Quality of Care and Disparities in Obstetrics
2017
This article from Obstetrics and Gynecology Clinics investigates the links between obstetric quality of care and racial and ethnic disparities. Measuring maternal care quality is complex as it involves assessing the care of two separate individuals: the mother and the infant. Improving care requires reducing obstetric interventions that can harm infants and mothers, like delivery, and avoiding suboptimal care. Little research has been conducted investigating the association between obstetric quality and racial and ethnic disparities in maternal health outcomes, through the authors highlighted a handful of studies indicating that populations of color receive care in different and lower-quality hospitals than their white counterparts. One study in New York City found that Black-white differences in delivery location may contribute to as much as 47.7% of the racial disparity in severe maternal morbidity rates in the city. Further, the authors noted that there are few obstetric quality measures used to track and reduce racial and ethnic disparities. There is a need to develop, track, and improve quality measures sensitive to obstetrics disparities, and the authors highlight potential steps to mitigate this need.
Quality of Care and Disparities in Obstetrics
Source:
Howell E, Zeitlin J. Quality of Care and Disparities in Obstetrics. Obstetrics and Gynecology Clinics of North America 2017; 44(1): 13-25. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.ogc.2016.10.002.