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Felicity Agwu Kalu and Joan N Chukwurah
School of Nursing and Midwifery, Queen’s University Belfast, Northern Ireland Department of Nursing Science, University of Benin, Nigeria
ScientificTracks Abstracts: J Nurs Res Pract
Statement of the Problem: Nigeria is a multi-ethnic, multicultural, multireligious, and multilingual nation. Consequently, midwives are challenged to provide person-centred care that meets the diverse health, cultural and spiritual needs of women and their families. Midwives are also expected to provide linguistically appropriate services to people from different ethnic backgrounds. Published evidence on this topic is limited in Nigeria’s context. The purpose of this study is to explore midwives’ experiences of providing women-centred culturally competent maternity care in Eastern Nigeria. Methodology & Theoretical Orientation: Qualitative research method guided this study. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 15 purposive participants from November 2018 to January 2019. Ethical approval for the study was obtained from Research Ethics Committee of the study site and Trinity College Dublin, Ireland. Data were analysed using a qualitative content analysis approach as identified by Graneheim and Lundman, to provide new insights and more understanding of the experiences of midwives in providing culturally competent care. Steps were taken to ensure data trustworthiness. Findings: Data analysis revealed the following three themes. Midwives’ understanding and appreciation of cultural differences, values, and beliefs of their enhanced the provision of individualised care. The second theme showed that midwives experienced some challenges with the provision of health education to some women because of varying levels of maternal health literacy and language barrier. The last theme dealt with ongoing cultural competency training undertaken by midwives in preparation for the provision of culturally congruent care. Conclusion & Significance: Midwives’ abilities to provide culturally competent maternity care to women are dependent upon their deeper understanding and appreciation of the roles that culture, language, religion, and spiritual beliefs play in the lives of their clients. Recommendations are made on how to provide culturally congruent care to women from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds.
Felicity Agwu Kalu Is lecturer (Education) in Midwifery in Queens University Belfast (QUB), Northern Ireland.He completed his PhD (Midwifery) in 2016 in University College Dublin (UCD). he am registered in the Nursing, Midwifery & Tutors’ Divisions of the Register maintained by the Nursing & Midwifery Board of Ireland. He also a Registered Midwife & Registered Nurse – Adult with the UK Nursing & Midwifery Council. He am also a registered member of the Royal College of Midwives (RCM).
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