PhD Student New York University Rory Meyers College of Nursing New York, New York, United States
Full Description: This poster session will describe the process and the outcome of working with racially and ethnically diverse maternal health advocates across New York City to develop a model for a maternal health continuum of care in the city. This work was a part of a collaboration between the New York Academy of Medicine (NYAM) and the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (NYC DOHMH) to address the maternal health crisis in NYC, where Black non-Latina mothers are eight times more likely to die from a pregnancy-related cause than white non-Latina mothers. Data were gathered through a literature review, community conversations with residents and a variety of lay and professional maternal health providers, and interviews with community-based organizations, birthing hospitals, and DOHMH staff. This work identified the need to develop and promote a continuum of care in maternal health to display and emphasize the cyclical stages of an individual’s maternal health and to describe the roles and influences of formal and informal caregivers, public and social services, and organizations on maternal health. This poster session is an ideal format to display the matrix model adapted from the Mothupi et al. (2018) and Kerber et al. (2007) continuum of care models. The model visually represents the qualitative and literature review findings across reproductive phases where adolescent and preconception health, pregnancy, childbirth, the postpartum period, and family and child health represent cyclical phases of a birthing person’s life. Consistent with the conference’s theme of reflection to reshape the future of maternal health, the model includes community-driven reflections on maternal health and hopes and dreams to address the intersecting environmental, social, political, and cultural forces impacting outcomes. It includes the phase-based roles of caregivers, families and support persons, organizations, public services, and birthing facilities to best support maternal health. Within the model we identified overlapping concepts that influenced many, if not all, of the reproductive life phases: (1) the desire for communication around sexual health, reproductive life planning, and reproductive autonomy to be unbiased and destigmatized (2) improved access to reproductive health education and screening, (3) the need to acknowledge and eradicate systemic racism and its impact on maternal health outcomes, (3) easier access to services that support health and wellness such as health insurance, safe housing, and nutrition programs, (4) healthcare provider curricula that teach anti-racism, cultural humility, and the impact of the social determinants of health, and (5) policies that support maternal health and self-sufficiency for all birthing persons. In addition, the model displays aspirations and needs specific to one area of maternal health, acknowledging the influence of every relationship, organization, and service on maternal health outcomes.