Page 205 - S. Ličen, I. Karnjuš, & M. Prosen (Eds.). (2019). Women, migrations and health: Ensuring transcultural healthcare. Koper, University of Primorska Press.
P. 205
Culturally Sound Midwifery Care for Migrant Mothers
vide the same quality care for all people. However, providing treatment to
migrants presents health professionals as well as midwives a particular chal-
lenge due to specific socio-cultural characteristics that are often difficult to
understand or even unknown to us. Establishment of successful communica-
tion and vulnerability of individuals also present great challenges (Bombač,
Brecelj, Liberšar, & Zelko, 2017). For this reason, Lipovec Čebron (2017) em-
phasizes an important role of intercultural mediation which can effectively
prevent misunderstandings due to linguistic, cultural, social or other differ-
ences between users and providers in individual health institutions. With the
recent migration flows, the Slovene healthcare is facing constant needs for
tolerance towards different cultures. With proper preparation of health pro-
fessionals and students of health sciences, we can have a positive influence
on improving the understanding and reducing inequalities in the health sys-
tem.
Eurostat (see http://appsso.eurostat.ec.europa.eu) for the year 2016 quotes
2005 women who gave birth to a child in Slovenia and were not Slovene cit-
izens. The number of women who give birth in Slovenia each year and are
not Slovene citizens is increasing according to the Eurostat data. Taking this
into account, it is very important Slovene midwives deliver empathic and
culturally sensitive care to foreign mothers. It is crucial to begin develop-
ing cultural awareness of future midwives as early as during the education
process in order to obtain midwifery graduates who are culturally sensitive
and provide quality and culturally sound midwifery care. Health education
programs include cultural awareness into important outcomes of study pro-
grams (Loredan & Prosen, 2013) and cultural competence is high on the list
of Essential Competencies for Basic Midwifery Practice issued by International
Confederation of Midwives (2013).
Evaluation of the current Slovene undergraduate midwifery curriculum
(Stanek Zidarič, Mivšek, & Skoberne, 2011) revealed that cultural awareness is
not specifically addressed. The main aim of the present study was therefore
to evaluate the current degree of cultural awareness among the students of
the final year of the midwifery studies at the Faculty of Health Sciences in
Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Methods
A causal non-experimental method of empirical research was applied. The
research instrument was a survey questionnaire Cultural Awareness Scale
– CAS (Rew et al., 2003) that was translated through a process of double
blind translation and adapted to the midwifery context. The tool measures
203
vide the same quality care for all people. However, providing treatment to
migrants presents health professionals as well as midwives a particular chal-
lenge due to specific socio-cultural characteristics that are often difficult to
understand or even unknown to us. Establishment of successful communica-
tion and vulnerability of individuals also present great challenges (Bombač,
Brecelj, Liberšar, & Zelko, 2017). For this reason, Lipovec Čebron (2017) em-
phasizes an important role of intercultural mediation which can effectively
prevent misunderstandings due to linguistic, cultural, social or other differ-
ences between users and providers in individual health institutions. With the
recent migration flows, the Slovene healthcare is facing constant needs for
tolerance towards different cultures. With proper preparation of health pro-
fessionals and students of health sciences, we can have a positive influence
on improving the understanding and reducing inequalities in the health sys-
tem.
Eurostat (see http://appsso.eurostat.ec.europa.eu) for the year 2016 quotes
2005 women who gave birth to a child in Slovenia and were not Slovene cit-
izens. The number of women who give birth in Slovenia each year and are
not Slovene citizens is increasing according to the Eurostat data. Taking this
into account, it is very important Slovene midwives deliver empathic and
culturally sensitive care to foreign mothers. It is crucial to begin develop-
ing cultural awareness of future midwives as early as during the education
process in order to obtain midwifery graduates who are culturally sensitive
and provide quality and culturally sound midwifery care. Health education
programs include cultural awareness into important outcomes of study pro-
grams (Loredan & Prosen, 2013) and cultural competence is high on the list
of Essential Competencies for Basic Midwifery Practice issued by International
Confederation of Midwives (2013).
Evaluation of the current Slovene undergraduate midwifery curriculum
(Stanek Zidarič, Mivšek, & Skoberne, 2011) revealed that cultural awareness is
not specifically addressed. The main aim of the present study was therefore
to evaluate the current degree of cultural awareness among the students of
the final year of the midwifery studies at the Faculty of Health Sciences in
Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Methods
A causal non-experimental method of empirical research was applied. The
research instrument was a survey questionnaire Cultural Awareness Scale
– CAS (Rew et al., 2003) that was translated through a process of double
blind translation and adapted to the midwifery context. The tool measures
203
