Enhancement of the Intravenous Cannulation Catheter Process; The Intersection of the Health Gap and Language Barrier in the United States Health Care System and Its Impact on Afro-Latinas

The United States (U.S.) ranks 37th globally but is the most expensive (“New 11-Country Study,” n.d.). One failure in the U.S. health care system is the administration of intravenous (IV) lines or cannulation. (Lund et al., 2012). Another pitfall in the U.S. health care system is the disparities in the health care certain groups of people receive compared to others. Therefore, this portfolio examines these two issues in the U.S. health care system in order to identify what is contributing to them and how to improve the respective issue. The aim of this technical project is to study how to improve first pass rates of intravenous cannulation. The STS portion of this portfolio focuses on the intersection of the health gap and language barrier that hinders Afro-Latinas from receiving adequate medical care within the United States (U.S.) health care system. This topic is analyzed using historical case studies, wicked problem framing, and discourse analysis while imploring co-production as the STS framework. The research question that frames this study is: What are the barriers that inhibit Afro-Latinas from receiving adequate medical care? By completing these studies in conjunction, it allows for an examination of two very different, but still connected, issues in the U.S. health care system. The ability to have both of these issues be a part of this study has provided a richness to both components that would not be present otherwise. This richness will only further the contribution this study has in the field of engineering and science, technology and society.