The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA

Abstract #37506

Melanie R. Wasserman, MPA¹, Deborah Bender, PhD, MPH², Alejandro Llanos Cuentas, MD, PhD³, and Cesar Miranda, MD³. (1) School of Public Health, Department of Health Policy and Administration, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, McGavran Greenberg Hall, CB#7411, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7411, 919-960-8521, wasserma@email.unc.edu, (2) Department of Health Policy and Administration, School of Public Health, The University of North Carolina, McGavran Greenberg building, CB#7411, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, (3) Facultad de Salud Publica y Administracion Carlos Vidal Layseca, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Av. Honorio Delgado # 430 Urb., Ingenierķa SMP, Lima, 31, Peru

This poster presents the results of a participatory qualitative study about the perceptions of quality of prenatal care of rural-to-urban migrants in Lima, Peru. Two types of data were collected in this study: general, quantitative data about satisfaction with the quality of care, and rich, narrative data elicited through the use of photographic prompts. Photographs were taken upon arrival at one of the two health care facilities where the study took place. Health care staff then reviewed and selected the photographs that would be used as prompts. They chose to use photographs that illustrated all stages in the process of prenatal care. Fifteen rural-to-urban migrants were interviewed and compared with fifteen non-migrants. At the end of the month-long study, health care staff attended a participatory workshop where they helped to interpret study findings. Results demonstrated that, in general, migrant women were more eager to show compliance with the instructions of health care staff, yet more likely to report a negative experience and/or avoid attending the health care facilities altogether. Non-migrants, by contrast, were more able to act as informed consumers of health care, exhibiting high levels of knowledge about health care staff and quality of care. This participatory study replicated a previous research effort by Deborah Bender, Ph.D., in Bolivia. It demonstrates the usefulness, in assessing quality of care provided to migrant populations, of a research approach combining participatory techniques with the photographic narrative method.

Learning Objectives: At the end of the session, the participant will be able to

• List three key differences between the perceptions of quality of care of migrants and non-migrants
• Use a participatory method incorporating photographic narratives to implement, in their own health care setting, a rapid investigation of migrant clients' perceptions of quality of care.

Keywords: Immigrant Women, Prenatal Care

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.