Improving Equity in Birth Outcomes, a Community-based, Culturally-centered Approach
PROJECT SUMMARY: For African American women, prenatal care often fails to account for the need of culturally focused care that considers the role of institutional and interpersonal racism in their day-to-day experiences and encounters in the health care system. This study seeks to test the hypothesis that access to culturally focused care is a predictor of improved health outcomes, including family cohesion and empowerment, and management of psychosocial stress during pregnancy. Understanding and documenting best practices for culturally centered prenatal care is a secondary goal of this project.
IN ACTION: Follow the new blog series, “Toward a Better Birth for All Women,” which will illuminate aspects of racial equality in childbirth and highlight promising practices to ensure access to a safe, empowering, healthy, and positive birth for all people.
TEAM MEMBERS
[Pictured from Left to Right]
- Katy Kozhimannil, PhD, MPA, Associate Professor, Division of Health Policy and Management, University of Minnesota School of Public Health, Minneapolis, Minnesota
- Rachel Hardeman, PhD, MPH, Assistant Professor, Division of Health Policy and Management, University of Minnesota School of Public Health, Minneapolis, Minnesota
- Rebecca Polston, CPM, LM, Certified Professional Midwife and Founder, Roots Community Birth Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota