Emancipatory actions displayed by multi-ethnic women: "Regaining control of my health care".
OBJECTIVE
Despite the recognized importance of patient involvement in primary care interactions, little information describing women's needs and expectations for these interactions is available. This participatory action study was based in Critical Action Theory and designed to describe any emancipatory interests that surfaced when eight ethnically diverse women examined their interactions with primary care nurse practitioners (PCNPs) over the course of five successive focus group meetings.


METHODS
Focus group meeting transcripts, field notes, interaction notations, seating maps, and first impression summaries.


CONCLUSIONS
Participants wanted to learn how to "stand up" for themselves in primary care interactions. They believed this could be accomplished by developing a positive sense of self-esteem. Ultimately, they identified the right way to "talk back" to clinicians and created a method for regaining control of their own health care and maintaining equality in interactions with primary care clinicians.


CONCLUSIONS
Nurse practitioners working in the primary setting are especially well situated to support self-management and foster patient participation by women as they live with chronic disease, engage in health promotion activities, and deal with common symptomatic problems for themselves and their families.
Yale University School of Nursing, 100 Church Street South, New Haven, Connecticut 06536-0740, USA. ivy.alexander@yale.edu
Ivy M
IM
Alexander
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000208:ethnology; D055812:Community-Based Participatory Research; D018864:Cultural Diversity; D005260:Female; D017144:Focus Groups; D005610:Freedom; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000208:ethnology; D006801:Humans; D007198:Indians, North American / Q000208:ethnology; D007389:Internal-External Control; D008875:Middle Aged; D009511:New England; D009722:Nurse Practitioners / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000523:psychology; D009723:Nurse-Patient Relations; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D010358:Patient Participation / Q000379:methods / Q000523:psychology*; D011209:Power, Psychological; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D044465:White People / Q000208:ethnology; D014930:Women / Q000523:psychology*