The overall purpose of this study is to examine and describe women's perceptions of experiences of abuse during pregnancy and the effects of abuse on decision making about health behaviors, health care, and the abusive relationship.
The specific aims of the proposed research study are to: 1) explore women's perceptions of abuse during pregnancy; 2) describe the effects of abuse on the decisions women make during pregnancy; and 3) generate the development of an initial grounded theory of the effects of abuse on pregnancy, and on women's decisions made in pregnancy. Since this phenomenon has not been studied from the perspective of those experiencing it, a qualitative design using Dimensional analysis (DA) methodology will guide this research. DA is a method for deriving grounded theory. Participants will be pregnant women who are currently in an abusive relationship with their intimate male partner. Twenty- five women from two prenatal clinics will be interviewed at two intervals: the first interview will occur in the prenatal period, and the second, in the prenatal or postpartum period (up to eight weeks post-partum) The DA processes of data expansion, data limitation, perspective selection, and theory development will guide data collection and analysis of this phenomenon. Abuse during pregnancy is a significant public health issue, but little is known about the impact of abuse on decision women make within the context of pregnancy. The findings will provide a basis for interventions designed to enhance the health and safety of pregnant women who are abused.
| Lutz, Kristin F (2005) Abuse experiences, perceptions, and associated decisions during the childbearing cycle. West J Nurs Res 27:802-24; discussion 825-30 |
| Lutz, Kristin F (2005) Abused pregnant women's interactions with health care providers during the childbearing year. J Obstet Gynecol Neonatal Nurs 34:151-62 |
| Lutz, Kristin F (2004) Living two lives: a grounded theory of abuse during pregnancy. Commun Nurs Res 37:101, 103-9 |
| Lutz, K F; Shelton, K C; Robrecht, L C et al. (2000) Use of certificates of confidentiality in nursing research. J Nurs Scholarsh 32:185-8 |
| Jones, K D; Lutz, K F (1999) Selecting doctoral programs in nursing: resources for students and faculty. J Prof Nurs 15:245-52 |
