Aims. The aims of the study were to explore the maternity information concerns of a group of Somali women in a Northern English city and to investigate the relationships of these women with maternity health professionals.


Background. The Somali community is one of the most established ethnic minorities in the United Kingdom (UK). The health needs of this group and in particular, the information needs of Somali women with respect to pregnancy, childbirth and post-natal care are poorly understood. To facilitate information provision to birthing mothers and to support maternal decision-making among minority ethnic women, research is required to understand and identify their information needs.


Methods. A user-centred study utilizing a focus group and semi-structured interviews with English-speaking and non-English speaking Somali women was conducted in a large English city. Discussions were audiotaped, translated, transcribed and then analysed using a variation of the constant comparative method. Themes and categories were identified across transcripts during data collection and analysis and appropriate quotations are used to illustrate all themes.


Findings. Major findings that emerged from the analysis related to contact with health professionals, language support and information and satisfaction with health professionals. The findings indicate key maternity information concerns of Somali women with regard to maternity issues and have a number of implications for midwifery and nursing practice.


Conclusions. Poor communication between the non-English speaking Somali women and health workers was perceived as an underlying problem in seeking information. Fears about misinterpretation and confidentiality, limit the usefulness of interpreters. The Somali women perceived that they were denied information due to punitive attitudes and prejudiced views among health professionals.

The maternity information concerns of Somali women in the United Kingdom

Aim: This review discusses two main questions: how suitable is current consumer medication information for minority ethnic groups, and what are effective strategies to overcome existing barriers. The focus is on minority groups whose first language is not the language of the healthcare system. Method: We searched electronic databases and printed scientific journals focusing on (ethnic) minorities, health and/or (intercultural) communication. We also asked a discussion group for references. Results: We found only a few articles on intercultural communication on medication or pharmacy information and one article on the improvement of intercultural communication in the pharmacy. Barriers to the access of medication information by ethnic minorities include second language issues and cultural differences due to different health beliefs, together with the low socio-economic status often seen among ethnic minorities. Cultural differences also exist among different socio-economic classes rather than only among ethnic groups. Most often, informal interpreters are used to improve intercultural communication. However, this may result in miscommunication due to a lack of medical knowledge or training on the part of the interpreter. To minimise miscommunication, bilingual health professionals or health interpreters/advocates can be used, although communication problems may still occur. The effectiveness of written information depends on the literacy skills of the target population. Cultural, medical and dialect biases should be avoided by testing the material. Multimedia systems may be alternatives to conventional written information. Discussion: Barriers that ethnic minorities face in accessing medication information and possible solutions involving counselling and additional tools were identified for pharmacy practice. However, more research is needed to develop effective strategies for patient counselling in pharmacy to meet the needs of ethnic minorities.

Accessing medication information by ethnic minorities: barriers and possible solutions.

In response to the need for linguistically and culturally appropriate cancer survivorship materials for Latinos, the Office of Education and Special Initiatives and the Office of Cancer Survivorship at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) set out to test, adapt, and refine a Spanish translation of an English-language booklet for adult cancer survivors titled Facing Forward: Life After Cancer Treatment (Siga adelante: la vida despues del tratamiento del cancer). The authors used a process called "transcreation," which involves translating existing English-language materials into Spanish and then adapting them for Latino audiences. The Spanish version of the booklet was reviewed by nine Spanish-speaking reviewers who were cancer survivors. The multistage transcreation process reinforced the importance of conducting formative research as well as adjusting the methodology to address the needs of changing demographics.

Development of a Linguistically and Culturally Appropriate Booklet for Latino Cancer Survivors: Lessons Learned

Although the information needs of women receiving antenatal and postnatal care are well understood, few studies have examined the use of information by minority ethnic women. This paper describes a pilot study that aimed to identify the main maternity information sources used by Somali women living in a northern city in the UK. The study described here utilised unstructured exploratory focus group and semi‐structured interviews with Somali women. All discussions and interviews were audiotaped, translated and transcribed in their entirety and then analysed using a variation of the theme analysis method. Sources of information emerged as a sub‐theme from the data. Women sought and used information from several interpersonal sources. Many were dependent on general practitioners and health visitors for maternity information, although participants favoured community health forums addressed by health professionals. Women also sought maternity information from friends and neighbours. Interpersonal sources as a whole were viewed as having a number of advantages. Informal sources in particular were perceived as being approachable and providing a means through which further information could be sought, while each information source was also evaluated according to specific criteria. The implications of these findings for minority ethnic women are discussed and recommendations for further research are outlined.

Interpersonal sources of health and maternity information for Somali women living in the UK - information seeking and evaluation

Despite an emphasis on mammographic screening in Australia, Chinese Australian women have low participation rates This qualitative study investigated how concepts of health and health promotion influence Chinese Australian women's decisions to participate in cancer screening, which is an important issue for nurses who work with multicultural populations In-depth interviews were conducted with 20 Chinese Australian women Using thematic data analysis, the findings showed that health and illness are taken-for-granted experiences of everyday life When they were asymptomatic, most informants saw no reason to suspect that they may have diseases Consistent with these health beliefs, the women focused on preserving and promoting health and overall well-being in everyday life rather than attempting to detect hidden disease by screening These ideas and practices influenced behavior in relation to cancer diagnosis and in particular toward mammography

The concepts of health and preventive health practices of Chinese Australian women in relation to cancer screening.

Availability and access to correct information is a pre-requisite for people to be able to make informed decisions about their health. This paper will examine the effect of the sole reliance on translation in producing health promotion materials for people from Non English Speaking Background (NESB). In Australia since 1978 there has been a considerable quantitative increase in health-related information translated from English into other languages. The translation of pamphlets from English into other languages presents health educators with a number of problematic issues which often drastically undermine the material's effectiveness. One of the main concerns this paper sets out to explore is that translated information is decontextualised from the sets of knowledge and meanings of the population group to whom the information is directed. Thus, the cultural context underpinning the original version is transferred to different cultural contexts which are treated as homogeneous groups. The paradox here is that the translation model developed as a means of redressing the inequities created by the assimilation policy of the Australian post-war period, in practice maintains the philosophy that underpinned that policy. This can result in a disempowering experience for the community.

Fabio Saini

Papers

It's more than literacy: The assimilation effect of the translation model∗