Giving (re)birth to a digital maternity record: An ethnographic study of vulnerability, care practice, and technology
Translated title
(Gen)fødsel af en digital vandrejournal: Et etnografisk studie af sårbarhed, omsorgspraksis og teknologi
Authors
Pedersen, Astrid Solvig Spangmose ; Jensen, Anna Louise Sandner ; Bennedbæk, Augusta Sofie Nybo
Term
4. term
Education
Publication year
2022
Submitted on
2022-06-01
Pages
86
Abstract
Dette speciale undersøger udviklingen af en national digital maternitetjournal i Danmark med udgangspunkt i gravide kvinder, der lever med sårbarheder. I stedet for at tage den teknologiske løsning for givet, spørger vi, hvordan sårbarhed opleves og håndteres i graviditetsforløb, og hvad det betyder for designet af en digital journal. Med etnografiske metoder fulgte vi 14 gravide med sårbarheder i en dansk kontekst. Analysen viser, at sårbarhed er mangfoldig, foranderlig og ofte ambivalent, og at den kan håndteres gennem opmærksomme og eksperimenterende omsorgspraksisser. Samtidig organiserer sundhedsvæsenet sårbarhed på forhånd og prioriterer evidensbaserede vurderinger og stærkt strukturerede data, hvilket risikerer at skygge for sårbarhedens kompleksitet. Da gravide med sårbarheder ikke har været inkluderet i designet af den digitale journal, anbefaler vi at gentænke problemforståelsen og inddrage disse kvinder aktivt i udviklingen for at øge anerkendelse og skabe bedre graviditetsforløb.
This thesis examines the development of a national digital maternity record in Denmark from the standpoint of pregnant women who live with vulnerabilities. Rather than assuming a technological solution is inherently beneficial, we ask how vulnerability is experienced and managed during pregnancy and what this implies for the design of a digital record. Using ethnographic methods, we engaged with 14 pregnant women in a Danish context. Our analysis finds that vulnerability is multiple, fluid, and often ambivalent, and that attentive, experimental care practices can help navigate it. At the same time, the healthcare system tends to predefine and organize vulnerability and to favor evidence-based assessments and highly structured data, which risks obscuring this complexity. Because vulnerable pregnant women have not been included in the record’s design, we recommend reframing the problem and actively involving these women in development to foster recognition and support better pregnancy trajectories.
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