THE INFLUENCE OF INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION ON MATERNAL MORTALITY IN KIBERA SLUM, NAIROBI COUNTY.

Authors

  • Stacy Wangari Ndung’u Daystar University
  • Paul Mbutu, PhD Daystar University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.47941/jcomm.109
Abstract views: 241
PDF downloads: 53

Keywords:

cultural norms, intercultural communication, maternal mortality

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to establish the influence of intercultural communicationon maternal mortality in Kibera slum, Nairobi County, Kenya.

Methodology:The study utilized a correlation research design. The target population comprised all expectant mothers within Kibera slums who were present at the selected clinics during antenatal day at the time of data collection. The target population also constituted all the twenty eight medical practitioners working at the five selected clinics as well as all the peer professionals who listen to the expectant mothers’ complaints. The study conducted a census for the medical practitioners and used convenience sampling for the expectant mothers and peer professionals. The sample size was 38 respondents. The study used a questionnaire, focus group discussion and a key informant interview guide as research instrumentsto obtain primary data.The questionnaires were self-administered with the help of two research assistants while the researcher conducted the focus group discussion with the expectant mothers and the key informant interview with the two peer proffessionals.

Results: Based on the findings the study concluded that expectant mothers’ in Kibera slum uphold various cultural norms which affect intercultural communication between the mothers and medical practitioners negatively. The study also concluded that expectant mothers in Kibera slum had expectations about the medical practitioners’ intercultural communication skills. These expectationsaffect intercultural communication of health information among expectant mothers. Further, the study concluded that expectant mothers have negative attitudes towards the medical practitioners which significantly contributed to maternal mortality in Kibera slum.

Policy recommendation: The Ministry of Health should take the initiative to educate the residents of Kibera slum on the importance of attending antenatal and prenatal clinics. The MOH should also lead campaigns that condemn outdated cultural customs which subject expectant mothers to adverse risks even to the point of losing their lives. This can be done through the local media

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biographies

Stacy Wangari Ndung’u, Daystar University

School of Arts and Social Sciences, Department of Media, Film and Communication

Paul Mbutu, PhD, Daystar University

Lecturer

References

Abdella, A. (2010). Maternal Mortality Trend in Ethiopia, Obstetrics and Gynaecology Department, Medical Faculty, Addis Ababa University.

Baxter, L. A. (2011). Voicing relationships: A dialogic perspective.Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.

Browner, C. H. (2011).The production of authoritative knowledge in American prenatal care.Medical Anthropology Quarterly, 10, 141-156

Burns, N., & Grove, K. (2003).Understanding nursing research (3rded.). Philadelphia: W.B./Saunders Company

Caluser, M. (2007).Good governance and consideration of the human dimension in different cultural contexts.Background paper.

Caluser, S. (2007).Culture and maternal health care. Fourth Edition.Pearson Education. Longman

Carbaugh, D. (2005). Cultures in Conversation. Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Casey, M. A. & Krueger R. A. (2000).Focus groups: A practical guide for applied research, 3rd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Central Intelligence Agency (2009). The world factbook: Kenya. Retrieved from https://www.cia.gov/library/ publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ke.html

Chandran, E. (2004).Research Methods: A Quantitative Approach. Nairobi: Daystar University.

Chaturvedi, K., Strohschein, J., Saraf, G. &Loiselle, G.(2014). Communication in cancer care: psycho-social, interactional, and cultural issues. A general overview and the example of India, Front Psychol. 5: 1332

Chong, N. (2012).Latino Patient: A Cultural Guide for Health Care Providers. Yarmouth, ME: Intercultural Press.

Clift, E., &Freimuth, V. (2005). Health Communication: What Is It and What Can It Do for You? Journal of Health Education. 26(2), 68–74.

Contraception Editorial February, (2011).Reducing Maternal Mortality: A Global Imperative, Association of Reproductive Health Professionals

Cooper, P. R.,& Schindler, P.S. (2008). Business research methods (10thed.).Wiley, New York.

Cortez, R., Saadat, S., Chowdhury, S., &Sarker, I. (2014).Maternal and child survival: Findings from five countries’ experience in addressing maternal and child health challenges. HPN Discussion Paper

Creswell, J. W. (2003). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approach (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Davis, B. A. (2007). Heeding warnings from the canary, the whale, and the Inuit: A framework for analyzing competing types of knowledge about childbirth. In R.E. Davis-Floyd & C. F. Sargent (Eds.), Childbirth and Authoritative Knowledge:Cross-Cultural Perspectives (pp. 441-473). Berkley and Los Angeles: University of California Press.

Down, M. (2008) Emerging perspective in health communication: Meaning, culture and power. New York:Taylor and Francis

Dutta, M. J.(2008).Communicating health: A culture-centered approach. Malden, MA: Polity Press.

