Thesis (Ph. D.)--Lehigh University, 2006. / Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 256-272).

This masters thesis presents the stories of Doña Eugdocia and Doña Carmen: two parteras empíricas living and working in the area of Estelí, Nicaragua. The stories were constructed from interviews with the parteras empíricas and are influenced by testimonial life history research methods. The stories, complemented by interviews with Traditional Birth Attendant (TBA) trainers, locally available training manuals, and interviews with other parteras empíricas function as a counter-narrative to global (TBA) discourse revealing the important but little understood contributions these women make to their respective communities and health care systems. The stories demonstrate important parallels between the parteras empíricas narrowing role in Nicaragua and global TBA discourse regarding their practices. The stories also dispel the notion of the traditional as signifying incapable of change. Instead, considering the parteras empíricas story within a postcolonial framework using Jordans (an anthropologist) conceptualization of authoritative knowledge demonstrates that the parteras empíricas positioning of biomedicine as authoritative is a survival mechanism and not a devaluation of their own epistemological orientations.

This masters thesis presents the stories of Doña Eugdocia and Doña Carmen: two parteras empíricas living and working in the area of Estelí, Nicaragua. The stories were constructed from interviews with the parteras empíricas and are influenced by testimonial life history research methods. The stories, complemented by interviews with Traditional Birth Attendant (TBA) trainers, locally available training manuals, and interviews with other parteras empíricas function as a counter-narrative to global (TBA) discourse revealing the important but little understood contributions these women make to their respective communities and health care systems. The stories demonstrate important parallels between the parteras empíricas narrowing role in Nicaragua and global TBA discourse regarding their practices. The stories also dispel the notion of the traditional as signifying incapable of change. Instead, considering the parteras empíricas story within a postcolonial framework using Jordans (an anthropologist) conceptualization of authoritative knowledge demonstrates that the parteras empíricas positioning of biomedicine as authoritative is a survival mechanism and not a devaluation of their own epistemological orientations.

N/A (only background that is 10+ pgs)

Thesis (M.P.H.)--University of Hong Kong, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 39-44).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2003. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.A.)--Guo li zheng zhi da xue. / Cover title. Mimeo. copy. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.P.H.)--University of Queensland, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M. Med. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 79-81).

M.A. dissertation, University of Hong Kong, 1974. / Typescript.