Date of Conferral

4-16-2026

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Health Sciences

Advisor

Magdeline Aagard

Abstract

Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller women (GRT) in the United Kingdom face persistent maternal health disparities and show poor engagement with healthcare services. Exclusion, discrimination, and a lack of cultural competence from healthcare professionals contribute to poor health outcomes including preterm births; and GRT women have more babies born with congenital anomalies than non-GRT women in the United Kingdom. The purpose of this focused ethnographic qualitative study was to explore how self-identified GRT women living in the United Kingdom experienced maternal care and how cultural identity and social structures influenced their interactions with healthcare providers based on Madeleine Leininger’s cultural care theory. Data were collected via semistructured interviews from 14 participants who self-identified as GRT and who had given birth at least once in the United Kingdom in the past 3 years. Findings showed that participants defined maternal health as a culturally learned sense of maternal responsibility that existed within a family led system that operated alongside U.K. National Health Services. Participants described their experiences with maternal health services as a series of conditional care actions shaped by perceived stigma (fear of judgment), surveillance (feeling scrutinized by systems and professionals), and familiarity (greater ease when care felt known and continuous). Together, these factors shaped whether encounters felt respectful and whether participants felt safe asking questions and following care plans. The analysis identified information that healthcare professionals can use to deliver culturally congruent care, which may improve maternal health outcomes.

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