title: An ethnographic study of communication challenges in maternity care for immigrant women in rural Alberta.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  many immigrant and ethno-cultural groups in Canada face substantial barriers to accessing health care including language barriers. The negative consequences of miscommunication in health care settings are well documented although there has been little research on communication barriers facing immigrant women seeking maternity care in Canada. This study identified the nature of communication difficulties in maternity services from the perspectives of immigrant women, health care providers and social service providers in a small city in southern Alberta, Canada.
  
  
  METHODS
  a focused ethnography was undertaken incorporating interviews with 31 participants recruited using purposive and snowball sampling. A community liaison and several gatekeepers within the community assisted with recruitment and interpretation where needed (n=1). All interviews were recorded and audio files were transcribed verbatim by a professional transcriptionist. The data was analysed drawing upon principles expounded by Roper and Shapira (2000) for the analysis of ethnographic data, because of (1) the relevance to ethnographic data, (2) the clarity and transparency of the approach, (3) the systematic approach to analysis, and (4) the compatibility of the approach with computer-assisted qualitative analysis software programs such as Atlas.ti (ATLAS.ti Scientific Software Development GmbH, Germany). This process included (1) coding for descriptive labels, (2) sorting for patterns, (3) identification of outliers, (4) generation of themes, (5) generalising to generate constructs and theories, and (6) memoing including researcher reflections.
  
  
  RESULTS
  four main themes were identified including verbal communication, unshared meaning, non-verbal communication to build relationships, and trauma, culture and open communication. Communication difficulties extended beyond matters of language competency to those encompassing non-verbal communication and its relation to shared meaning as well as the interplay of underlying pre-migration history and cultural factors which affect open communication, accessible health care and perhaps also maternal outcomes.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  this study provided insights regarding maternity health care communication. Communication challenges may be experienced by all parties, yet the onus remains for health care providers and for those within health care management and professional bodies to ensure that providers are equipped with the skills necessary to facilitate culturally appropriate care.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Nursing, University of Alberta, 3rd Floor Edmonton Clinic Health Academy, 11405 87th Avenue, Edmonton, Canada T6G 1C9. Electronic address: gina.higginbottom@ualberta.ca.
authors.forename: Gina M A
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Higginbottom
authors.affiliation: Department of Health and Caring Sciences, Linnaeus University, Building: K 2244, 35195 Växjö, Sweden. Electronic address: jalal.safipour@lnu.se.
authors.forename: Jalal
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Safipour
authors.affiliation: Department of Educational Psychology, University of Alberta, 6-107D Education North, Edmonton, Canada T6G 2G5. Electronic address: sophie.yohani@ualberta.ca.
authors.forename: Sophie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yohani
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Nursing, University of Alberta, 3rd Floor Edmonton Clinic Health Academy, 11405 87th Avenue, Edmonton, Canada T6G 1C9. Electronic address: beverley.obrien@ualberta.ca.
authors.forename: Beverley
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: O'Brien
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada, 3rd Floor Edmonton Clinic Health Academy, 11405 87th Avenue, Edmonton, Canada T6G 1C9. Electronic address: zubia.mumtaz@ualberta.ca.
authors.forename: Zubia
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Mumtaz
authors.affiliation: Alberta Health Services, Seventh Street Plaza 10030-107 Street NW, Edmonton, Canada T5J 3E4. Electronic address: patricia.paton@albertahealthservices.ca.
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Paton
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000416:Alberta / Q000208:ethnology; D000884:Anthropology, Cultural; D003142:Communication; D003144:Communication Barriers; D065246:Culturally Competent Care / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards; D054242:Emigrants and Immigrants / Q000523:psychology*; D005190:Family / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006771:Hospitals, Maternity / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008427:Maternal Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011247:Pregnancy; D036301:Qualitative Research; D012424:Rural Population / Q000639:trends
keywords: Canada; Communication; Immigrant women; Maternity care