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Midwifery home visiting from the point of view of the public
DUŠKOVÁ, Marcela
Due to the Czech Republic's health care system, the need for medical care during pregnancy - even when it is progressing physiologically - has become deeply-rooted in the mind of the public. The theoretical part of this work deals with midwifery in relation to community care. The general theoretical section sums up the roles and competencies of midwives and the forms of their education, both qualifying and lifelong. The following section deals with actual procedures in the care provided by midwives during home visits, according to valid standards issued by CKPA (Czech Midwife Confederation). The questionnaire method, one of quantitative research methods, has been selected for the research part of the work. The questionnaire used consisted of 28 questions and has been processed during April 2009. The sample group was a large group of non-professionals with no limitations by age, gender or place of residence. A total of 150 respondents have been asked for cooperation, and 126 filled questionaries were returned to the researchers. The main goals of the work were determining the public opinion on home visiting by midwives and its necessity. Futhermore, determining the public knowledge of midwife competencies and awareness of the range of midwife services covered by health insurance. The following hypotheses have been examined by the researchers: Hypothesis 1: Expectant mothers prefer gynecologist's care to midwifery. This hypothesis has been confirmed. Hypothesis 2: Women are not interested in home visiting by midwife after the birth. This hypothesis has been refuted. Hypothesis 3: Most of all, women expect high-quality prenatal courses from a midwife. This hypothesis has been refuted as well. Hypothesis 4: Men do not consider home visiting by midwife as valuable for women. This hypothesis has not been confirmed. Hypothesis 5: Women with no access to medical care in their place of residence are in greater need of home visiting by midwife than women with such access. Because of the non-representative distribution of respondents in the sample group, this hypothesis has been neither confirmed nor refuted. Hypothesis 6: The public has no knowledge of the actual competencies of midwives. This hypothesis has been confirmed . Hypothesis 7: The public has no knowledge of the range of midwife care covered by health insurance. This hypothesis has been confirmed as well. This work is of informative nature. It sums up the opinions and knowledge of the public about midwifery. It also helps to outline the uncertainties of the public in this field. The work can be used for public education or as a starting point for future research.
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