Maternal and Child Health Needs in Northern Ireland and Jamaica: Official and Lay Perspectives

Abstract

This study highlights differences between official and lay definitions of maternal and child health needs in Northern Ireland and Jamaica. Official health priorities in Northern Ireland relate to infant mortality, child development, and immunization of children, whereas in Jamaica the official priorities are family planning, nutrition, and immunization of children. In each country, formal strategies are developed to encourage women to adopt "correct" health behaviors with respect to these areas. Anthropological fieldwork and semistructured interviews with 20 mothers in Northern Ireland and 40 mothers in Jamaica revealed that economic, social, and cultural factors interacted to influence health, and hence the freedom of individuals to choose such "correct" health behaviors was therefore limited. These findings raise questions about the philosophies underpinning the formal models of health care and the effectiveness of strategies adopted for health care delivery.