ARTICLE CRITIQUE 1
Article Critique Assignment: Second Research Approach Assignment
Debbie Johnson
School of Behavioral Sciences, Liberty University
EDCO747: Qualitative Methods of Research
Article Critique
Ethnography An Ethnographic Study (Appendix D) - Impact of COVID-19 on Women Who
Are Refugees and Mothering: A Critical Ethnographic Study
The article Impact of COVID-19 on Women Who Are Refugees and Mothering
(Hirani & Wagner, 2022) examines how the COVID-19 pandemic affected refugee women
in Saskatchewan, Canada, who are parenting newborns (Hirani & Wagner, 2022).
Creswell and Poth’s (2023) ethnographical framework was utilized to describe how a
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culture or group, refugee mother’s, makes meaning of mothering infants during the
COVID-19 pandemic (Hirani & Wagner, 2022). Shared cultural experiences, such as
navigating motherhood, migration stress, health-care systems, and pandemic restrictions
were common experiences shared by the refugee women. The study also explored how
culture, power, and social structures shape their daily life, which aligns with
ethnography’s goal of understanding lived experience within context (Hirani & Wagner,
2022). The authors examine how the epidemic exacerbated difficulties faced by refugee
women,who were already dealing with socioeconomic stress, trauma histories, language
hurdles, and dislocation (Hirani & Wagner, 2022). The study documents the emotional,
social, physical, and financial challenges faced by 27 refugee women from diverse
cultural and linguistic origins during an unprecedented global crisis through interviews
(Hirani & Wagner, 2022). The researchers discovered that pandemic restrictions led to
more social isolation, more physical and emotional stress, and fewer possibilities for
support and social interaction (Hirani & Wagner, 2022). For example, participants talked
about how their inability to integrate into the community, difficulty managing childcare
alone, and separation from extended family caused them to feel depressed, afraid, and
frustrated. The study also identifies important obstacles in healthcare. After
telemedicine became commonplace, women reported difficulties receiving postpartum
care, breastfeeding support, and baby health services because of fewer in-person visits, a
shortage of translators, and low levels of digital competence (Hirani & Wagner, 2022).
Economic difficulties exacerbated mothers' stress. Many families faced challenges in
affording culturally appropriate food, experienced job loss, and witnessed a decline in
their income. Hospital limits caused emotional strain for moms who were alone during
labor, delivery, or neonatal care, while border controls prohibited family reunification.
These intersecting experiences made clear the profound systemic injustices that
influenced refugee parenting during the epidemic.
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Decisions are important features in problem-solving and the study highlighted
the role of healthcare agencies and non-governmental agencies to provide mental health
support, skills-building training, and follow-up care to this vulnerable group (Hirani &
Wagner, 2022). Problem-solving aligns with ethnographies role in examining how people
solve problems in real-world settings. Furthermore, ethnographers seek to understand
how institutional factors can contribute to problem-solving (Creswell & Poth, 2023).
The study employed a critical ethnographical design using Carspecken’s approach
to explore the imbalances of power structures that can lead to experiences of
vulnerability such as the structural barriers (hospital restrictions, racism, and language
barriers that contribute to the lack of support that refugee mother’s experience. The
exploration of how culture, power, and social structures shape their daily their daily lives
align with ethnography’s approach of understanding the lived experiences of the people
in their context (Creswell & Poth, 2023).
The following information depicts how this study uses the ethnographic
approach:
•First evidence statement
Ethnography studies cultural patterns-the study focuses on
comprehending the common cultural experiences of a particular group,
refugee mothers, by looking at how their everyday lives, beliefs, and
social situations were shaped during COVID-19.
•Second evidence statement
The utilization of various data sources, including observations, interviews,
and document/media reviews, reflects ethnography's focus on compiling
a wide range of field data to create detailed descriptions of participants
lived realities.
•Third evidence statement
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The researchers demonstrated ethnography's demand that researchers
interpret meaning while being conscious of their influence on data
collection and interpretation by engaging in reflexivity and acknowledging
their positionality in the context of this study on refugee mothers during
COVID-19, the researchers acknowledged their positionality as
professionals living within the Canadian healthcare and academic systems
while studying women who were refugees, multilingual, and often
marginalized. By recognizing the social differences and the power
imbalances embedded in the research relationship, the authors showed
an awareness that their interpretations could be shaped by their own
cultural lenses. They also reflected on how their role as outsiders to the
refugee experience could affect the depth of the narratives shared and
the meanings drawn from them.
•Fourth evidence statement
A crucial aspect of ethnographic interpretation, the analysis placed
women's experiences into larger social and structural frameworks,
demonstrating how institutional procedures, power dynamics, and
cultural norms influenced the group's shared reality.
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References
Creswell, J. W., & Poth, C. N. (2023). Qualitative inquiry and research design (5th ed.).
SAGE Publications, Inc
Hirani, S. A. A., & Wagner, J. (2022). Impact of COVID-1 9 on women who are refugees
and mothering: A critical ethnographic study. Global Qualitative Nursing
Research, 9, 23333936221121335. https://doi.org/10.1177/2333393622112133
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