Learning Objective #1: Present the conceptual model that developed from the study

Learning Objective #2: Describe the themes that emerged from the study

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Haitian society is highly patriarchal. Individual lifestyles are influenced and prescribed by paternalistic ideology. Although gender differences in household labor are becoming less pronounced, in previous pilot studies paternalism appears to be an interwoven thread that affects the welfare and freedom rights of Haitian women. According to Cicirelli (1992), paternalism “is the belief that a person may impose a decision on another for the welfare of that individual” (p. 321). This definition supports the notion that males make and execute decision for females. The persistence of paternalism is believed to affect a women's decision to seek health care for a variety of life threatening events. A grounded theory study was conducted in Leogane, Haiti in the summer of 2004 to explore the relationship between paternalism and health seeking behaviors of Haitian women. The exploration of the concept “paternalism” supported the following research questions: RQ1: What are Haitian men and women's knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors regarding health promotion practices? And RQ2: How do Haitian men and women's beliefs about paternalism influence decision making, self care and health seeking behaviors? Several themes emerged from the focus group sessions: The women's session included - suffering, silencing, ciphering, anger/defying; the men's session included - disempowering, demeaning; and the mixed session included - ciphering, and disempowering. In addition a preliminary conceptual model of paternalism emerged. This study provided the basis for developing an understanding of how paternalism is manifested in Haitian society in relation to health seeking behaviors and has led to the preliminary design of a paternalism conceptual model.