The subject of this paper is the use of video as a decolonising tool in ethnographic research into intercultural communication in child and family health settings. Women and children who are migrants or new arrivals to Australia continue to experience health inequities. Communication is at the heart of these problems. In the practice setting, communication is inherently difficult to critique, particularly when working with vulnerable families. We describe how video was used by the first-named author in her doctoral research exploring intercultural communication between child health nurses and mothers who were migrants or new arrivals to South Australia. In particular, we describe how the use of video becomes a decolonising strategy when the focus of critique is placed on the health professional, rather than on a parent from a potentially vulnerable group. Video enables the researcher to bridge the gap between what health professionals say they do, and what they 'actually' do in their practice.

This study describes the experiences of women in rural Bangladesh, and the cultural practices related to how they take care of themselves and their babies, in the early postnatal period. Bourdieu’s concepts of habitus, capital and field for the theoretical framework, and ethnography as the method for this study. Data was gathered through emmersion in the field for six months, participant observation, document collection and in-depth interview techniques to gain deep understanding of women’s everyday lives and practices during the postnatal period. Indepth intereviews were undertaken with 28 mothers who had had at least one live child within the five years before the date of data collection, in Purba Sharifabad village of Barisal Division in Bangladesh. The findings of this study identify some significant issues related to culture playing a huge role in the experiences of women during the postnatal period. The participants received physical, emotional and spiritual care and support from three distinct sources: family, institutions and non-institutions. Rural women felt happy and comfortable receiving support from family members and non-institutional care providers that include the village doctor, homeopaths, traditional birth attendants and spiritual healers, as they trusted and believed in them. Other factors such as familiarity, availability, tradition, poverty and low cost of treatment played a large role in the women receiving care from these sources. In terms of institutional support, rural women did not rely on skilled birth attendants (like doctors and midwives), as their cultural norms, beliefs, lack of education and lack of money and resources restricted them from seeking care and support from these sources during childbirth and the postnatal period. Several reasons were given for this, including poor transportation and long distances to health facilities, fear of doctors and of caesarean sections, the presence of male doctors, the high costs of services, shyness, the practice of purdah (The Muslim tradition of veiling; the term refers to both the practice and the ideology of segregating women from men) and the perceived low quality of care in facilities. The findings show that many women suffer from physical and psychological difficulties after childbirth, which they report as having a negative and long-term effect on their well-being. Rural women experienced a number of physical difficulties during childbirth and the postnatal period, including prolonged labour, retained placenta, perineal pain, vaginal tearing, shaking, fainting, problems feeding and postpartum bleeding. Mothers reported common physical difficulties their newborns experienced such as cold and fever, low birth weight, jaundice and problems defecating. Many of these problems were related to the cultural practices that women followed in the early postnatal period. Women in this study followed the rituals of seclusion during the early postnatal period, which sometimes hampered the prompt recognition of difficulties and the treatment of their babies’ illness by restricting them from seeking care from skilled birth attendants. Therefore, women depended on traditional practices to treat themselves and their babies. Further, women and their babies were not well assessed, counselled or supported by a skilled birth attendant after childbirth, despite the fact that to ensure safe motherhood, an immediate and subsequent assessment is necessary for both mother and baby after birth. Many women described psychological depression caused by several factors, such as family conflict, the absence of their husband, their inability to go to their parents’ house, feeling unhappy about having a baby girl, a lack of family support and financial difficulty, which all negatively affected women’s mental well-being and their daily functioning in the postnatal period. The key findings of this study highlight the role of culture in the experiences of women during the postnatal period, and reveal that cultural practices, beliefs and traditions are deeply embedded in the lives of rural women. This study focuses on cultural practices which have an effect on the choices of women regarding care and support from a healthcare facility. Culture together with poverty and low levels of education leads them to resist healthcare from a skilled birth attendant and encourages them to believe in and trust traditional care practices during childbirth and the postnatal period. Therefore, the findings of this study may contribute to future policies, planning, programmes and research in Bangladesh by providing an understanding of the importance of culturally and socially rooted traditional beliefs and cultural practices. These need to be addressed for maternal and newborn healthcare initiatives to be effective, particularly in rural Bangladesh.

After foods are eaten and broken down into usable elements, nutrients are absorbed and indigestible materials are eliminated. Bowel elimination is the end process in digestion. This chapter describes the structure and function of the large intestine, including the rectosigmoid region and the anus, as well as the assessment of bowel function. The anatomy and physiology of the small intestine are discussed in relation to nutrition in Chapter 21; the information in this chapter is provided as a base for understanding health problems from altered bowel function. In addition, this chapter discusses the function of the small intestine in the absorption of digested end products. Malabsorption (impaired absorption of nutrients) is discussed fully in Chapter 26.

The focus of this book is to provide the reader with knowledge that provides a sound base for clinical judgment. Such knowledge can then be applied in order to provide safe, individualised, and competent nursing care. This easily understood, straightforward Australian edition will help students integrate concepts in pathophysiology, pharmacology and interdisciplinary healthcare interventions. Multiple learning strategies such as audio files, illustrations, videos and animation media have been developed to help the student succeed. The inclusion of boxes, tables, special features, illustrations as well as synthesis and critical thinking exercises help students to build skills for class and clinical learning for practice as a professional nurse.