Journal of Transcultural Nursing
Volume 29, Issue 2, 2018, Pages 123-130

Exploring the Experience of African Immigrant Mothers Providing Reproductive Health Education to Their Daughters Aged 10 to 14 Years (Article)

Agbemenu K.* , Devido J. , Terry M.A. , Hannan M. , Kitutu J. , Doswell W.
  • a State University of New York, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, United States
  • b Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
  • c University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
  • d University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
  • e University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
  • f University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States

Abstract

Introduction: Adolescents have disproportionate rates of unplanned pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections when compared with all other age groups. Mothers are gatekeepers and providers of reproductive health education, which can prevent teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections. Reproductive health education provided by African immigrant mothers is influenced by cultural experiences and cultural contexts that are not well understood and have not been studied. This study sought to describe the experience of African mothers living in the United States providing reproductive health education to their daughters aged 10 to 14 years. Method: A qualitative descriptive design was used. Twenty African immigrant mothers were interviewed in a community setting. Qualitative content analysis approach was used for analysis. Results: Three main themes emerged: (1) mothers’ reproductive health education in their country of origin, (2) mothers’ reproductive health communication with their daughters, and (3) changes due to the move to the United States. Discussion: Mothers believed daughters were too young for reproductive health education, leading to conversations with limited content that were frequently triggered by daughters’ exposure to reproductive health education outside the home. Implications: African immigrant mothers may benefit from culturally congruent discussions with health care providers about the reproductive health information they give their daughters. © 2016, © The Author(s) 2016.

Author Keywords

Reproductive health education Adolescent sex education Mothers Emigration and immigration African immigrants Africa Adolescence

Index Keywords

education immigrant sexual behavior health care personnel sexual education human middle aged Mother-Child Relations African ethnology procedures qualitative research interview United States Humans migrant psychology Black person Adolescent African Continental Ancestry Group Interviews as Topic Emigrants and Immigrants female Africa adolescence Mothers medical information Article conversation mother adult migration human experiment content analysis health education Reproductive Health Nuclear Family mother child relation Child
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85042121815&doi=10.1177%2f1043659616681848&partnerID=40&md5=64496e8e714e7391a16d5ba68437efac
DOI: 10.1177/1043659616681848
ISSN: 10436596
Cited by: 2
Original Language: English