Understanding Investment in Black-led and Black-serving Community-Based Maternal Health Organizations to Address Maternal Mortality in Philadelphia

The OVA (Organized Voices for Action) is a multidisciplinary group of stakeholders with a goal to implement and support innovative citywide interventions that specifically address the leading contributors to maternal mortality in Philadelphia, as identified by the Philadelphia Maternal Mortality Review Committee (MMRC). The Community Investment implementation team was formed to address the MMRC’s recommendation to “Address root causes of health inequity in the health care system,” citing investment in women of color-led Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) as one of the core strategies. Focus groups were conducted following a landscape analysis to identify Black led, Black serving maternal health organizations in Philadelphia. Participants were asked a series of open-ended questions designed to elicit information regarding what investment means to them, barriers to investment, their needs, and successful and unsuccessful experiences collaborating with other organizations. Four key themes emerged through data analysis and following a discussion of key themes, the Community Investment implementation team identified four preliminary ideas for implementation.