Selected African American First-time Teenage Mothers' Perceptions of Nurse Caring Behaviors During the Postpartum Period

Abstract

Nurse caring behaviors are essential to improving health outcomes. However, there has been little research conducted that has investigated nurse caring behaviors during the postpartum period, particularly behaviors directed toward African American first-time teenage mothers. The purpose of this study was to explore and describe African American first-time teenage mothers’ perceptions of nurse caring behaviors during the postpartum period. Watson’s (1985) Theory of Human Caring was the conceptual basis of this study. Data were collected using the Caring Behaviors Assessment (CBA) instrument, a 63-item questionnaire that included two open-ended questions that were used to identify themes, and a 9-item demographic data survey. The researcher recruited a convenience sample of African American first-time teenage mothers (N = 50) as participants. Most of the participants in the study were 18 – 19 years of age and single, had at least a 12th grade education, indicated a lack of family support for the baby or themselves, made health decisions for themselves and their baby, and had an extended family. All participants were recruited from one agency within a small rural parish in a southern state. An exploratory descriptive design was used and descriptive analyses were conducted on demographic characteristics and CBA subscales to answer the research questions. There was statistical significance for the independent variable, decision making for your health, and the Caring Behaviors Assessment (CBA) subscales of humanism/faith-hope/sensitivity (p = 0.050), human needs assistance (p = 0.052), and the demographic characteristics. The analysis revealed attentive to needs was a common theme. African American first-time mothers rated nurse caring behaviors as important during the postpartum period. The human needs assistance and humanism/faith-hope/ sensitivity subscales were of greatest importance. These findings provide useful information for nurses who assist in the assessment, planning, implementation, and evaluation of postpartum care services. Limitations were a small sample size and use of a non-random sampling technique.