Immigrants’, refugees’ and their families’ perspectives of midwifery care in Canada, the Netherlands and New Zealand; a qualitative evidence synthesis

Immigration to a new country poses significant health challenges affecting immigrants' physical and mental well-being. In Canada, the Netherlands, and New Zealand, midwifery practices focus on autonomy, collaboration, and cultural competency to support vulnerable populations, including immigrants. This qualitative evidence synthesis (QES) investigates the perspectives of immigrant women on midwifery care. Screening 914 articles, yielded five included studies for analysis, revealing six descriptive themes mapped to the Quality Maternal and Newborn Care (QMNC) framework. The synthesis revealed an overarching theme, rich relational communication, with three sub-themes: culturally competent communication, continuity of care, and informed decision-making. Immigrant women value effective communication that respects their cultural and personal preferences, which enhances their autonomy. However, a limited understanding of midwifery philosophy may hinder trust in professionals. The study emphasizes the need for improved communication strategies to foster continuity of care, cultural competencies and informed decision-making in midwifery care provided to the immigrant population.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Health Sciences (MHSc)

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Community, Public and Population Health

Grantor

University of Ontario Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2025

Author dc:creator

• Kamalinejad, Shakiba

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Brunton , Ginny

Language dc:language.iso

en

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/10155/1932

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:ontariotechu.scholaris.ca:10155/1932