Human Communication Elements of the Continuity of Midwife Carer Newsletter: A Descriptive Case Report.

Abstract

Background: The Continuity of Midwife Care (CMC) model is an evidence-based care model that positively influences the health and well-being of women, their families, and midwives. Although effective communication strategies have not been determined, online resources are known to reach a wider audience and make CMC research more visible. The All-you-need-to-know-about-continuity-of-carer newsletter, distributed by the authors, is a strategy to communicate valuable and credible CMC content from knowledge producers to users. Purpose: To explore the newsletter's functional elements and the connection between it as a communication strategy and the individuals interacting with it and to present a case demonstration of a newsletter example. Methods: A descriptive case report with a theory-driven approach using 10 elements of human communication theories. Conclusions: The following elements of human communication contribute to understanding the functioning of the newsletter: Grounded Theoretical Theory, the Practical-Action Theory and goal-oriented communication (communication theory), the Syntactic Theory of Visual Communication and the rhetorical tradition of communication (tradition of communication), Elaboration Likelihood and the socio-cultural model of communication (communicator), implied compliance-gaining, parole, semiosis, narrative paradigm and rhetoric logic (message), social organisation communication, co-cultural communication and invitational rhetoric (conversation), the orientation and exploratory affective exchange stages of social exchange (relationship), Structuration Theory (group), the Theory of Bureaucracy (organisation), the Cultivation Theory (media), and the Diffusion of Innovation and Ethnography of Communication (culture and society). Implications: The newsletter succeeds in managing CMC information and reaching an interested audience. Further evaluation is required to explore if or how the newsletter affects information use.