A Mixed-Methods Study of Vicarious Posttraumatic Growth In Certified Nurse-Midwives

The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to investigate vicarious posttraumatic growth in certified nurse-midwives (CNMs) who have struggled after attending traumatic births. Vicarious posttraumatic growth involves positive changes in a clinician's life due to caring for patients who are traumatized.

A convergent parallel mixed-methods design was used. The American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM) sent out e-mails to all CNM members with a link to the electronic survey. CNMs completed the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory and the Core Beliefs Inventory in the quantitative portion. For the qualitative portion CNMs responded to a statement asking them to describe their experiences of any positive changes in their beliefs or life after attending traumatic births. IBM SPSS 23.0 and Krippendorff's content analysis were used to analyze the quantitative and qualitative data, respectively.

The sample consisted of 425 CNMs who completed the quantitative portion and 315 (74%) who completed the qualitative portion. CNMs reported a small degree of both disruption of their core beliefs and vicarious posttraumatic growth. Personal Strength was the dimension of the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory that reflected the highest growth, followed by Appreciation of Life, Relating to Others, Spiritual Change, and New Possibilities. In the qualitative findings, Personal Strength was also the category of vicarious posttraumatic growth most frequently described.

This study confirmed a positive relationship between the degree that a CNM's core beliefs are challenged and the amount of vicarious posttraumatic growth that is experienced. The qualitative comments of the CNMs matched the quantitative scores of the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory.