Biomaterial Database

Participation of expectant mothers in decision making in maternity care: results of a population-based survey. 1998

M Pelkonen, and M L Perälä, and K Vehviläinen-Julkunen

Department of Nursing Science, University of Kuopio, Finland.

The purpose of the study was to acquire knowledge of the opportunities that expectant mothers had to participate in decision making regarding their care in maternity clinics during their last pregnancy. The study is a part of a larger national survey 'Family planning services in Finland' carried out by the National Research and Development Centre for Welfare and Health. The rationale for the study were the known benefits of participation in one's care and its emphasis in health policy documents. The subjects were a random sample of women aged between 18 and 44. The response rate was 73% (n = 1289). The data were gathered by a mailed questionnaire and analysed statistically. According to the results mothers had fairly good opportunities to participate in decision making. However, there were statistically significant differences in opportunities between the women. The mothers who were most satisfied were aged 25-29 years, lived in a permanent relationship, had 12 years of basic education and had three children. Opportunities to participate in care have improved from the 1970s to the 1990s. The results have many implications for the development of nursing practice in maternity clinics and the deepening of the knowledge base in nursing education. The study, being the first national survey on this topic, also gives suggestions for further studies.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D008427	Maternal Health Services	Organized services to provide health care to expectant and nursing mothers.	Health Services, Maternal,Services, Maternal Health,Health Service, Maternal,Maternal Health Service
D010358	Patient Participation	Patient involvement in the decision-making process in matters pertaining to health.	Patient Activation,Patient Empowerment,Patient Engagement,Patient Involvement,Patient Participation Rates,Activation, Patient,Empowerment, Patient,Engagement, Patient,Involvement, Patient,Participation Rate, Patient,Participation Rates, Patient,Participation, Patient,Patient Participation Rate
D011247	Pregnancy	The status during which female mammals carry their developing young (EMBRYOS or FETUSES) in utero before birth, beginning from FERTILIZATION to BIRTH.	Gestation,Pregnancies
D011637	Public Health Nursing	A nursing specialty concerned with promoting and protecting the health of populations, using knowledge from nursing, social, and public health sciences to develop local, regional, state, and national health policy and research. It is population-focused and community-oriented, aimed at health promotion and disease prevention through educational, diagnostic, and preventive programs.	Nursing, Public Health
D011795	Surveys and Questionnaires	Collections of data obtained from voluntary subjects. The information usually takes the form of answers to questions, or suggestions.	Community Survey,Nonrespondent,Questionnaire,Questionnaires,Respondent,Survey,Survey Method,Survey Methods,Surveys,Baseline Survey,Community Surveys,Methodology, Survey,Nonrespondents,Questionnaire Design,Randomized Response Technique,Repeated Rounds of Survey,Respondents,Survey Methodology,Baseline Surveys,Design, Questionnaire,Designs, Questionnaire,Methods, Survey,Questionnaire Designs,Questionnaires and Surveys,Randomized Response Techniques,Response Technique, Randomized,Response Techniques, Randomized,Survey, Baseline,Survey, Community,Surveys, Baseline,Surveys, Community,Techniques, Randomized Response
D003657	Decision Making	The process of making a selective intellectual judgment when presented with several complex alternatives consisting of several variables, and usually defining a course of action or an idea.	Credit Assignment,Assignment, Credit,Assignments, Credit,Credit Assignments
D005260	Female		Females
D005387	Finland	A country in northern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, Gulf of Bothnia, and Gulf of Finland, between Sweden and Russia. The capital is Helsinki.	Aland Islands,Åland Islands
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000293	Adolescent	A person 13 to 18 years of age.	Adolescence,Youth,Adolescents,Adolescents, Female,Adolescents, Male,Teenagers,Teens,Adolescent, Female,Adolescent, Male,Female Adolescent,Female Adolescents,Male Adolescent,Male Adolescents,Teen,Teenager,Youths