I.R.L ADQUISICION DE GABINETE DE METAL Y SWITCH DE 24 PUERTOS

Semi-structured interviews are commonly used in interpretive phenomenological studies as a method of data collection focused on exploring the lived experiences and realities of others (Carel, 2012; Fossey, Harvey, McDermott & Davidson, 2002). Semi-structured interviews with pre-established questions have a flexible structure that allows participants to share and place emphasis on the experiences and feelings most important to them (Fossey et al., 2002; Green & Thorogood, 2009). Not only do they allow participants to define issues of relevance related to a particular topic, but also provide the researcher with flexibility to explore new content by

probing for more information and asking follow-up questions where applicable. Semi-structured interviews allow the researcher to respond to issues raised, modify the order and wording of questions, and tailor questions to the participant and context. This allows the researcher to explore relevant experiences shared by the participant while maintaining conversational flow, and providing space for new issues and experiences to emerge. As King and Horrocks (2010) noted,

The aim of a qualitative interview is to elicit participants’ accounts of aspects of their experience, rather than to collate answers to specific questions as if they were

your first few interviews should inform subsequent ones. … So long as you remain aware of the way your interviewing practice developed over the course of the project, you should be able to avoid such changes distorting the analysis of the data. (p. 37)

Whether structured or semi-structured, one-to-one interviews provide an intimate environment for the exploration of lived experience, and offer participants a greater level of confidentiality. Some participants may also find it easier to share personal information in a setting where there is less risk of interruption, judgment, or disagreement from others. Additionally, the information shared in a private interview may more accurately reflect the experiences, feelings, and opinions of the participant because the content shared comes directly from the participant free from the influence of other group members. One-to-one interviews also provide a quieter and more orderly environment for the interviewer to ask questions, explore experiences in-depth, and uncover important beliefs, feelings, and meanings of lived experience.

A limitation to one-to-one interviews is that power dynamics between the researcher and the participant are greater, and the one-on-one dynamic may be intimating or uncomfortable for some (Wilkinson, 2004). It is important for the researcher to reduce power imbalances as much as possible by adjusting personal dress, use of language, and style of questioning for the audience they are interviewing.

Twelve semi-structured one-to-one interviews were conducted with mothers one to four weeks following delivery. Interview questions were consistent throughout, however because interviews were semi-structured, there was flexibility in each interview for the structure and content of the discussion to be shaped by the participant. All questions were designed to assess hospital compliance to steps 3-10 of the BFI Integrated Ten Steps and maternal hospital

healthcare experiences. Additional questions were added to the interview guide to assess maternal experiences with self-care in hospital following delivery. Although the original

interview guide did not include any questions about the care mothers received in hospital, the topic of maternal care was raised in all three focus groups, prompting further exploration of this issue in the semi-structured interviews that followed. Please refer to Appendix A for the

interview script.

To be eligible to participate in an interview, all mothers had to be over 18 years of age; have given birth to a full term (>37 weeks gestation) healthy singleton infant at the Janeway Children’s Hospital/Health Sciences Centre within four weeks of the interview date; have fluent English speaking skills, be free of any serious health conditions or serious disabilities that could interfere with infant feeding, intend to keep and raise their infant, and have the ability to provide free and informed consent.

Interview participants were recruited through a pediatrician during her routine pre-

discharge rounds in the Janeway Children’s Hospital/Health Sciences Centre Maternity Unit. To reduce selection bias and maximize participant diversity, the pediatrician introduced the study to every mother she visited on her pre-discharge rounds. Recruitment occurred on two separate days, Thursday March 22, 2012 and April 3, 2012. On each of these days, the pediatrician introduced the study to each mother and invited them to participate by providing a short form to fill out and leave on their bedside table in an envelope for collection. She made it clear to each mother that participation was voluntary, and emphasized that she would not know whether or not they chose to participate because their forms would be sealed in an envelope and collected by a nurse. This was emphasized to ensure that mothers would not feel pressured to participate because of a belief that their health care would be improved with participation. The pediatrician also mentioned that participation would not affect healthcare in any way. On each recruitment day, ten mothers were invited to participate, and eight recruitment forms were returned from

mothers interested in participating – a response rate of 80%. A total of 16 forms were completed, collected and picked up by the researcher.

Using this recruitment strategy, a broad range of sample diversity was achieved.

Although population samples in qualitative research do not aim to be representative of the study population as a whole, they do aim to have great diversity to provide a broad range of

experiences and perspectives (King & Horrocks, 2010). The research sample included first, second and third time mothers, mothers with vaginal deliveries and caesarian section deliveries, mothers who ranged in age from their early 20’s to early 40’s, who were married, unmarried, in a committed relationship and single, mothers who were exclusively breastfeeding, exclusively formula feeding and combination feeding, mothers living in rural and urban areas, and mothers who were highly educated professionals and who were educated at the high school level. The sample also included one lesbian mother, one aboriginal mother living in poverty, one young mother living with her parents, two mothers with a previous birth experience in the private healthcare system of the United States before moving to NL, and one mother who had struggled with infertility.

Interviews were arranged with each mother interested in participating when contacted by the researcher until thematic saturation (the emergence of no new themes) was reached. On forms where email addresses were provided, the researcher made first contact by email, and later followed up with a telephone call if no reply was received. On forms with only a telephone number, the researcher made first contact by telephone. Of the 16 forms received, 14 mothers were contacted, and 12 interviews were held before thematic saturation was reached. Of the 14 mothers contacted, 2 did not participate – 1 mother failed to return a phone call after two messages were left, and the other requested the researcher call back in five weeks. Although

there was an opportunity to contact the remaining 2 mothers of the 16 who provided contact information, it was unnecessary, as thematic saturation had been reached at 12 interviews. All interviews ran between 20 and 75 minutes in length, were audio recorded with the permission of the participant, and held in a private location.