that I had just begun editing the article and will continue to be adding to and changing the sources used as editing progresses. I understand your point of how more sources need to feature the topic "maternal health in Texas" and how the current sources do not do enough of this. I will be continuing to add to the article, and since I have mostly worked on the "History of Maternal Health" section, I have been mostly using books containing certain chapters on the history of maternal health in Texas in the context of a greater topic. In conducting research prior to the creation of the article, I have identified scholarly sources that will be used for the information in the great majority of other sections of the article, which I have listed at the bottom in the "Annotated Bibliography". Most of these articles are more directly related to the topic of maternal health and include discussions of maternal health in Texas or directly discuss maternal health in Texas, and will be referenced in large parts of the rest of the article:

Anderson, J. L., Waller, D. K., Canfield, M. A., Shaw, G. M., Watkins, M. L., & Werler, M. M. (2005). Maternal obesity, gestational diabetes, and central nervous system birth defects. Epidemiology, 16(1), 87-92.

Broussard, C. S., Rasmussen, S. A., Reefhuis, J., Friedman, J. M., Jann, M. W., Riehle-Colarusso, T., ... & Study, N. B. D. P. (2011). Maternal treatment with opioid analgesics and risk for birth defects. American journal of obstetrics and gynecology, 204(4), 314-e1. Frost JJ, U.S. Women’s Use of Sexual and Reproductive Health Services: Trends, Sources of Care and Factors Associated with Use, 1995–2010, New York: Guttmacher Institute, 2013.

Gibbs, C. E., & Locke, W. E. (1976). Maternal deaths in Texas 1969 to 1973: A report of 501 consecutive maternal deaths from the Texas Medical Association's Committee on Maternal Health. American journal of obstetrics and gynecology, 126(6), 687-692.

Johnson, A. (1989). Abortion, Personhood, and Privacy in Texas. Tex. L. Rev., 68, 1521.

Potter, J. E., Hopkins, K., Aiken, A. R., Hubert, C., Stevenson, A. J., White, K., & Grossman, D. (2014). Unmet demand for highly effective postpartum contraception in Texas. Contraception, 90(5), 488-495.

MacKay AP, Berg CJ, Duran C, Chang J, Rosenberg H. An assessment of pregnancy-related mortality in the United States. Pediatrics Perinatal Epidemiology (2005); 19:206–14.

Santelli, J., Ott, M. A., Lyon, M., Rogers, J., Summers, D., & Schleifer, R. (2006). Abstinence and abstinence-only education: a review of US policies and programs. Journal of Adolescent Health, 38(1), 72-81.

Stevenson, A. J., Flores-Vazquez, I. M., Allgeyer, R. L., Schenkkan, P., & Potter, J. E. (2016). Effect of Removal of Planned Parenthood from the Texas Women’s Health Program. New England Journal of Medicine, 374(9), 853-860.

Thank you once again for the suggestions on content and helping clarify the nature of Wikipedia articles. I will be making edits shortly based on the comments and continue the discussion. SBanda (talk) 22:08, 9 October 2016 (UTC)

Health in Uganda

As a second area of interest, I would like to look into the healthcare system of Uganda, in particular the overarching system of governance and mechanisms for delivery of services. I will be traveling to Uganda this summer to train community health workers and improve knowledge of preventative care, so I find this page of especial interest and one that could benefit from more specificity. Currently, the article “Health in Uganda” has four overarching categories: health infrastructure, reproductive health, gender based violence. The article is rated C-class and of low-importance. I would like to primarily add to the Health Infrastructure section and create another section on medical conditions. In the Health Infrastructure section, there is no mention of the network of NGOs working alongside the Ugandan government to provide healthcare services. The financing of the healthcare system as well as the healthcare professionals is also rather brief. More importantly, there is no section detailing the illnesses most prevalent in the country, and the approaches to treat them. I would like to add to these sections by researching NGOs involved in the area, the financing of the healthcare system, the training of healthcare professionals, and the most common medical illnesses and treatments. Below are the scholarly sources upon which I plan to base my research. Rwashana, A. S., Williams, D. W., & Neema, S. (2009). System dynamics approach to immunization healthcare issues in developing countries: a case study of Uganda. Health Informatics Journal, 15(2), 95-107.

Kikule, E. (2003). A good death in Uganda: survey of needs for palliative care for terminally ill people in urban areas. Bmj, 327(7408), 192-194.

Sethi, A. K., Acher, C. W., Kirenga, B., Mead, S., Donskey, C. J., & Katamba, A. (2012). Infection control knowledge, attitudes, and practices among healthcare workers at Mulago Hospital, Kampala, Uganda. Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, 33(09), 917-923. Ho, M. R., Owusu, E. K., & Aoki, P. M. (2009, April). Claim mobile: engaging conflicting stakeholder requirements in healthcare in uganda. In Information and Communication Technologies and Development (ICTD), 2009 International Conference on (pp. 35-45). IEEE.

Mutyaba, T., Mmiro, F. A., & Weiderpass, E. (2006). Knowledge, attitudes and practices on cervical cancer screening among the medical workers of Mulago Hospital, Uganda. BMC medical education, 6(1), 13.

Bolton, P., Bass, J., Neugebauer, R., Verdeli, H., Clougherty, K. F., Wickramaratne, P., ... & Weissman, M. (2003). Group interpersonal psychotherapy for depression in rural Uganda: a randomized controlled trial. Jama, 289(23), 3117-3124.

Bond, G. C., & Vincent, J. (1997). AIDS in Uganda: the first decade.

Naicker, S., Plange-Rhule, J., Tutt, R. C., & Eastwood, J. B. (2009). Shortage of healthcare workers in developing countries--Africa. Ethnicity & disease, 19(1), 60.

Dambisya, Y. M. (2004). The fate and career destinations of doctors who qualified at Uganda's Makerere Medical School in 1984: retrospective cohort study. Bmj, 329(7466), 600-601.

Matsiko, C. W., & Kiwanuka, J. (2003). A review of human resource for health in Uganda. Health Policy and Development, 1(1), 15-20.

SBanda (talk) 01:47, 24 January 2017 (UTC)

I see that you are already a good editor on Wikipedia, and I do not know how I can help you with Health in Uganda, which is already C class and fairly well done. When mentioning an article, always include a Wikilink. Best wishes.--Dthomsen8 (talk) 14:12, 14 February 2017 (UTC)

Your work on the article Health in Uganda is very good and you are an excellent editor. Some of the content remains unreferenced and could be deleted because of this. I don't want your content deleted. Is there any way you could reference some of the content you have added? Are those the references you want to add? Do you need help getting them into the article. I am very good at inserting references and would be at your service to help you.

The Very Best of Regards,

Barbara (WVS) ✐ ✉ 15:44, 5 May 2017 (UTC)