Abstract
The purpose for this qualitative study to assess the healthcare practices of women in rural Guatemala. Understanding how women there approach health would provide useful information for nurses involved in development of culturally sensitive sustainable healthcare programs in Guatemala, and in providing culturally sensitive care to Guatemalan patients who are living outside of their country.
Studies have confirmed many challenges that rural Guatemalan experience with respect to health care services. Medical equipment and medications are notably scarce for pediatric patients (Hughes et al., 2022), and availability of access to care for adolescents is also deficient (Hassan et al., 2020). Attempts to address needs through development of sustainable programs have beem made such as installation of a water filtration system with community education to prevent communicable disease (Piedra et al., 2020), and a home gardening system to improve nutrition (Alajajian et al., 2022). There is evidence of the importance of cultural competence for nurses when caring for patients, however, nurses still often have doubts and hesitancies regarding how to do this (Markey et al., 2018). Assessment is the start of any successful care planning endeavor.
Thirteen women were interviewed in rural Guatemala for this study. Upon analysis of data three themes emerged including the influence of poverty, gaps in knowledge of healthcare, and use of traditional approaches.
Notes
References:
1.Alajajian, S., Guzman, A., Proaño, G. Yakes, E., Rohloff, P. (2022). Mixed-Methods Implementation Study of a Home Garden Intervention in Rural Guatemala Using the RE-AIM Framework. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics, 122(7), 1363-1374. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jand.2022.03.005
2.Hassan, A., Maza, J., Teich, H., Guerra, E. (2020). Caring for adolescents in Guatemala: provider perspectives. International Journal of Adolescent Medicine and Health, 32(1), 1-8. PMID: NLM28949929 NLM UID: 8506960
3.Hughes, M., Schmidt, J., Svenson, J. (2022). Emergency Services Capacity of
a Rural Community in Guatemala. Western Journal of Emergency Medicine, 23(5), 746-753. NLM UID: 101476450
4.Markey, K., Tiki, M., Taylor, G. (2018). Understanding nurses’ concerns when caring for patients from diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 27(1-2), 259-268. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jocn.13926
5.Piedra, L., Matthew, L., Wu, C. (2020). Participant responses to a water treatment intervention in rural Guatemala. Qualitative Social Work, 19(5/6), 792-809. https://www.doi.org/10.1177/1473325020906251
Sigma Membership
Phi Nu
Type
Presentation
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
Other
Research Approach
Qualitative Research
Keywords:
Competence, Global Leadership, Sustainable Development Goals, Women, Rural Guatemala, Health Approaches
Recommended Citation
Johanson, Linda, "A Qualitative Study About Healthcare Practices for Rural Guatemalan Women" (2025). International Nursing Research Congress (INRC). 28.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/inrc/2025/presentations_2025/28
Conference Name
36th International Nursing Research Congress
Conference Host
Sigma Theta Tau International
Conference Location
Seattle, Washington, USA
Conference Year
2025
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.
Review Type
Abstract Review Only: Reviewed by Event Host
Acquisition
Proxy-submission
A Qualitative Study About Healthcare Practices for Rural Guatemalan Women
Seattle, Washington, USA
The purpose for this qualitative study to assess the healthcare practices of women in rural Guatemala. Understanding how women there approach health would provide useful information for nurses involved in development of culturally sensitive sustainable healthcare programs in Guatemala, and in providing culturally sensitive care to Guatemalan patients who are living outside of their country.
Studies have confirmed many challenges that rural Guatemalan experience with respect to health care services. Medical equipment and medications are notably scarce for pediatric patients (Hughes et al., 2022), and availability of access to care for adolescents is also deficient (Hassan et al., 2020). Attempts to address needs through development of sustainable programs have beem made such as installation of a water filtration system with community education to prevent communicable disease (Piedra et al., 2020), and a home gardening system to improve nutrition (Alajajian et al., 2022). There is evidence of the importance of cultural competence for nurses when caring for patients, however, nurses still often have doubts and hesitancies regarding how to do this (Markey et al., 2018). Assessment is the start of any successful care planning endeavor.
Thirteen women were interviewed in rural Guatemala for this study. Upon analysis of data three themes emerged including the influence of poverty, gaps in knowledge of healthcare, and use of traditional approaches.
Description
The purpose of this qualitative study was to assess healthcare practices of women in rural Guatemala. Thirteen women were interviewed in rural Guatemala and analysis revealed three themes including the influence of poverty, knowledge gaps related to health exists, and traditional approaches are common. These findings would provide useful information for nurses in providing culturally sensitive care when developing sustainable programs or caring for patients who are outside of the country.