Being an Obstetric Nurse and Intercultural Mediator in the interaction with migrant pregnant women

• Main Author: Emília Coutinho
• Publication Date: 2022
• Other Authors: Ana Raquel Domingos, Alcinda Reis, Vitória Parreira
• Format: Article
• Language: por
• Source: Repositórios Científicos de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (RCAAP)
• Download full: https://doi.org/10.36367/ntqr.13.2022.e731
• topic: Obstetric nurse; Intercultural mediator; Strategies; Functions; Difficulties; Enfermeiro obstetra; Mediador intercultural; Estratégias; Dificuldades

Introduction In an increasingly multicultural world, when interacting with immigrant women, the obstetric nurse seeks to develop intercultural mediation strategies for a culturally competent care Goals To understand the meaning attributed by obstetric nurses to intercultural mediation practices during interaction with migrant pregnant women; Methods Qualitative study, using the phenomenological-hermeneutic method, with phenomenological interviews as data collection instrument. Ten nurses working in the delivery room of a hospital in Greater Lisbon agreed to participate in the study. Qualitative data analysis was used, supported by Nvivo12. This study is part of the project Intercultural Mediators in Health Care Units - MEIOS - Intercultural Mediation and Health Outcomes, developed by the Higher Education Network in Intercultural Mediation, promoted by the High Commission for Migrations, authorized by the CNPD and the Ethics Committee of the Institution where the study was conducted; Results Three categories emerged: Strategies used by the obstetric nurse to become an intercultural mediator" with emphasis on: consolidate cultural knowledge; the category Practices of the intercultural mediator as perceived by obstetric nurses with emphasis on: building bridges between professionals and immigrant women, enabling the obstetric nurse to provide better care, knowing the immigrant woman's culture, enabling the obstetric nurse to understand the immigrant woman's needs, and helping immigrant women to understand the care provided; and, finally, the category Difficulties recognized by the obstetric nurse to become an intercultural mediator with emphasis on the lack of training in relation to cultural diversity and immigration Conclusions. Nurses recognize the importance of the functions of an intercultural mediator in the maternity ward. However, they encounter difficulties in establishing the interaction, which leads them to adopt intercultural mediation strategies to promote culturally congruent care, and better understanding of the immigrant women's needs which will be reflected in higher quality of care, health and well-being.