Working Hard: Women's Self-Care Practices in Ghana

Women's health care providers have noted an increased infant mortality rate among Ghanaian immigrants. We conducted focus groups with 17 women in Ghana. We asked them how they maintained their health both before and during pregnancy. When discussing their health, women repeatedly described the...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Health care for women international 2013-08, Vol.34 (8), p.651-673
Main Authors: Theroux, Rosemary, Klar, Robin Toft, Messenger, Linda
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Cultural Characteristics
Female
Females
Focus Groups
Ghana
Ghanaians
Health
Health care
Health Care Services
Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice - ethnology
Health Professions
Humans
Immigrants
Infant mortality
Infant Mortality - ethnology
Infant, Newborn
Interviews as Topic
Knowledge
Life Style
Medical service
Mortality
Mortality Rates
Nursing
Patients
Pregnancy
Pregnancy Outcome - ethnology
Prenatal Care - methods
Reproductive health
Self Care - methods
Social Environment
Urban Population
Women
Women's health
Womens Health Care
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Summary:Women's health care providers have noted an increased infant mortality rate among Ghanaian immigrants. We conducted focus groups with 17 women in Ghana. We asked them how they maintained their health both before and during pregnancy. When discussing their health, women repeatedly described the conditions or context of their daily lives and the traditional practices that they used to stay healthy. Knowledge of women's lives, the health care system that they previously used, and their cultural practices can be utilized by health care providers to more fully assess their patients and design more culturally appropriate care for this group of women.
ISSN:0739-9332
1096-4665
DOI:10.1080/07399332.2012.736574