Respond to the following discussion post please:
Over the length of this course, I have learned about various cultural disparities in healthcare that can significantly impact practice as an Advanced Practice Nurse (APN). One of the disparities that has really stuck with me is the increased mortality in Black birthing women. I wrote my Health Disparity paper on this topic and was truly astonished. I have spent six years working with women and children and although I knew this was obviously an issue, I was shocked by how grim the statistics were. According to the statistics emphasized by Hoyert, (2023) “in 2021, 1,205 women died of maternal causes in the United States with a mortality rate of 32.9 deaths for 100,000 live births. In 2020, there were 861 deaths with a rate of 23.8. In 2019 there were 754 deaths with a rate of 20.1. For Black women in 2021, the maternal mortality rate was a shocking 69.9”. These statistics significantly help to illustrate the worsening of this disparity and the great need for intervention. These mortality rates among Black birthing women have become a pressing concern in healthcare discussions, shedding light on a concerning trend known as maternal mortality. This disparity underscores a critical issue wherein Black mothers experience higher rates of death related to pregnancy or childbirth when compared to their white counterparts. These grim statistics show that Black birthing women are 243% more likely to die from pregnancy related complications when compared White birthing women (CDC, 2022).
When conducting the research on this disparity, I found the findings to be extremely useful to apply to my current and future practice. As a current nurse in a Neonatal ICU in a large metropolitan area, we see and discuss this disparity to try and find way to improve it. Although I am not seeing the mothers as firsthand patients, we do see a great amount of premature and low birthweight infants due to this disparity. Learning this information from these authors and researchers, I have learned what is necessary to take these usable findings with me into future practice. Proposed measures include addressing implicit bias and promoting cultural sensitivity within the healthcare industry. Acknowledging and then confronting the shocking influence of structural racism on health outcomes is the first and most essential step (Njoku et al., 2023). Having this knowledge is immensely useful. As a future psychiatric metal health nurse practitioner, I will take the importance of these efforts into my future practice to help resolve this disparity.
References
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (2022). Working together to reduce black maternal mortality. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Retrieved February 27, 2024, from https://www.cdc. gov/healthequity/features/maternal-mortality/index.html
Njoku, A., Evans, M., Nimo-Sefah, L., & Bailey, J. (2023). Listen to the whispers before they become screams: addressing Black maternal morbidity and mortality in the United States. Healthcare, 11(3), 438. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare11030438
Hoyert, D. L. (2023). Maternal mortality rates in the United States, 2021. https://doi.org/10.15620/cdc:124678
less
