Publications by authors named "Heather J Wallace"

Aim: To explore whether virtual short term international study experiences (VSTISE) facilitate transformational learning.

Background: Transformational learning is recognised as beneficial and desirable for health students to experience. Such learning may contribute to students developing deeper understanding of themselves and of those to whom they provide care.

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Background: Over the past 50 years, the content and structure of antenatal education classes have varied to reflect social norms of the time, the setting and context in which they have been held and who has facilitated them. In recent times, antenatal and parenting education classes have become a smorgasbord of information, offering a range of diverse content. Where and how parents-to-be may access formal antenatal and parenting education classes are also varied.

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Despite national policies to support sexual rights, Timorese women are constrained when making sexual and reproductive health decisions. Contextual understanding of sexual decision making is vital for effective engagement by sexual and reproductive health service providers with communities. An intersectional reproductive justice approach broadens the sexual rights lens allowing for an examination of multi-system factors impacting on sexual rights and health.

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Background: While global maternal deaths have decreased significantly, hundreds of thousands of women still die from pregnancy and birth complications. Interventions such as skilled birth attendants, emergency transportation to health facilities and birth preparedness have been successful at reducing such deaths, however barriers to seeking, reaching, and receiving respectful care persist.

Objective: This study aimed to identify what influences people's decisions to seek antenatal care and care during labour and birth in Timor-Leste, a low-middle income newly independent nation in South East Asia with a high maternal death rate.

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Article Synopsis
  • - Timor-Leste has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in Asia, but access to modern contraception could significantly reduce this issue, as many women want to delay childbirth.
  • - A qualitative research project partnered with Marie Stopes Timor-Leste surveyed 68 women and 80 men about their contraceptive choices, revealing that decisions around contraception are complex and influenced by multiple factors.
  • - Participants highlighted that women's ability to freely access contraception is often limited by family, cultural, traditional, and educational pressures, despite their personal desires.
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Maternal mortality remains a significant public health challenge for Timor-Leste. Although access to quality family planning measures may greatly reduce such deaths, consideration of indigenous perceptions, and how they influence reproductive health decision-making and behavior, is crucial if health services are to provide initiatives that are accepted and helpful in improving reproductive health outcomes. We aimed to demonstrate that body mapping is an effective method to traverse language and culture to gain emic insights and indigenous worldviews.

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