Amish Childbearing Beliefs and Practices and the Implications for Nurse-Midwives as Servant ...

213 Pages·2016·4.8 MB·English

by  Victoria L. Wickwire

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Dissertations Graduate Research
2006
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Victoria L. Wickwire
Andrews University
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Wickwire, Victoria L., "Amish Childbearing Beliefs and Practices and the Implications for Nurse-Midwives
as Servant-Leader Care Providers" (2006). Dissertations. 1542.
https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/dissertations/1542
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Andrews University
School of Education
AMSH CHILDBEARING BELIEFS AND PRACTICES
AND THE IMPLICATIONS FORNURSE-MIDWIVES
AS SERVANT-LEADER CARE PROVIDERS
A Dissertation
Presented in Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree
Doctor of Philosophy
by
Victoria L. Wickwire
January 2006
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
UMI Number: 3213132
Copyright 2006 by
Wickwire, Victoria L.
All rights reserved.
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©Copyright by Victoria L. Wickwire 2006
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AMISH CHILDBEARING BELIEFS AND PRACTICES
AND THE IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSE-MIDWIVES
AS SERVANT-LEADER CARE PROVIDERS
A dissertation
presented in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the degree
Doctor of Philosophy
by
Victoria L. Wickwire
APPROVAL BY THE COMMITTEE:
Chair: Loretta B. Dean, School of Education
James Jeffery
Member: PC«aÛndice Hollin^ad
g
V a-Cr..
'
Member: Delyse Steyn
a/t./Db
Ex^man Mary Ann McNeilus, M.D Date approved
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
ABSTRACT
AMISH CHILDBEARING BELIEFS AND PRACTICES
AND THE IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSE-MIDWIVES
AS SERVANT-LEADER CARE PROVIDERS
by
Victoria L. Wickwire
Chair: Loretta B. Johns
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
ABSTRACT OF GRADUATE STUDENT RESEARCH
Dissertation
Andrews University
School of Education
Title: AMISH CHILDBEARING BELIEFS AND PRACTICES AND THE
IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSE-MIDWIVES AS SERVANT-LEADER CARE
PROVIDERS
Name of researcher: Victoria L. Wickwire
Name and degree of faculty chair: Loretta B. Johns, Ph.D.
Date completed: January 2006
Problem
The knowledge, beliefs, and practices associated with childbearing among
Amish women from their perspective are not widely known. The available research on
Amish childbearing health practices does indicate that these women are at high risk for
problems during the childbearing period. This indication, coupled with both a general
mistrust of outsiders and the Amish separateness from society at large, creates
opportunities for misunderstandings. These misunderstandings in turn have created
challenges for care providers outside the Amish culture who are seeking research-based
knowledge about what constitutes culturally congruent childbearing care from the Amish
woman's perspective. It is unknown how using a Servant-Leadership model to provide
care in a culturally congruent manner could decrease misunderstandings and build mutual
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trust and respect so that opportunities for risk reduction during childbearing may be
realized.
Method
A qualitative ethnographic design was chosen to facilitate exploration and
understanding of Amish women’s perceptions of their childbearing beliefs and practices,
as well as the implications for care providers who seek to provide care in a culturally
congruent manner. The charaeteristics that are central to a meaningful practice of
Servant-Leadership were explored using an ethnographic approach. The use of semi­
structured interview questions and field observation assisted in exploring the constructs
of the three research questions. These explorations and analysis of the data were
discussed and eonceptualized through ease study representation.
Results
The 10 guiding principles of Servant-Leadership were found to be congruent with
the Amish ways as stated from the perspective of these Amish women. Utilizing these
principles afforded opportunities for nurse-midwives as Servant-Leader care providers to
positively impact the childbearing health eare of the Amish women in this community by
facilitating educational opportunities during childbearing.
Conclusions
The 10 guiding principles of Servant-Leadership facilitated the construction of the
Concept of Care Model which supplies the non-Amish care provider a visual aid to
incorporate when planning provision of culturally congruent care to Amish women. The
model includes caring, culturally sensitive, and informed eoncepts geared toward
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solidifying a congruent partnership between the two different cultures. The Servant-
Leader model provided a framework from which both the Amish childbearing woman
and the nurse midwife felt comfortable to apply the 10 characteristics of Servant-
Leadership, incorporating these culture-caring principles as needed into their care plan to
build a trusting relationship.
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