Electronic Resource

A public e-survey to explore community understanding of the role of the midwife in Australia

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INTRODUCTION There is compelling evidence that when a woman sees the same midwife there are better outcomes. Yet in Australia, access to midwifery continuity of care remains limited. There are a number of reasons for this but one barrier appears to be a lack of public understanding regarding the role of the midwife. This study undertook an e-survey to explore Australian public perceptions of the role of the midwife.
METHODS A public opinion sample e-survey, using an exploratory design, a Likert scale and open-ended questions, was distributed through social media over six weeks. The survey was open to Australian residents and was completed by 1657 participants. Of these, 96.9% identified as female and 82.1% of participants had children.
RESULTS Nearly half of the participants believed that a woman must see a doctor during pregnancy and after birth, compared to 21.9% during birth. Many participants described midwives as caring and supportive but there was a lack of understanding about their level of skill and expertise. A dominant theme was the alignment of medical care with safety and the perception that medical practitioners reduce risk. These misperceptions may impact on women making an informed choice regarding
midwifery model of care in Australia.
CONCLUSIONS There is an underlying public narrative whereby the public primarily associate midwives with birth and perceive them as assistants rather than lead care providers. The study findings informed a public awareness campaign in South
Australia conducted to educate the public’s understanding of the role of the midwife.

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Ketersediaan

INT0000006

618.2

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Informasi Detail

Judul Seri

European Journal of Midwifery

No. Panggil

618.2

Penerbit

Adelaide, Australia : European Publishing., 2019

Deskripsi Fisik

9 p

Bahasa

English

ISBN/ISSN

2585-2906

Klasifikasi

618.2

Tipe Isi

text

Tipe Media

unmediated

Tipe Pembawa

-

Edisi

2019;3(November):20

Subjek

kebidanan
Midwifery

Info Detail Spesifik

-

Pernyataan Tanggungjawab

-

Versi lain/terkait

Lampiran Berkas

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