Mothering: The Invisible Work of War

Our current featured article is titled “What About the Next Generation That’s Coming?” The Recontextualization of Mothering Post–Refugee Resettlement by Sarah J. Hoffman, PhD, MPH, MSN, RN and Cheryl L. Robertson, PhD, MPH, RN, FAAN; and Jessica Dockter Tierney, PhD. Visit the ANS website to download your copy of this article at no cost while it is featured.  Here is a message about this work provided by lead author Sarah Hoffman:

The year that I conducted this research, more individuals were living forcibly displaced around the world than at any other point in recorded history. Research describing the vulnerabilities, human rights violations, and challenges individuals, families, and communities encounter across the spectrum of migration is readily accessible. Less available are studies that document the strengths-focused response strategies women refugees engage to navigate systems and experiences associated with displacement. This manuscript, developed to answer questions residing in this gap, is a part of a series of ethnographic case studies documenting perspectives of resilience, identity construction, and mothering as they were described within the narratives of Karen refugee women from Burma. I am currently working on an ethical commentary relevant to this research titled, Reflections on Position, Interpretation, and Meaning in Ethnographic Nursing Research.

I joined University of Minnesota in the fall of 2016 as an Assistant Professor following my completion of the UMN School of Nursing PhD program. As a doctoral student I was a Human Rights minor and an Interdisciplinary Doctoral Fellow with the Human Rights Program and the Institute for Global Studies. Prior to this, I received my BSN, MSN, and MPH at Johns Hopkins University. These opportunities as well as cultural experiences as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Africa, as a human rights intern in Colombia, and through my work with migrant communities in the Twin Cities and refugee camps along the Thai-Burma border, have advanced a personal critical analysis of the influence of power on human health. My research focus includes forced migration, human rights, gender based violence, intergenerational trauma, and the experiences of women migrants.