 | The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
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| The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
Lisa M. Lewis, PhD, RN, Department of Health and Behavior Studies, Teachers College, Columbia University, Box 1, 525 West 120th Street, New York, NY 10027, 212-678-8327, lewis@tc.columbia.edu
The purpose of this study was to develop a grounded theory of the process by which pregnant and parenting African American women participate in formal substance abuse treatment programs. The culturally appropriate theoretical framework of womanist theory was used to guide the research study. Womanist theory applied to the qualitative research method of grounded theory offers a diverse approach to knowledge discovery for this vulnerable population of women and provides culturally sensitive data for their behavior change. Eight women were interviewed and demographic data was collected. In conjunction with the in-depth interviews, data were also collected through participation observation. The data were analyzed utilizing a combination of womanist theoretical principles and grounded theory. The basic psychosocial problem identified was How Do We Remain Drug Free When Drugs are Everywhere? The identified process by which the women remained drug free was Learning How to Live. Learning How to Live encompassed four stages: chasing the drug, becoming abstinent, focusing on self, and someone or something to hold on to. This substantive theory provided significant insight into the process of formal substance abuse treatment by pregnant and parenting African American women. Implications for health policy, suggestions for developing gender and culturally appropriate substance abuse treatment interventions, and suggestions for further research were identified.
Learning Objectives:
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.