Presentation Information
[aQrq5kgV-06]Maternity Healthcare Professionals' Experience of Pregnant Aadolescent Healthcare-Seeking Behaviour in Brunei Darussalam: A Phenomenological Study
*Siti Khuzaiyah1,2, Khadizah Haji Abdul-Mumin2, Sarena Haji Hashim2 (1. Universitas Muhammadiyah Pekajangan Pekalongan, Central Java, Indonesia (Indonesia), 2. Universiti Brunei Darussalam (Brunei))
Keywords:
adolescent pregnancy,healthcare-seeking behaviour,socio-ecological model,maternity healthcare professionals,hermeneutic phenomenology
[Purpose] This study explored how maternity healthcare professionals (MHCPs) understand and experience pregnant adolescents’ healthcare-seeking behaviour (HSB), and used these insights to inform a context-specific socio-ecological understanding of adolescent HSB in Brunei Darussalam.
[Method] Guided by a constructivist-interpretive paradigm and Van Manen’s hermeneutic phenomenology of practice, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 35 MHCPs, including nurses, midwives, and doctors working in Brunei Darussalam. Data were analysed iteratively using the socio-ecological model (SEM) to organise findings across intrapersonal, interpersonal, social/community, and healthcare system levels. Van Manen’s lifeworld existentials (lived body, lived time, lived space, and lived relation) informed deeper interpretation of participants’ accounts.
[Results] At the intrapersonal level, adolescents’ knowledge, emotional responses, bodily awareness, and developing maternal identity shaped how they interpreted and acted upon pregnancy. Interpersonally, parents and partners often acted as gatekeepers or facilitators of antenatal care access. Socially, gossip, religio-cultural expectations, and community visibility influenced decisions to disclose or conceal pregnancy. At the healthcare system level, service accessibility, clinic practices, and follow-up procedures functioned as both barriers and supports. Healthcare-seeking emerged not as a single decision, but as an ongoing negotiation of legitimacy, risk, and care within a closely connected socio-cultural and institutional context.
[Consideration] Adolescent pregnancy remains a significant public health and social concern in Brunei Darussalam. Despite available maternity services, little is known about how pregnant adolescents navigate and experience healthcare within everyday practice.
[Conclusion] . MHCPs experienced adolescent HSB and antenatal care engagement as complex and multi-layered. Improving service use requires empowering adolescents and families while strengthening adolescent-friendly healthcare systems.
[Method] Guided by a constructivist-interpretive paradigm and Van Manen’s hermeneutic phenomenology of practice, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 35 MHCPs, including nurses, midwives, and doctors working in Brunei Darussalam. Data were analysed iteratively using the socio-ecological model (SEM) to organise findings across intrapersonal, interpersonal, social/community, and healthcare system levels. Van Manen’s lifeworld existentials (lived body, lived time, lived space, and lived relation) informed deeper interpretation of participants’ accounts.
[Results] At the intrapersonal level, adolescents’ knowledge, emotional responses, bodily awareness, and developing maternal identity shaped how they interpreted and acted upon pregnancy. Interpersonally, parents and partners often acted as gatekeepers or facilitators of antenatal care access. Socially, gossip, religio-cultural expectations, and community visibility influenced decisions to disclose or conceal pregnancy. At the healthcare system level, service accessibility, clinic practices, and follow-up procedures functioned as both barriers and supports. Healthcare-seeking emerged not as a single decision, but as an ongoing negotiation of legitimacy, risk, and care within a closely connected socio-cultural and institutional context.
[Consideration] Adolescent pregnancy remains a significant public health and social concern in Brunei Darussalam. Despite available maternity services, little is known about how pregnant adolescents navigate and experience healthcare within everyday practice.
[Conclusion] . MHCPs experienced adolescent HSB and antenatal care engagement as complex and multi-layered. Improving service use requires empowering adolescents and families while strengthening adolescent-friendly healthcare systems.
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