| Abstract
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In Israel, a country with one of the highest birthrates in the western world and a religious-secular divide, Israeli Jewish midwives conduct the majority of deliveries for different groups of Jews as well as other cultures. The purposes of this first descriptive intra-cultural study were to measure Israeli midwives' general cultural competence, ethnic attitudes concerning Orthodox Jewish couples in labor and delivery, and the relationship of background data with cultural competence and ethnic attitudes. Thirty Israeli midwives employed in the labor and delivery units at a major hospital system in Jerusalem, and who identified themselves as Secular, Traditional or Religious Jews, comprised the sample. Campinha-Bacote's Inventory for Assessing the Process of Cultural Competence Among Healthcare Professionals - Revised (IAPCC-R), Rooda's Ethnic Attitude Scale (EAS), adapted for this study with 4 Israeli Jewish scenarios, and a Midwifery Demographic Survey were used to collect data. Midwives were “culturally aware” on Campinha-Bacote's continuum of culturally incompetent, culturally aware, culturally competent, and culturally proficient with results consistent with previous research of groups with no cultural education courses. Although not differing by groups based on extent of religious observance, midwives differed significantly among Secular, Traditional, Religious, and Ultra-Orthodox scenarios demonstrating the most negative attitudes and highest bias scores toward the Ultra-Orthodox religious scenario. Research of cultural competence and ethnic attitudes of other midwives in Israel is recommended. If results are replicated, further recommendations would be to establish educational and practice content with clinical experiences to achieve an outcome of cultural competence and improved ethnic attitudes of midwives.
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