Cultural Practices, Knowledge, and Beliefs of Newborn Care and Health-Seeking in Rural Zambia by Julie M. Buser A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Nursing) in the University of Michigan 2019 Doctoral Committee: Professor Jody R. Lori, Chair Professor Carol Boyd Assistant Professor Andrew Jones Assistant Professor Cheryl Moyer Julie M. Buser
[email protected] ORCID iD: 0000-0002-0346-0710 © Julie M. Buser 2019 DEDICATION This dissertation is dedicated to the women, health workers, and community members in rural Zambia who participated in the focus group, case series, and quasi-experimental studies. I appreciate your openness and willingness to share your experience and knowledge. For the mothers and newborns – wishing you bright futures. Thank you to my family, friends, and classmates for your unconditional support. ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Thank you to my dissertation committee for their valuable support. I appreciate the trusted mentorship and advice provided by Dr. Jody Lori throughout my doctoral journey. Her dedication to global maternal health is inspirational. I am thankful to Dr. Carol Boyd for sharing her wealth of knowledge about nursing research. I sincerely appreciate Dr. Cheryl Moyer for providing insightful feedback. I am also grateful to Dr. Andrew Jones for the diverse point of view he contributed as the cognate member of my committee. I would like to thank my advisor at the University of Zambia, Dr. Alice Ngoma-Hazemba, for providing leadership in my research endeavors. I also appreciate the collaborative relationships developed with representatives from the Zambian Ministry of Health, particularly Dr.