Bali Ayele Geleto, Vasilevski Vidanka, Sweet Linda
School of Nursing and Midwifery, Centre for Quality and Patient Safety Research, Institute for Health Transformation, Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia.
Deakin University Western Health Partnership, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
J Racial Ethn Health Disparities. 2024 Dec 30. doi: 10.1007/s40615-024-02264-x.
African-born women in Australia are more likely to experience poorer perinatal outcomes than their Australian-born counterparts. This disparity may be attributed to difficulties in accessing maternity care services. With a rapidly growing African-born population in Australia, understanding African-born women's experiences with maternity care is crucial for ensuring equitable access.
This study aimed to explore the access to and experiences of maternity care among African-born women living in Melbourne, Australia.
A qualitative descriptive study was conducted from September to December 2023, involving 15 purposively selected African-born women. An apriori analytic approach was applied to present the findings using the World Health Organization's Availability, Accessibility, Acceptability, and Quality framework. Data management and analysis were undertaken using NVivo 14.
Participants from nine different African countries shared their experiences regarding their most recent encounters with maternity care in Australia. Key challenges identified included difficulties navigating the healthcare system, lack of social support, discomfort with male clinicians, experiences of discrimination, inadequate information, transportation issues, perceived lack of empowerment, financial constraints, and clinician cultural insensitivity. These factors negatively impacted their maternity care experiences.
This study provides empirical evidence to inform policies, practices, and strategies aimed at improving maternity care experiences for African-born women in Australia. There is a need for clinicians to be more aware of and sensitive to these women's cultural needs. Developing and implementing a culturally responsive service model could mitigate negative experiences and enhance access to adequate maternity care, ultimately improving perinatal health outcomes for these women.
在澳大利亚出生于非洲的女性比出生于澳大利亚的女性更有可能经历较差的围产期结局。这种差异可能归因于获得孕产妇保健服务的困难。随着澳大利亚出生于非洲的人口迅速增长，了解出生于非洲的女性在孕产妇保健方面的经历对于确保公平获得服务至关重要。
本研究旨在探讨居住在澳大利亚墨尔本的出生于非洲的女性获得孕产妇保健的情况及经历。
2023年9月至12月进行了一项定性描述性研究，涉及15名经过有目的选择的出生于非洲的女性。采用先验分析方法，使用世界卫生组织的可及性、可获得性、可接受性和质量框架来呈现研究结果。使用NVivo 14进行数据管理和分析。
来自九个不同非洲国家的参与者分享了她们最近在澳大利亚接受孕产妇保健的经历。确定的主要挑战包括在医疗系统中导航困难、缺乏社会支持、对男性临床医生感到不适、歧视经历、信息不足、交通问题、感觉缺乏自主权、经济限制以及临床医生的文化不敏感。这些因素对她们的孕产妇保健经历产生了负面影响。
本研究提供了实证依据，为旨在改善澳大利亚出生于非洲的女性孕产妇保健经历的政策、实践和策略提供参考。临床医生需要更加了解并敏感对待这些女性的文化需求。制定并实施具有文化响应性的服务模式可以减轻负面经历，增加获得充分孕产妇保健的机会，最终改善这些女性的围产期健康结局。
