UN Sustainable development goals are developed to not only protect the planet, but also result in a more equitable use of resources.  Our work intersects with UN SDG # 10, to reduce inequality.  The intersection of chemistry with justice-centered teaching can be considered from a “systems thinking” perspective.  Social justice learning is particularly apt at supporting “System-as-Cause” thinking, which encourages students to see particular outcomes as part of a larger system and not as isolated, random events.  We have developed a lab to demonstrate how simple functional group chemistry is used in laboratory testing, namely the “pee test,” or dipstick urinalysis.  Our lab models the prenatal clinical environment, where dipstick tests are performed frequently to monitor maternal and fetal health.  Students model the testing of chemical species that support medical diagnosis; albumin testing for preeclampsia, leukocytes, nitrites, and pH for urinary tract infection, glucose, ketones, and pH to test for gestational diabetes, alcoholism, or other serious metabolic diseases.  In developing this experiment, we were confronted with disparities in prenatal care, namely, the absence of culturally competent care, inequitable access to care, and toxic stress due to racism that contribute to dramatically increased maternal death rates for women of color in the US.  We have incorporated our newly devised cultural competence and social justice framework for chemistry students to support reflection on social justice issues within the chemistry classroom.  Our initial findings suggest that there is indeed a cross-section between social justice learning and chemistry learning, where the incorporation of social issues may support students in being more careful in the lab.  More generally, our work provides a means by which students can be encouraged to think critically about scientific and professional practices.  Incorporation of this and similar lessons may more broadly curate a conscientious society of practitioners, not only in medicine but also in science and science education.

Goal 10: Reduce inequality within and between countries; connecting organic functional groups to health equity

Macromolecular Chemistry: The Second Century

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ACS Spring 2020 National Meeting & Expo

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.