Introduction
Healthcare systems and facilities are intended to deliver high-quality services to different patients. Unfortunately, cases of bias and prejudice might have disastrous impacts on the experiences of different consumers of care. The objective of this reflective paper is to discuss the search process used to generate this research article: “Experience of and Access to Maternity Care in the UK by Immigrant Women: A Narrative Synthesis Systematic Review”. The discussion also highlights the theoretical perspectives the authors used and the lessons policymakers and researchers can consider and improve patients’ experiences.
Background
Various search processes and theoretical aspects are involved when conducting research. For instance, when completing a literature review on a given subject, different search strategies, such as using keywords, exact phrases, truncated and wildcard searches, Boolean logic, and citation searching, could be applied to get specific information (Crotty, 1998). Once scholars identify a research article, they can analyze it to understand the theoretical perspectives employed.
Positivism is a philosophy hinged on the view that the only trustworthy knowledge is the one gained through facts gained through observation and measurements. As such, a researcher’s role in a study would only be limited to collecting and interpreting data objectively, thus delivering observable and quantifiable results. Researchers thus remain independent of their research, which means they maintain minimal interaction with the study. On the other hand, interpretive approach allows researchers to interpret different elements of their study (Crotty, 1998). Therefore, this perspective integrates human interests into research. Consequently, based on these definitions, it suffices to argue that positivist and interpretive perspectives are associated with quantitative and qualitative research, respectively.
The Search Process
The article used for this study was selected by searching for certain keywords. Some of the key ones included access to maternity, care services, United Kingdom, and immigrant women. Such specific keywords yielded the desired research article based on the targeted topic. In this case, the interest was on access to maternity care in the UK by immigrant workers, and thus the selected keywords yielded the best article for this discussion (Kemp & Knight, 2016). I considered the use of the Cochrane Library as the best database for supporting the search process.
From this analysis, it is notable that I succeeded in hand searching a specific journal focusing on maternal health experiences in the United Kingdom. The search strategy was forward in nature since it succeeded in delivering the intended results (Crotty, 1998). The process was, therefore, effective since I managed to get a timely and informative article about the expectations, observations, and views of many women regarding the nature of maternal medical care.
Theoretical Perspective
The selected article provides powerful insights regarding the health outcomes and experiences of many foreign-born women who receive maternal services in the United States. The authors focused on the views of different individuals to deliver timely and meaningful results. The findings revealed that such people received diverse services due to various parameters (Higginbottom et al., 2019). For instance, some of the women were convinced that the available caregivers and clinicians were friendly and capable of delivering high-quality services. However, another group observed that some of the practitioners and midwives were arrogant, rude, and discriminative.
This description reveals that the authors adopted an interpretive perspective. This model revolves around a philosophical approach whereby professionals focus on the con-constructed meanings and notions among different participants. The researchers will consult written and oral responses to learn more about the recorded issues and concerns. The consideration of individuals’ actions, values, behaviors, norms, beliefs, and established institutions makes it possible for scholars to get the intended information (Higginbottom et al., 2019). The use of this perspective was, therefore, effective to deliver evidence-based views and ideas that could help transform the nature of global maternal care.
Through the perspective lens, readers can understand that most caregivers and experts provide timely services to patients with diverse needs. However, some professionals are biased and unwilling to meet the medical demands of foreign patients. The inclusion of all aspects to do with human expectations and behaviors can help more people understand the existing gaps and predicaments (Crotty, 1998). The inclusion of such attributes made it possible for the experimentalists to learn more about the experiences of more people and examine the issue from all angles.
Unfortunately, a positivist approach in such a study would have opposed the attributes of an interpretive model. Through such a strategy, the researchers would have only focused on one side of the issue and presented findings that would be inconclusive. For instance, the approach would have allowed the scholars to examine whether the UK health system was providing proper services to maternal patients or not. This model would have ignored the beliefs and experiences of most people. The presented observations would have failed to capture the honest challenges and views of more of the participants or stakeholders (Higginbottom et al., 2019). A different perspective would have helped the reader get a biased view of this issue in the UK setting. These aspects explain why the researchers ignored the positivist perspective. The findings presented in the article could become the best strategies for transforming the experiences and well-being of foreign patients in the UK.
