Experiences of African immigrant/refugee women with prenatal and maternal health care services and treatment adherence in Winnipeg, Manitoba
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Date
2024-03-06
Authors
Negash, Bekelu
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Abstract
In recent years, the number of immigrants who come to Canada seeking health care has increased. The study had three objectives: (1) describe how some African immigrant/refugee women living in Manitoba access perinatal and maternal health care services; (2) describe their interactions with health care providers and (3) describe how their experience impacts their treatment adherence. The study utilized principles of community-based participatory research in partnership with Sexuality Education Resources Centre Manitoba (SERC) representative leaders. Purposive and snowball sampling methods were used to recruit 16 women from SERC and local African community organizations. Data collection included in-depth interviews, and analysis was based on interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) and intersectionality from a black feminist tradition. IPA facilitated the description of meanings provided by the women of their experiences and intersectionality enabled to highlight issues such as how perceived racism can intersect with being immigrants/refugees facing unique challenges while accessing health care. The participants shared accessing these services through Mom and Me program, clinics, and family doctors. The women who arrived while pregnant or became pregnant within the first two years of their stay in Winnipeg experienced barriers such as language differences and lack of social support. Some of the main themes that emerged from the women’s experiences with accessing care included: it was tough, trying to understand and left hanging. The women described positive and negative experiences with health care providers. The lack of understanding of the health care system led the women feeling unsure if their experience was due to racism/discrimination or to structural barriers. The women also shared not following some recommendations due to their traditional/cultural way of caring for a newborn. To our knowledge this is the first study that focused on African immigrant/refugee women’s experience with prenatal and maternal services in Manitoba. The findings from the study may help health care professionals to provide more holistic care. The study may also inform policy and advocacy actions to improve health services to this population.
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Keywords
African immigrant/refugee women, prenatal and maternal care, community-based participatory research (CBPR), interpretative phenomeological analysis (IPA), intersectionality