Keywords
Prenatal care -- Iceland, Prenatal care -- United States, Women -- Iceland -- Attitudes, Women -- United States -- Attitudes
Abstract
Purpose: Prenatal care (PNC) is the healthcare service most often provided to women of childbearing age throughout the world. Poorly understood and defined, based on culture, and expensive for any healthcare system, PNC remains a target for change and improvement. The purpose of this cross-national qualitative research study using narrative inquiry methods was to explore consumer perspectives of individual health and routine PNC in the USA and Iceland. Methods: A purposive sampling technique was used to identify study participants (n = 32) from the United States (n = 16) and Iceland (n = 16). Data were collected via a semi structured interview which included demographic questions. Results: Content analysis processes were used to analyze the transcribed narratives to identify common conceptual themes. Subsequently, the narratives of the women from the two nations were compared to identify cultural variations about PNC. In respect to the findings, demographically the two groups were similar. Respondents from both nations preferred a more supportive role from PNC providers with adequate time to explore important personal concerns and less emphasis on monitoring weight gain during the pregnancy. Variations between the two groups related to the health care delivery system iv of the nation in which respondents resided. These findings have the potential for expanding the definition of PNC to include consumer perspectives. Discussion/Implication: Additional research is needed with other groups of women to validate, clarify and expand identified themes, as they may improve PNC, and ultimately, perinatal outcomes. Improving PNC holds the promise of improving infant mortality while at the same time reducing healthcare expenditures for countries around the world.
Notes
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Graduation Date
2009
Semester
Summer
Advisor
Bushy, Angeline
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
College
College of Nursing
Degree Program
Nursing
Format
application/pdf
Identifier
CFE0002720
URL
http://purl.fcla.edu/fcla/etd/CFE0002720
Language
English
Release Date
February 2013
Length of Campus-only Access
None
Access Status
Doctoral Dissertation (Open Access)
Subjects
Dissertations, Academic -- Nursing, Nursing -- Dissertations, Academic
STARS Citation
Wiseman, Claudia, "Consumer Perspectives Of Health During Prenatal Care In The Usa And Iceland: An Exploratory Study" (2009). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 1512.
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/etd/1512