Through the power of continuous learning, I have come across several articles relying on the positivist perspective. For instance, Magwood et al. (2019) observed that the UK had implemented powerful strategies to transform the experiences of many individuals in need of maternal health services. The study also revealed that most of the institutions and systems put in place resonated with the demands of the greatest majority (Higginbottom et al., 2019). While these views might be acceptable, the agreeable fact is that the frameworks have not been focusing on the needs of patients from foreign regions. This happens to be the case despite the fact that one in every four newborn babies are foreign-born women (Moran et al., 2020). These insights explain why the selected article presents a balanced view of the issues most people have to face in this country.
From the nature of this description, it is notable that the outlined research question is easy to understand. The reader is able to consider how immigrant women in the United Kingdom receive maternal services in the UK and some of the problems they tend to encounter in the process. The researchers observed that the outlined research question was understandable and informative. Through the use of such a question, they were able to complete the study in a timely manner (Magwood et al., 2019). They also presented additional insights that could make it possible for more health leaders to address the needs of these key stakeholders.
To complete the intended study, the scholars adopted a literature search by examining what past scholars had observed in the field of maternal health. Without collecting primary data, the model presented 40 pieces of research that described the experiences and views of foreign-born women in search of maternal health services. The experts indicated that 22 of the articles were qualitative while 8 were quantitative (Higginbottom et al., 2019). The remaining 10 had been completed using mixed research methods (Higginbottom et al., 2019). The approach was essential since it aligned with the identified interpretive underpinning theory. The method was capable of guiding the researchers to consider the beliefs, views, experiences, and expectations of the targeted individuals.
Through the power of this theoretical approach and design, the scholars were able to identify some of the challenges most of the asylum-seekers in the country experienced. The presented responses were able to answer the research question sufficiently. The reader can, therefore, identify some of the problems some foreigners encounter in the region (Higginbottom et al., 2019). It is also notable that the government considers some of the best strategies to support the experiences of some of these women. The ideas could guide different stakeholders to implement superior initiatives and changes to ensure that all pregnant women and mothers get personalized and high-quality maternity care.
Conclusion
The above discussion has revealed that the authors of the selected publication used an interpretive theory to learn more about the challenges and experiences of foreign women in the United Kingdom. The completed search strategy was effective and capable of delivering an informative peer-reviewed journal article. The observed insights could guide different stakeholders to learn more about the gaps in maternal care delivery. These challenges should become the best ideas for introducing sweeping changes and procedures that can transform the experiences of more women. Such transformations will improve the nature, sustainability, and effectiveness of the UK’s health sector.
References
Crotty, M. (1998). The foundations of social research: Meaning and perspective in the research process. Sage.
Higginbottom, G., Evans, C., Morgan, M., Bharj, K. K., Eldridge, J., &Hussain, B. (2019). Experience of and access to maternity care in the UK by immigrant women: A narrative synthesis systematic review. BMJ Open, 9(12), 1-23.
Kemp, B., & Knight, M. (2016). Maternal mortality in the UK: An update. Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Medicine, 26(1), 26-28.
Magwood, O., Kpadé, V., Thavorn, K., Oliver, S., Mayhew, A. D., & Pottie, K. (2019). Effectiveness of home-based records on maternal, newborn and child health outcomes: A systematic review and meta-analysis. PLoS ONE, 14(1), e0209278.
Moran, P. S., Wuytack, F., Turner, M., Normand, C., Brown, S., Begley, C., & Daly, D. (2020). Economic burden of maternal morbidity – A systematic review of cost-of-illness studies. PLoS ONE, 15(1), e0227377.