The Context Sets the Stage: Writing the Setting and Relevant Context Section in a Research Manuscript

Abstract

The context in which lactation research takes place matters in many ways. We live in a world with a broad array of local customs and beliefs, and great variety in how infants and their parents choose to breastfeed, where they seek help, and how much access they have to available support services. I am sure it will take many years before we are truly aware of all the upheaval this constant change has caused for the globe, our nations, our communities, and our lives. The diversity in contextual situations affects the nature of the research that is conducted; therefore, the evidence-base that clinicians, educators, and program planners use to inform their work also is affected.Traditionally, the major philosophy underlying quantitative research has focused on removing as many contextual factors as possible, creating as objective a research environment as possible (Polit & Beck, 2020). "In the world of evidence-based medicine, all too often context has been relegated to the lowly status of a constant or assumed to be 'controlled for' (a euphemism for disregarded) in some way" (Bate, 2014, p.4). This traditional approach has worked well in laboratory environments, but not so well in the real-world circumstance (Bate, 2014;Polit & Beck, 2020) in which most lactation research takes place.