by Chris Hilburn-Trenkle
Sarah McGlothlin had never considered herself to be an academic.
After graduating from the University of Montana with her master of social work in 2015, she spent seven years working at Centra Virginia Baptist Hospital — the same hospital where she was born — in Lynchburg, Va.
It was during that time spent as a perinatal social worker when McGlothlin saw first-hand the challenges women face due to health equity and allocation of resources. These challenges often impacted their quality of life, and by extension, the quality of life of their children.
McGlothlin’s knowledge and passion for maternal health led her to arrive at UNC Horizons as a researcher working with Hendree Jones on maternal health and addiction. It was during that time when her interest in the fields of maternal health and the environment grew and she came to realize she was more of an academic than she had earlier believed.
“That was a really rewarding experience in that it informed me that the environment really impacts the quality of life for a mother and is a major determinant in both her and her child’s health and development, even more so than some of the substances they may use,” McGlothlin said.
Now a second-year Ph.D. student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Social Work, McGlothlin’s focus on maternal health, connection to place and the diversity of natural and cultural environments continues to drive her research.
She recently earned the inaugural Kenan Galapagos Fellowship through the Center for Galapagos Studies, funded by the William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust. Working with local Galapagos college and high school students and faculty mentors in the upcoming spring and summer, McGlothlin’s project will focus on the impact of climate change on maternal health.
“I am thrilled that Sarah has received this tremendous honor,” Professor Paul Lanier said. “She will represent our School of Social Work and the University so well through the fellowship and her work in the Galapagos. Sarah came into our doctoral program with a passion for learning with communities and a strong background in intervention research. This is the kind of once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that our students can find at UNC and I can’t wait to see how this experience shapes Sarah’s scholarly trajectory.”
‘Fulfilling this childhood dream’
McGlothlin was finishing her first semester at the School of Social Work when she sat down with Associate Dean for Doctoral Education Mimi Chapman.
The doctoral student had a problem, or so she thought. She was interested in how natural and historical environments shape the people within them, but she wasn’t sure of the opportunities available for this unique focus in social work. It was then that Chapman mentioned the inaugural fellowship.
With the semester winding down, McGlothlin was focusing on a systematic review, exams and now an application for a fellowship that required a turnaround time of only a month.
When she found out she was accepted months later, McGlothlin experienced conflicting emotions.
“Exciting and terrifying,” she said was how she felt.
McGlothlin hadn’t before considered herself a global researcher, but from an early age she had expressed a desire to visit the Galapagos. The first book report she ever did was on Charles Darwin, and she had studied the theory of evolution and adaptation.
“I was excited because it was fulfilling this childhood dream while at the same time intersecting some of this knowledge that I have on maternal health,” McGlothlin said.
McGlothlin spent the summer heading into her second year at UNC diving into research, including pre-existing data from fellow researchers at Carolina. She soon found that the primary problems in the Galapagos are related to geographic isolation, limited health care infrastructure and water and food insecurity. These problems exacerbated another issue — inadequate social support for maternal mental health.
Soon she had outlined the rationale for her project, including stated objectives, an intervention, statistics and methods. She spoke with her mentor, Lanier, who challenged her to ask herself whether the intervention was, “wanted, needed or helpful.”
“It helped me realize that the best solutions really come from listening and working with the local residents, working together, not alone, as a researcher, as an outsider coming in,” McGlothlin said.
Established study
The talk with Lanier proved to be the biggest breakthrough of McGlothlin’s career.
After taking some time to reset, McGlothlin began speaking with fellow researchers at Carolina and individuals in San Cristobal Island, the site of her primary research in the Galapagos. From building connections with individuals in San Cristobal, she began to better understand the limited infrastructure of the maternal health landscape.
Laying the foundation for relationships with researchers and other members of the San Cristobal community allows McGlothlin to arrive in the Galapagos this spring with a greater perspective in mind. During her time on the islands this spring and summer, she will collaborate with mental health experts at the Galapagos Science Center, a research facility co-operated and co-founded by UNC and Universidad San Francisco de Quito.
With the help of those researchers and community members, she is hoping to build a home visiting program that incorporates environmental health support to improve maternal well-being while recognizing the challenges brought by environmental factors related to water insecurity and pollution. She’ll present her findings at a symposium from June 30 to July 1 in San Cristobal.
But more important to her than presenting the findings or choosing a specific program is ensuring that her work can continue on after she leaves the islands, and that it can be shared with the community for years to come.
“The only way I know if I did it right is knowing that I come back with new knowledge and I leave with a relationship that sustains, grows and is supported by the community itself,” McGlothlin said.
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