Hernandez-Green Natalie, Davis Morgan V, Hernandez-Spalding Kaitlyn, Beshara Merna S, Farinu Oluyemi, Lewis Kennedy, Francis Sherilyn, Baker LeThenia Joy, Byrd Sherrell, Parker Andrea, Chandler Rasheeta
Morehouse School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
Health Equity. 2024 Aug 29;8(1):568-577. doi: 10.1089/heq.2024.0051. eCollection 2024.
In the United States, Black women are three times more likely to be affected by maternal mortality than White women. People who live in rural areas also face an increased risk. The objective of this study was to explore the perspectives of Black postpartum women's support persons and health care providers, and the impact of race and rurality on their roles, to inform the development of a mobile health (mHealth) application focused on postpartum transitional care for rural Black women.
Utilizing a semistructured designed discussion guide, we conducted four focus groups between July 2021 and October 2021. We asked support persons and health care providers to share their opinions about (1) postpartum needs, (2) the current hospital discharge process, (3) gender discrimination and experiences of racism and classism, and (4) suggestions for mobile application development.
Ten health care providers and seven support persons participated in the focus groups. A total of 57.1% of support persons identified themselves as a family member of the mother. In addition, 60% of health care providers indicated they practiced in a rural area at the time. Identified themes included race and rurality, emotional health, participants' roles in relation to mothers' needs, and the importance of technology for accessing information and resources.
When describing their personal experiences, participants emphasized the importance of mHealth technology for helping Black postpartum mothers access health information. Insight from support persons and health care providers highlighted the challenges Black rural mothers face during the postpartum period and how our mobile application can be best utilized to address their needs.
在美国，黑人女性的孕产妇死亡率是白人女性的三倍。生活在农村地区的人也面临着更高的风险。本研究的目的是探讨黑人产后女性的支持人员和医疗保健提供者的观点，以及种族和农村地区对其角色的影响，以为开发一款专注于农村黑人女性产后过渡护理的移动健康（mHealth）应用程序提供信息。
利用半结构化设计的讨论指南，我们在2021年7月至2021年10月期间进行了四个焦点小组讨论。我们要求支持人员和医疗保健提供者分享他们对以下方面的看法：（1）产后需求，（2）当前的医院出院流程，（3）性别歧视以及种族主义和阶级主义的经历，（4）移动应用程序开发的建议。
十名医疗保健提供者和七名支持人员参加了焦点小组讨论。共有57.1%的支持人员表明自己是母亲的家庭成员。此外，60%的医疗保健提供者表示他们当时在农村地区执业。确定的主题包括种族和农村地区、情绪健康、参与者在满足母亲需求方面的角色以及技术在获取信息和资源方面的重要性。
在描述他们的个人经历时，参与者强调了移动健康技术对帮助黑人产后母亲获取健康信息的重要性。支持人员和医疗保健提供者的见解突出了农村黑人母亲在产后期间面临的挑战，以及我们的移动应用程序如何能够得到最佳利用以满足她们的需求。