Family Care International, (2003).Care-seeking during pregnancy, delivery, and the postpartum period: A Study in Homabay and Migori Districts, Kenya. Ministry of Health Publication

Fatnini, B. (2007). Culture in language learning and teaching.The Reading Matrix, 5(1).

Flores, G. (2006). Language barriers to health care in the United States. New England Journal of Medicine, 355, 229-231.

Foster, E. (2005). Desiring dialectical discourse: A feminist ponders the transition to motherhood.Women's Studies in Communication, 28, 57-83.

Foucault, M. (2008).The history of sexuality (Vol. 1: An Introduction).(A. Sheridan-Smith, Trans.). New York: Random House.

Gall, M. D. & Borg, W. R. (2003).Educational research: An introduction (6th ed.). White Plains, NY: Longman.

Geertz, C. (1973). The Interpretation of Cultures.Selected Essays. New York: Basic Books.

GHI (Global Health Initiative), (2012).Bolivia Global Health Initiative Strategy 2012.Retrieved from http://www.ghi.gov/documents/organization/186244.pdf.

GiveWell (2011).Reducing maternal mortality in developing countries. Retrieved from givewell.org/international/technical/programs/maternal-mortality

Gumperz, J., ed.(1982). Language and Social Identity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Hall, J. (2011, November). As seen on TV: Media influences of pregnancy and birth narratives. In D. Macey (Chair), The voice from the hearth: Television' role in thesocial construction of self, childhood and family. Paper session conducted at the 97th annual meeting of the National Communication Association, New Orleans, LA.

Halualani, R T. and Nakayama, T. (2010).Critical Intercultural Communication Studies.At a Crossroads. In: T.K. Nakayama and R.T. Halualani,eds. The Handbook of Critical Intercultural Communication.Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, 1-16.

Harmsen, J. (2010). When Cultures Meet in Medical Practice, Improvement of Intercultural Communication Evaluated, Rotterdam Intercultural Communication in Medical Setting Study,Perceptions of the Salience of Intercultural Communication

Herring, R. D. (2010). Nonverbal communication: a necessary component of cross- cultural counseling. Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development, 18(4), 1-7.

Hsieh, E. (2011, November). Health literacy and patient empowerment: The role of medical interpreters in bilingual health communication. In L. Cooley (Chair), Voices of Health Communication: Provider Perspectives. Paper session presented at the 97th annual meeting of the National Communication Association, New Orleans, LA.

Hudelson, P., Huanca, T., D Charaly, D. &Cirpa, V. (2005). Ethnographic Studies of ARI in Bolivia and their use by the National ARI Programme. Journal of Social Science& Medicine, 41 (12: 1677-1683.

Hyndman, R. (2008). Quantitative Business Research Methods.Department of econometrics and Business Statistics.Monash University (Clayton campus).

Ivry, T. (2010).Embodying Culture: Pregnancy in Japan and Israel.New Brunswick: Rutgers UP.

Jankowicz, D. (2002). Research methods for business and management.Einsburg Business School. Watt University

Jordan, B. (1997). Authoritative knowledge and its construction.In R.E. Davis-Floyd & C. F. Sargent (Eds.), Childbirth and Authoritative Knowledge: Cross-CulturalPerspectives(pp.55-79). Berkley and Los Angeles: University of California Press.

Jordan, B. (1997). Birth in four cultures: A cross-cultural investigation of childbirth in Yucatan, Holland, Sweden and the United States (3rd ed.). Montreal: Eden Press.

Kenya Demographic Health Survey (2015).

Kirsten, J. (2012). Adopting a Critical Intercultural Communication Approach to Understanding Health Professionals’ Encounter with Ethnic Minority Patients, Journal of Intercultural Communication, ISSN 1404-1634, issue 29

Kombo, D. K., & Tromp, D. L. (2009). Introduction to proposal writting . Nairobi: Pauline publications.

Kotchemidova, C. (2010). Emotion culture and cognitive constructions of reality.CommunicationQuarterly, 58, 207-234.

Kothari, C. (2009). Research Methodology: Methods & Techniques, 2nd edition. New age International Publishers, New Delhi, India

Lazarus, E. (2007). What do women know? Issues of choice, control, and class in American pregnancy and childbirth.In R.E. Davis-Floyd & C. F. Sargent (Eds.), Childbirth and Authoritative Knowledge: Cross-Cultural Perspectives (pp. 132- 158). Berkley and Los Angeles: University of California Press.

Levine, R. (2007). Saving mothers' lives in Sri Lanka (PDF). In Millions Saved: Proven Success in Global Health. Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett.

