Hawthorne, Dawn

The purpose of this qualitative research study was to explore the lived experience of families who donated their neonate’s organs at the end of life. The experiences of five mothers and one father were elicited from those who experienced this phenomenon. Heideggerian hermeneutic phenomenology served as the methodology as well as the guiding philosophy for this research study. Watson’s theory of Unitary Caring Science and the Caritas Processed provided the caring lens through which the research was completed. Deikelmann’s seven stage process for analysis was employed and through which four relative themes emerged: Enhancing the Fullness of the Baby, Celebrating the Ongoing Presencing of the Baby Within the Family, Ameliorating Grief through the Hope of Donation, and Being Embraced Within a Healing Environment. The four relational themes are represented with an aesthetic interpretation of the experience.

Aim: In the United States, prenatal depression is an underdiagnosed mental health disorder that can result in complications for the mother and fetus. Approximately 7 to 12 % women are affected by prenatal depression (Sidebottom et al., 2021). African American women experience more stressors during the prenatal period which places them at a higher risk for depression than other racial groups (Liu et al., 2016). Early screening can help identify and treat prenatal depression which may reduce the risk of postpartum depression. The purpose of this quality improvement project (QI) was to screen African American pregnant women, using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), to determine if screening for depression prenatally can initiate early treatment and referral.
Method: All pregnant women who received prenatal care at a women’s health clinic were screened, using the EPDS, for depression prenatally. Relationships and differences between mother’s demographic variables and their EPDS scores were explored using the Pearson Product Moment Correlation and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). A one-time follow-up telephone interview was conducted, for education and support, 3-4 weeks post completion of the EPDS.

As the culturally diverse healthcare population in the United States rises, the demand for healthcare providers who are knowledgeable in providing culturally competent care increases. Community health care providers are mandated to make cultural competence a priority in their clinical practice. This mandate challenges healthcare professionals to increase their knowledge of cultural diversity and caring behaviors and provide appropriate health care services to meet the needs of racially and ethnically diverse clients. For this project, an assessment of community healthcare providers’ self-perception of cultural competence and perceived knowledge of caring behaviors was untaken while posing the question: “How does a two-month education program on cultural competency and caring enhance cultural sensitivity and increase understanding of caring behaviors for physicians, nurse practitioners and community health nurse in a community health clinic?” The effectiveness of this education program was evaluated using a quantitative one-group pretest/post-test survey design. Project results from the post-test found a general improvement in self-perception of cultural competence and perceived knowledge of caring behaviors among participants, which suggests that the education program was successful.