Creating safe relational space: Public health nurses work with mothering refugee women

Exploring how public health nurses (PHNs) provide community-based support to women who are refugees and mothering.

A constructivist grounded theory (CGT) design was used where intersectionality as an analytical tool was applied. Varying data collection approaches including focus groups were used.

Twelve PHNs from four public health units in Western Canada participated in this study.

Participants in this study described an overall process of creating safe relational space to address a basic social problem of establishing trust while managing structural forces. This overarching process was expressed through burning with passion, connecting while looking beyond, protecting from re-traumatization, and fostering independence. Findings reveal strategies PHNs used to enhance health equity. This study extends critical caring theory to include sociopolitical and economic influences on public health nursing practice. Consequences of these influences on the mothering refugee women population are also revealed. Implications include structural integration of trauma-and-violence-informed principles to support public health nursing practice.

This study adds to an emerging body of knowledge on PHNs work with complex populations. Innovative application of intersectionality is demonstrated as an effective approach to analyzing impacts of broad sociopolitical priorities on communities that are systemically marginalized.