Arkansas has the largest population of Marshallese Pacific Islanders residing in the continental United States. Marshallese are disproportionately burdened by poorer maternal and infant health outcomes. Exclusive breastfeeding can prevent or help mitigate maternal and infant health disparities. However, exclusive breastfeeding among United States Marshallese communities remains disproportionately low, and the reasons are not well documented. This paper describes the protocol of a mixed-methods concurrent triangulation longitudinal study designed to explore the beliefs and experiences that serve as barriers and/or facilitators to exclusive breastfeeding intention, initiation, and duration among Marshallese mothers in northwest Arkansas. The mixed-methods design collects qualitative and quantitative data during simultaneous data collection events, at third trimester, six weeks postpartum, and six months postpartum. Quantitative and qualitative data will be analyzed separately and then synthesized during the interpretation phase. The research team will disseminate results to study participants, research stakeholders, the broader Marshallese community, and fellow researchers. Findings and results will be presented in subsequent manuscripts upon completion of the study. This study will be an important first step to better understand beliefs and experiences to exclusive breastfeeding intention, initiation, and duration in this community and will inform tools and interventions to help improve health outcomes. The study will also aid in filling the gap in research and providing essential information on the infant feeding beliefs and barriers among a Marshallese community in Arkansas.

中文翻译：

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美国马绍尔婴儿喂养信念和经验的混合方法纵向研究：研究方案

阿肯色州是居住在美国大陆的马绍尔太平洋岛民人数最多的州。马绍尔人因母婴健康状况不佳而承受不成比例的负担。纯母乳喂养可以防止或帮助减轻母婴健康差异。然而，美国马绍尔社区的纯母乳喂养比例仍然偏低，其原因尚无详细记载。本文描述了一项混合方法并发三角测量纵向研究的协议，该研究旨在探索作为阻碍和/或促进阿肯色州西北部马绍尔母亲纯母乳喂养意图、开始和持续时间的信念和经验。混合方法设计在同步数据收集事件期间收集定性和定量数据，在孕晚期、产后六周和产后六个月。定量和定性数据将分别进行分析，然后在解释阶段进行合成。研究团队将向研究参与者、研究利益相关者、更广泛的马绍尔社区和其他研究人员传播结果。研究结果和结果将在研究完成后在随后的手稿中呈现。这项研究将是更好地了解该社区对纯母乳喂养意图、开始和持续时间的信念和经验的重要第一步，并将为有助于改善健康结果的工具和干预措施提供信息。该研究还将有助于填补研究空白​​，并提供有关阿肯色州马绍尔社区婴儿喂养信念和障碍的重要信息。