Premium
Social Support as Road Map and Vehicle
Author(s) -
Bolla Christine Di Martile,
Joseph Jeanne De,
Norbeck Jane,
Smith Renee
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
public health nursing
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.471
H-Index - 55
eISSN - 1525-1446
pISSN - 0737-1209
DOI - 10.1111/j.1525-1446.1996.tb00258.x
Subject(s) - mainstream , outreach , social support , focus group , qualitative research , gerontology , pregnancy , gender studies , intervention (counseling) , psychology , nursing , sociology , medicine , social psychology , political science , social science , biology , anthropology , law , genetics
As part of a larger study of the impact of a social support intervention on pregnancy outcome for lower‐income African American women, 6 African American women (a medical social worker, a physician's assistant, 2 community outreach workers, a lactation consultant, and a health project representative) participated in focus group discussions concerning the unique social support needs of lower‐income African American women during pregnancy. Transcripts of focus group interviews were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Emergent themes included strengths of African American communities, deficiencies in social support for many lower‐income African American women, the meaning of pregnancy for African American women, the ability of many pregnant women to “make it” without visible means of support, young women's locations “inside” and “outside” of “mainstream” life, and the importance of social support as a mechanism for guiding and transporting “lost souls” back into the mainstream.