Rethinking Bias to Achieve Maternal Health Equity: Changing Organizations, Not Just Individuals. Issue 3 (September 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Green, T.L.; Zapata, J.Y.; Brown, H.W.; Hagiwara, N.
• Is Part Of: Obstetric anesthesia digest. Volume 41:Issue 3(2021)
• Publication Date: 2021-09
• Subjects: Ethics -- Maternal Morbidity and Mortality; Anesthesia in obstetrics -- Periodicals; Anesthesia in obstetrics -- Abstracts -- Periodicals; 617.968205
• DOI: 10.1097/01.aoa.0000765980.42512.b1
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0275-665X

Abstract

Abstract : ( Obstet Gynecol . 2021;137:935–940) Disparities exist in communication with and treatment of black women compared with white women within the health care setting, and biases play a role. Subsequently, black women receive inferior care, significantly impacting risk of maternal morbidity. Strategies and trainings have been put in place to reduce implicit bias and, though well intentioned, no evidence suggests that (1) disparities between black-white health care treatment have lessened and (2) biases and behaviors of health care professionals have been affected long term. These trainings also focus on individual-level biases rather than social-context biases and, therefore, are less effective in a health care setting. As maternal and neonatal outcomes are impacted, it is important to underscore the implicit and explicit biases that occur within health care at large.