Abstract

This descriptive, ethnographic study explored the influence of cultural health beliefs and social capital on the adoption of community-based health care interventions by rural villages in Papua New Guinea. The development of local level resources that lead to improved health indices requires an awareness of both the cultural context and the relational components of social capital that link people within the community. Social capital has been defined as resources that are an inherent part of a social group and the elements of social organization such as trust, networks, and norms of reciprocity that facilitate mutual cooperation (Billings, 2000; Carpiano, 2006). The configuration of social capital in a group can potentially be operationalized to support the capacity of the community to create health-promoting change. Findings revealed that relational harmony was seen as essential for the maintenance of health. Strong kinship ties and consensual decision-making is the norm in rural villages, however women continue to have a limited voice. A synthesis of traditional health beliefs and innovative practices influenced how health promotion activities are perceived and implemented; and religious practices are viewed as integral to societal stability and psychosocial health. Developing a comprehensive understanding of sociocultural and contextual influences on the adoption of health promotion practices can help nurses facilitate community empowerment and sustainability of community-based health care programs in rural areas.

Description

This dissertation has also been disseminated through the ProQuest Dissertations and Theses database. Dissertation/thesis number: 10009089; ProQuest document ID: 1765692892. The author still retains copyright.

Author Details

Carol J. Bett, PhD, MA, RN

Sigma Membership

Omicron Delta

Type

Dissertation

Format Type

Text-based Document

Study Design/Type

Ethnography

Research Approach

Other

Keywords:

Community-Based Health, Health Promotion, Social Capital, Cultural Health Beliefs

Advisor

Jennifer Averill

Second Advisor

Geoff Schuster

Third Advisor

Dorinda Welle

Fourth Advisor

Richard Crespo

Degree

PhD

Degree Grantor

The University of New Mexico

Degree Year

2015

Rights Holder

All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record.

All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository.

All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.

Review Type

None: Degree-based Submission

Acquisition

Proxy-submission

Date of Issue

2024-07-08

Full Text of Presentation

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