A Multi-case Study To Understand The Ways In Which Sociocultural Factors Influence Everyday Creative Contributions In Healthcare And Higher Education By Student Midwives

Student midwives and midwives work in highly demanding, unpredictable and ever-changing environments which require significant emotional involvement and investment in the lives of women, their families and babies. Midwives face constant demand to meet emerging and developing health service needs that require them and the healthcare organisations where they work to be innovative, creatively agile, and responsive. Creativity is imperative for addressing current challenges in maternity care and is strongly associated with individual psychological wellbeing. Existing literature suggests creativity is influenced by sociocultural factors; however, the area remains understudied, particularly in specific contexts, such as in midwifery practice or healthcare education. This matters because understanding factors that motivate, enable or constrain creativity among midwifery students can enable ideas and action that contributes towards or causes change that improves maternity care. This constructivist, qualitative multi-case study explores student midwife perspectives about sociocultural factors that motivate, enable, or constrain everyday creative ideas and contributions in HE or midwifery practice. The purpose of the study is to understand the ways in which the social and cultural context influences student midwife creative contributions to inform midwifery pedagogical practice.
Eight Participants from an undergraduate midwifery programme provided detail about creative ideas shared in university or a healthcare setting during the post-pandemic period in 2023. Case study methodology informed cross-case analysis from four data sources related to each participant, including contextual document sources, diary entries that detailed the creative contributions, follow up questions via email and participant-observer sources.

Data was analysed using Braun and Clarke’s (2021) Reflexive Thematic Analysis and findings were grouped into four themes. The themes are summarised as; the social position of a student midwife influences their sensitivity and courage to act creatively, political and micro-political awareness influences student midwife creative contributions, social connectedness during the pandemic continues to influence student midwife creative contributions and, diversity of opportunity and a holistic focus in HE influences student midwife creative contributions.
The study concludes by outlining the highly contextual nature of sociocultural factors that influence student midwife creative contributions and makes two practice recommendations. Firstly, midwifery teachers should be supported in their personal-professional creative development. Secondly, the study supports specific creative pedagogical practices that include opportunities for sharing ideas, diverse networking and social opportunities in midwifery education, classroom tasks that create uncertainty to prompt and motivate ideas and, facilitation of supportive environments for student midwife creative expression.