Lundstrom, S. & Smith, W. (2010).Theories of human communication. Columbus, Ohio : Charles E. Merrill

Masumoto, T. (2013).Communication in the Contexts of Public Health and Medical Practice, The Journal of Kanda University of International Studies, 25

Mazzoni, C. (2002). Maternal impressions: Pregnancy and childbirth in literature and theory. Ithaca, NY: Cornell UP.

Mendoza, S. L., Halualani, R. T. &Drzewiecka, J. (2002).Moving the Discourse on Identities in Intercultural Communication: Structure, Culture, and Resignifications. Communication Quarterly 50 (3/4), 312-327.doi:10.1080/01463370209385666.

Mentzer, P, Carlini, E. (2008). The Use of Psychotropic Drugs among the High University Students of the State Public Universities in 10 Brazilian Capitals.http://www.science.gov/topicpages/f/face-to-face+household+survey.html.

Miller, A., Kinya, J., Booker, N., Kizito, M. &Ngula, K. (2011). Kenyan patients’ attitudes regarding doctor ethnicity and doctor–patient ethnic discordance, Patient Education and Counseling 82:201–206

Moon, D. G. (2010).Critical Reflections on Culture and Critical Intercultural Communication. In: T.K. Nakayama and R.T. Halualani, eds. (2010). The Handbook of Critical Intercultural Communication. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, 34-52.

Mugenda, O. M. &Mugenda, A. G. (2003). Research Methods: Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches, Acts Press, Nairobi-Kenya

Newing, H. (2011). Conducting Research in Conservation: Social Science Methods and Practice. New York: Routledge

Nørredam, M. &Krasnik, A. (2010).Forskningindenforsundhed, migration ogetnicitet. In:K. Vinther-Jensen, ed. (2010).EtniskeMinoriteteridetDanskeSundhedsvæsen. En Antologi. Copenhagen: National Board of Health (Sundhedsstyrelsen), 82-86.

Odora-Hopper, A. (2007). Investing in cultural diversity and intercultural dialogue. UNESCO World Report

Owiti, J. (2009). Describing the causes of near-miss maternal morbidity and mortality at Kenyatta National Hospital, Nairobi, Unpublished Thesis, University of Nairobi

Oyieke, J.B.O., Obore, S. &Kigondu, C.S. (2006). Millennium development goal 5: A Review of maternal mortality at the Kenyatta National Hospital, Nairobi, East African Medical Journal, 83(1)

Peterson, L. W. (2010). Cutting the meeting short: Conflicting narrative choices in one woman's maternity leave. In S. Hayden & D. L. O'Brien Hallstein (Eds.),Contemplating Maternity in an Era of Choice: Explorations into Discourses of Reproduction (pp. 227-246). Lanham, MD: Lexington Books.

Peterson, L. W. (2011). What's wrong with you? You have everything": Working mothers' talk about post partum depression. In J. Tullis (Chair) Voicing Family Disrupptions": Ethnographies of Illness, Bereavement, Miscarriage, and Postpartum Depression. Paper session presented at the 97th annual meeting of the National Communication Association, New Orleans, LA.

Piper, C.J. (2007). Is there a place for traditional midwives in the provision of community-health services? Ann Trop Med Parasitol 91(3): 237-45.

Polit, D. F. & Beck, C.T. (2003).In Nursing Research: Principles and Methods. (7th Edition) (413-444). Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

Root, R., & Browner, C. H. (2011). Practices of the pregnant self: Compliance with and resistance to prenatal norms. Culture, Medicine, and Psychiatry, 25, 195-223.

Sartorius, B., Sartorius, K., Chirwa, T. &Fonn, S. (2011). Infant mortality in South Africa - distribution, associations and policy implications, 2007: an ecological spatial analysis, Int J Health Geography, 10 (61)

Saunders, M., Lewis, P. &Thornhill, A.(2007).Research methods for business students.(5th Edition). London: Prentice Hall.

Sibley, L.M., et al. (2007). Traditional birth attendant training for improving health behaviours and pregnancy outcomes.Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2007, Issue 3.

Smith, R. (2011). Exploring the usefulness of a conceptual framework as research tool: A researcher's reflections.Issues in Educational Research, Vol 14, 2004, University of New England.

Stier, J. (2012). Going international – Becoming Intercultural.Pedagogic Communication (1) School of Education, Växjö University.

Downloads

Published

2017-02-14

How to Cite

Ndung’u, S. W., & Mbutu, PhD, P. (2017). THE INFLUENCE OF INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION ON MATERNAL MORTALITY IN KIBERA SLUM, NAIROBI COUNTY. Journal of Communication, 1(1), 22–46. https://doi.org/10.47941/jcomm.109

Issue

Section

Articles