In a new research project, Northwestern University in Qatar (NU-Q) will soon begin to find how migrant workers benefit from healthcare facilities and get involved in sport activities. The study will work with blue collar workers, and will focus on health facilities and resources built especially for them. It will also find what they do during their leisure time.
The study grant is awarded by the Undergraduate Research Experience Program (UREP) under Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF) to Susan Dun, assistant professor, Amy Sanders, associate professor and six NU-Q students.
The study will examine about health, physical activity and sports participation of blue collar workers in the country. NU-Q researchers will be exploring available studies on the topic and gather raw data to understand how blue collar workers use the health facilities, learns The Peninsula. From their findings, they will develop a communications campaign to help workers understand how they can maximise the benefits from the resources available to them.
“Northwestern University in Qatar has made research a primary focus of its mission in Doha,” said Everette E Dennis, Dean and CEO. “We are committed to ensuring that our students’ experience at NU-Q includes engagement in scholarly activity to develop their intellectual curiosity. The continued support of QNRF in this endeavour benefits our faculty and students, as well as the wider Qatar community.”
The project will address a gap in the literature regarding migrant workers access to health resources in Qatar by investigating the habitual patterns that migrant workers engage in. Working closely with a local company, the second phase of the study will include the design and implementation of a messaging campaign, which will be developed based on the interview outcomes.
“The proposal for this grant,” Dun said, “is related to my research on the 2022 World Cup and the effects hosting it is having in Qatar, especially on health, physical activity, and sports participation. The students participating in this research project will learn by doing and this grant will allow them to be involved in all aspects of the project, from drafting the proposal via collecting and analysing data to extrapolating results.”
Amal Ali, one of the student researchers, said, “I think this project is important to investigate because it helps us find ways to explain how migrant workers can maximise their access to healthcare. This is especially important at this time because Qatar is under scrutiny for hosting the 2022 World Cup, and the results could mitigate these accusations.”
The goal of UREP funding is to foster and develop a culture of research as an important element of undergraduate education. Students – and also their faculty mentors – have the ability to build their research and experience portfolio through such programmes.
