Social Determinants of Health in the Lives of Urban-Dwelling, Pregnant Puerto Rican Women and Families: Nursing Implications From a Secondary Narrative Analysis.

Abstract

Urban-dwelling childbearing Puerto Rican women and families on the U.S. mainland face a myriad of social determinants that affect pregnancy and overall health outcomes. Historically, Puerto Ricans have poorest pregnancy outcomes of all Hispanic women. Acknowledgment of the cyclic, structural barriers faced by this patient population is essential to providing wholistic care. Here, we discuss family nursing implications derived from narrative analysis of a parent study that investigated ecological systems affecting 21 pregnant Puerto Rican women residing in an impoverished and crime-ridden neighborhood in Philadelphia. Content analysis of interviews revealed interwoven social determinants of health embedded in participant narratives. Furthermore, we present case vignettes based on integration of participant interviews that encapsulate the everyday experiences of these women and their families and provide clinicians with guidance and strategies for interacting with and advocating for this population.