Rowena Coe Samoan
RM
Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Australia
တၢ်ကွၢ်ထွဲလၢအဂ့ၤ – ကညီမိၢ်ဒၢ အတၢ်ထံၣ် (Good Pregnancy Care – What Karen Women Say)
Coe, R., Toke, S., Wallace, H., Riggs, E., Brown, S.J., Szwarc, J., Biggs, L.J.
Pecha Kucha Presentation
Monday 9 December, 10:45am
Purpose: Despite increased focus on the importance of cultural safety within Australian maternity care, what constitutes culturally safe pregnancy care for women of refugee backgrounds has received very little attention to date. This study sought to extend our understanding by exploring Karen (Kah-REN) women’s perspectives on cultural safety within their experiences of pregnancy care in Victoria, Australia.
Methods: A photovoice study founded on community-based participatory research principles was undertaken with five Karen mothers speaking S’gaw Karen. A community advisory group and community researcher directed study design and conduct.
Results: Reflexive thematic analysis developed three themes: Building foundations for belonging, cultivating reciprocal curiosity, and storytelling as an expression of self and shared power. They sit within the overarching theme: When I can be my whole authentic self, I feel safe and know that I belong.
Conclusions: Cultural safety is possible when Karen women can embrace their identity without fear of discrimination. Shared power and compassion between women, clinicians, and interpreters are fundamental to experiences of culturally safe pregnancy care. Participatory approaches adopted in this study could help to inform future work undertaken in partnership with First Nations and refugee background communities receiving maternity care in a range of practice contexts.