McKellar Lois, Brown Angela, Adelson Pamela
School of Nursing and Midwifery, University of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia.
Rosemary Bryant AO Research Centre, University of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia.
Eur J Midwifery. 2019 Nov 29;3:20. doi: 10.18332/ejm/114226. eCollection 2019.
There is compelling evidence that when a woman sees the same midwife there are better outcomes. Yet in Australia, access to midwifery continuity of care remains limited. There are a number of reasons for this but one barrier appears to be a lack of public understanding regarding the role of the midwife. This study undertook an e-survey to explore Australian public perceptions of the role of the midwife.
A public opinion sample e-survey, using an exploratory design, a Likert scale and open-ended questions, was distributed through social media over six weeks. The survey was open to Australian residents and was completed by 1657 participants. Of these, 96.9% identified as female and 82.1% of participants had children.
Nearly half of the participants believed that a woman must see a doctor during pregnancy and after birth, compared to 21.9% during birth. Many participants described midwives as caring and supportive but there was a lack of understanding about their level of skill and expertise. A dominant theme was the alignment of medical care with safety and the perception that medical practitioners reduce risk. These misperceptions may impact on women making an informed choice regarding midwifery model of care in Australia.
There is an underlying public narrative whereby the public primarily associate midwives with birth and perceive them as assistants rather than lead care providers. The study findings informed a public awareness campaign in South Australia conducted to educate the public's understanding of the role of the midwife.
有确凿证据表明，女性若由同一位助产士护理，会有更好的分娩结果。然而在澳大利亚，获得连续助产护理的机会仍然有限。原因有很多，但其中一个障碍似乎是公众对助产士角色缺乏了解。本研究通过电子调查来探究澳大利亚公众对助产士角色的看法。
一项采用探索性设计、李克特量表和开放式问题的民意抽样电子调查，通过社交媒体在六周内进行分发。该调查面向澳大利亚居民，共有1657名参与者完成。其中，96.9%的参与者为女性，82.1%的参与者育有子女。
近一半的参与者认为女性在孕期和产后必须看医生，而在分娩期间这一比例为21.9%。许多参与者将助产士描述为体贴且给予支持的，但对其技能和专业水平缺乏了解。一个主要的观点是将医疗护理与安全联系起来，以及认为医生能降低风险。这些误解可能会影响女性在澳大利亚就助产护理模式做出明智选择。
公众中存在一种潜在的看法，即公众主要将助产士与分娩联系起来，并将她们视为助手而非主要护理提供者。该研究结果为南澳大利亚开展的一项提高公众意识的活动提供了依据，该活动旨在让公众了解助产士的角色。
