Date of Award

August 2024

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Arts (DA)

Department

Communication

First Advisor

Soojung Kim

Abstract

This research investigates the determinants of breastfeeding initiation and continuation among African American women in the United States and evaluates the effectiveness of an intervention using WordPress to disseminate culturally relevant breastfeeding information to African American women. First, secondary data from the Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study (FFCWS) was used to test factors influencing breastfeeding initiation and continuation among White and Black women. The results showed that the foreign-born (vs. US-born) status, residing (vs. non-residing) with grandparents, and strong (vs. weak) cultural identity were positively associated with breastfeeding initiation and continuation across racial groups. Based on the secondary data analysis results, culturally tailored breastfeeding information was created using cultural tailoring and social cognitive theory as frameworks. Information was presented in six WordPress blog posts featuring how living with grandparents and maintaining the cultural identity of native countries benefit breastfeeding. Twelve (12) African American women were exposed to six posts for six weeks (i.e., one per week). Among them, ten (10) agreed to participate in in-depth interviews. The thematic analysis of interviews showed that providing culturally relevant breastfeeding information for African American women is useful in empowering women and building a sense of community, which has the potential to increase breastfeeding rates among African American women. Practical and theoretical implications are discussed.

Download

Share

COinS