Social and environmental conditions creating fluctuating agency for safety in two urban academic birth centers.
OBJECTIVE
To identify processes affecting agency for safety among perinatal nurses, physicians, and certified nurse-midwives.


METHODS
Grounded theory, as informed by Strauss and Schatzman.


METHODS
Two academic perinatal units in the western United States.


METHODS
Purposive sample of 12 registered nurses, 5 physicians, and 2 certified nurse-midwives.


RESULTS
Agency for safety (the willingness to take a stand on an issue of concern) fluctuated for all types of providers depending on situational context and was strongly influenced by interpersonal relationships. While physicians and certified nurse-midwives believed that they valued nurses' contributions to care, their units had deeply embedded hierarchies. Nurses were structurally excluded from important sources of information exchange and from contributing to the plan of care. Nurses' confidence was a key driver for asserting their concerns. Confidence was undermined in novel or ambiguous situations and by poor interpersonal relationships, resulting in a process of redefining the situation as a problem of self.


CONCLUSIONS
Women and babies should not be dependent on the interpersonal relationships of providers for their safety. Clinicians should be aware of the complex social pressures that can affect clinical decision making. Continued research is needed to fully articulate facilitators and barriers to perinatal safety.
Lyndon
Audrey
A
Department of Family Health Care Nursing at the University of California, San Francisco, CA 94131, USA. audrey.lyndon@nursing.ucsf.edu
D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D016550:Birthing Centers / Q000458:organization & administration*; D036861:Delivery, Obstetric / Q000379:methods* / Q000451:nursing; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D017283:Neonatal Nursing / Q000458:organization & administration; D009721:Nurse Midwives / Q000458:organization & administration; D018743:Perinatal Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D010820:Physicians / Q000458:organization & administration; D011247:Pregnancy; D017751:Safety Management / Q000458:organization & administration*; D012931:Social Environment; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States; D014505:Urban Population