SIGNALING BEHAVIOR IN STAGE I LABOR TO ELICIT CARE: A CLINICAL REFERENT FOR WIEDENBACH'S NEED-FOR-HELP.
Contributors: Texas Woman's University.
Published: 1988
Number of pages: 215
Subjects: Health Sciences, Nursing.
Description: This exploratory descriptive study, utilizing a naturalistic inquiry design, determined and observable care-eliciting behaviors and their occurrence by women in Stage I labor which signal there is a "need-for-help" (Wiedenbach, 1964) in units of vocal/bodily communication. The convenience sample of 7 healthy women was selected from a hospital population of parturients in Stage I labor, expecting uncomplicated vaginal delivery and receiving no anesthesia. The women were of mixed ethnicities, from 16-36 years old and with 0-13 parity.

The women were observed throughout Stage I labor and their vocal/bodily behaviors were videotaped, using a time-sampling data collection technique. On the day following delivery: (1) the women were interviewed for identification of videotaped segments in which need-for-help was experienced, while simultaneously viewing the segments; and (2) the investigator viewed the labor segments and observable vocal/bodily behaviors were recorded/coded for segments identified by the women wherein need-for-help had occurred, as units of 6 labor communication channels, using the Observational Laboring Behavioral Checklist (Gustafson, 1988).

The resulting description of 1051 units of vocal/bodily units of communication behavior was quantified as frequencies and percentages of biosocial signaling communication (Wilson, 1975). The biosocial approach was that signaling behavior in labor is an adaptive mechanism for species advantage to communicate need-for-help during a vulnerable time when help is crucial. The sample's signaling consisted of 34% Auditory, 60% Visual, 6% Tactile, and no Chemical signals. The women's individual signal patterns were graphically presented for all channels simultaneously and sequentially.

There was a significant difference $\C□$hi square (1, N = 1) = 704.6, p $<$.01$\ □$between signaling frequencies in segments of "inconsistent" (need-for-help present) and "consistent" (no need-for-help present) behavioral segments, supporting the proposition that care-eliciting signaling frequencies are influenced by cognitively experienced need-for-help. The nursing implication was that care-eliciting signaling behaviors in labor by women are an observable, indirect assessment measure of unverbalized need-for-help and diminished coping.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 49-10, Section: B, page: 4230.

Thesis (PH.D.)--TEXAS WOMAN'S UNIVERSITY, 1988.

School code: 0925.