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Improve axxes to, and untilization of, prenatal care is an integral public health
invitiative. The use of regular and timely prenatal care is highly associated with
improve birth out comes and maternal health. Women who attend early and
adequate prenalat visits are less likely to give birth to an infant with low birth
weight or suffer from maternal or fetal death (Amini, Catalno, & Amnn, 1996;
Brett, Schoendorf, & Kiely, 1994; Vintzileos, Anath, Smulian, Scorza, &
style, and concern for patient satisfaction with the medical encounter have all been
Rosenberg, Raube, & Kelley, 1998; Raube, Handler, & Rosenberg, 1998).
Prenatal care is often the first time a women uses the health care system as an
adult. Her experiences as a health care user during this period in her life are likely
to shape her opinions and attitudes about future health care use (Paneth,
Wallenstein, Kiely, & Susser, 1982). The perinatal period is an ideal time to
provide education to a woman and her family about preventive health care
(Racine, Joyce, & Grossman, 1992). However, a poor experience during this time
of her life is as equally likely to ensure a woman has a reduced sense of value
about prenatal health care and the health care system, in general (Hickson et al.,
1995; Chassin & Galvin, 1998). In an effort to address the discrepancies between
physicians’ perceptions of the health care they offer and women’s perceptions of
the health care they receive, the present study aims to educate obstetricians about
the impact their services and actions, or inactions, can have on women’s prenatal
care experiences.
initiative in four communities in the United States that seeks to improve access
and utilization to quality perinatal and pediatric services for the traditionally
Lawton and Rhea Chiles Center for Healthy Mothers and Babies (LRCC), in
response to quantitative state health department data about our state’s poor birth
Dr. Mahan and Dee Jeffers, on behalf of the LRCC, mailed copies of the
focus group reports to physicians who were participating in a local initiative and
results were discussed during a regularly scheduled meeting. The response from
results by asking, “How many women said this?” and personalized by asking,
cognitive barriers expressed by the women in the focus groups did not come to
fruition. Physicians said they were “just too busy” to pay attention to women who
did not value the services they offered. Drs. Quinn, Albrecht, Mahan and Ms.
Jeffers, who were developing the research agenda for the Friendly Access
program, believed the findings from the focus groups were too important to
they would have to take a distinctive approach if they were to be successful in this
task.
Methode
the study. They represented women who qualified for and agreed to receive social
and mental health services through the Federal Healthy Start Program, a program
psychosocial and medical factors. This study was approved by the University of
and decided not to participate. The result was eight completed interviews with
three depicted in this article. These three women represent the range of
participated in the project received at least five 8 X 10 prints from the images
Discussion
Furthermore, whereas many of the issues identified by the women in the project
mirror concerns that have been identified in previous studies, the narratives of the
photo essay provide something deeper. They provide an opportunity for women,
relevance of their experiences. For example, waiting for several hours for an
concerned about a problem with the pregnancy and anxious to discuss it with
someone. Nonetheless, given the findings from the study, it seems the photo essay
is an effective tool for capturing the attention of physicians and to get them