The pandemic has increased demand for data and accountability to decrease maternal health inequity

The pandemic has increased demand for data and accountability to decrease maternal health inequity

Collection:
Health Policy and Services Research
Series Title(s):
Maternal health inequity during the COVID-19 pandemic
Author(s):
Taylor, Kimá Joy, author
Benatar, Sarah, author
Contributor(s):
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, issuing body.
Urban Institute, issuing body.
Publication:
[Washington, DC] : Urban Institute, November 2020
Language(s):
English
Format:
Text
Subject(s):
Data Collection
Healthcare Disparities
Maternal Health
Minority Health
Prenatal Care
Social Responsibility
COVID-19
United States
Genre(s):
Technical Report
Abstract:
The United States is facing a maternal mortality crisis that has been particularly acute for women of color. Black and indigenous women are two to three times more likely to experience worse maternal health outcomes than white women. Increasingly, structural racism is recognized as a key driver of maternal health inequities. This extends to systems and organizations that provide perinatal care5 and wraparound health and social services for pregnant and postpartum women with low incomes,6 many of whom are at highest risk of poor maternal health outcomes. These services and supports are funded through a patchwork of public and private sources that are often stretched thin, leaving critical gaps that perpetuate maternal health inequities. And the COVID-19 pandemic has put even more strain on these resources and exacerbated those inequities. In this brief, part of a larger series on COVID-19 and maternal health equity, we draw on interviews with maternal care stakeholders and available literature and reports to assess if and how our current data systems provide the information needed to track inequities in maternal health outcomes, as well as what data collection efforts must be prioritized to establish accountability and reduce inequities.
Copyright:
Reproduced with permission of the copyright holder. Further use of the material is subject to CC BY-NC-DC license. (More information)
Extent:
1 online resource (1 PDF file (9 pages))
NLM Unique ID:
9918266093306676 (See catalog record)
Permanent Link:
http://resource.nlm.nih.gov/9918266093306676