‘As soon as the umbilical cord gets off, the child ceases to be called a newborn’: sociocultural beliefs and newborn referral in rural Uganda

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dc.contributor.authorNalwadda, Christine K.
dc.contributor.authorWaiswa, Peter
dc.contributor.authorGuwatudde, David
dc.contributor.authorKerber, Kate
dc.contributor.authorPeterson, Stefan
dc.contributor.authorKiguli, Juliet
dc.date.accessioned2022-02-05T09:17:59Z
dc.date.available2022-02-05T09:17:59Z
dc.date.issued2015
dc.description.abstractThe first week of life is the time of greatest risk of death and disability, and is also associated with many traditional beliefs and practices. Identifying sick newborns in the community and referring them to health facilities is a key strategy to reduce deaths. Although a growing area of interest, there remains a lack of data on the role of sociocultural norms and practices on newborn healthcare-seeking in sub-Saharan Africa and the extent to which these norms can be modified. Objective: This study aimed to understand the community’s perspective of potential sociocultural barriers and facilitators to compliance with newborn referral. Method: In this qualitative study, focus group discussions (n12) were conducted with mothers and fathers of babies aged less than 3 months. In addition, in-depth interviews (n11) were also held with traditional birth attendants and mothers who had been referred by community health workers to seek health-facilitybased care. Participants were purposively selected from peri-urban and rural communities in two districts in eastern Uganda. Data were analysed using latent content analysis. Results: The community definition of a newborn varied, but this was most commonly defined by the period between birth and the umbilical cord stump falling off. During this period, newborns are perceived to be vulnerable to the environment and many mothers and their babies are kept in seclusion, although this practice may be changing. Sociocultural factors that influence compliance with newborn referrals to seek care emerged along three sub-themes: community understanding of the newborn period and cultural expectations; the role of community health actors; and caretaker knowledge, experience, and decision-making autonomy. Conclusion: In this setting, there is discrepancy between biomedical and community definitions of the newborn period. There were a number of sociocultural factors that could potentially affect compliance to newborn referral. The widely practised cultural seclusion period, knowledge about newborn sickness, individual experiences in households, perceived health system gaps, and decision-making processes were facilitators of or barriers to compliance with newborn referral. Designers of newborn interventions need to address locally existing cultural beliefs at the same time as they strengthen facility careen_US
dc.identifier.citationChristine K. Nalwadda, Peter Waiswa, David Guwatudde, Kate Kerber, Stefan Peterson & Juliet Kiguli (2015) ‘As soon as the umbilical cord gets off, the child ceases to be called a newborn’: sociocultural beliefs and newborn referral in rural Uganda, Global Health Action, 8:1, 24386, DOI: 10.3402/gha.v8.24386en_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://doi.org/10.3402/gha.v8.24386
dc.identifier.urihttps://nru.uncst.go.ug/xmlui/handle/123456789/1931
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.publisherGlobal Health Actionen_US
dc.subjectCare-seekingen_US
dc.subjectNewbornen_US
dc.subjectNeonatalen_US
dc.subjectQualitativeen_US
dc.subjectReferralen_US
dc.subjectSociocultural influencesen_US
dc.subjectUgandaen_US
dc.title‘As soon as the umbilical cord gets off, the child ceases to be called a newborn’: sociocultural beliefs and newborn referral in rural Ugandaen_US
dc.typeArticleen_US
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