Student Researcher of Color:
Janae McDowell

My name is Janae McDowell, and I am a senior psychology major on the research track at the illustrious Morgan State University. I am originally from Rochester, New York but after being in Baltimore, Maryland for the past four years, I have decided to continue my education down here and attend Towson University in the fall. At Towson, I will be pursuing my master’s degree in occupational therapy. My research interests include the study of intellectual disabilities and its correspondence to occupational therapy. The areas that take my interest are the disadvantages in access to quality healthcare, education, transitioning from childhood to adulthood and decreased life expectancy. After finishing school my overall career goal is to become a pediatric occupational therapist.

Tell us about your research.

I am a member of A Student-Centered, Entrepreneurship Development (ASCEND) training program at Morgan State University, which is funded by the National Institutes of Health to increase diversity in the biomedical research workforce. My current research project, under the supervision of my mentor Ingrid Tulloch, PhD, is titled “Black Caregivers of Individuals with Down Syndrome Report Greater Perceived Stress than White Caregivers.” With this study, I am examining perceptions of health care, discrimination experiences, and ethnicity as predictors of the stress levels of individuals with Down syndrome and their caregivers across different racial and ethnic groups. I am having the caregivers of the individuals with Down syndrome complete a 53-item survey that includes questions about primary and special care access, caregiver satisfaction, provider communication, and perceived stress. The individual with Down syndrome will also sit for a structured interview through Zoom to answer questions regarding their emotional and physical well-being, patient journey, and interpersonal relations.

What inspired your interest in this area of study?

Growing up, I always had a passion for helping others. Every small act of kindness, whether it is being a listening ear, offering support, or volunteering time, has the power to uplift someone’s spirit. This passion led me to setting the career goal of becoming a pediatric occupational therapist for children with intellectual disabilities. Occupational therapy is a holistic form of therapy that is structured to help individuals facing physical, developmental, and emotional challenges gain independence in the areas in which they currently need assistance, with the goal of enhancing their overall quality of life. To achieve this goal, it is very helpful to be well versed in the research process, so you can increase your overall understanding and knowledge of the specific area in which occupational therapy is needed. This connection inspired me to focus my research on areas that will help those who have intellectual disabilities.

How do you see your research moving the field of psychology?

Over the summer, I had the pleasure of being an intern in the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences Summer Research Initiative at the University of Maryland, College Park, where I worked alongside Heather Yarger, PhD. During this time, I examined differences in emotion regulation coping strategies used by autistic adolescents versus non autistic adolescents. This research provided support for the hypothesis that autistic adolescents manage their emotions differently and maladaptive coping forms need to be targeted. My summer research and my current research both involve populations that are often overlooked by researchers. Conducting studies like these can help move the field of psychology by identifying disparities in health outcomes and access to health care services so that efforts to improve health for everyone may directly address the problem areas.

What policy, practice, and public health significance does your research have?

My research on access to quality health care has significance for health equity as well as for policy and advocacy. By healthcare providers understanding the barriers to access for individuals with Down syndrome, such as socioeconomic status, discrimination, or lack of insurance, policy makers can implement interventions developed through research to help address these disparities. In terms of policy and advocacy, research findings on access to quality health care can aid policymakers in identifying priority areas in which to make policy changes and allocate resources to improve population health outcomes. Overall, access to quality healthcare is essential for promoting and protecting the health of communities, reducing illness and advancing public health goals.

What is something you wish you knew about the research process before you started?

I wish I knew how extensive the literature review process can be and how important gathering background information is. My summer research project and the ASCEND program have really taught me how to sift through the literature, organize articles, and interpret the literature to the point where a research question can be formulated. It is one thing to read about past experiments, but developing your own study and making it feasible to execute so that you can obtain valuable results takes a lot of thought. Being able to fully understand your analyzed data and how it fits into the research gap that is being addressed, is also a process I underestimated.

What’s next for you?

After I graduate from Morgan State University in May, I will be attending Towson University, where I have been accepted into their Master of Occupational Therapy program. During this program, I will gain hands-on experience through clinical rotations, learn how to assess and treat patients and practice rehabilitation techniques. Towson is the only accredited program in Maryland that provides students with powerfully built resources, opportunities, and substantial hands-on experience. At Towson, I hope to continue gaining research experience while learning the skills needed to be a pediatric occupational therapist.