An evolving framework that promotes social justice in health care settings when caring for pregnant women and mother's of newborns exposed to substances

Health professionals are reporting greater numbers of mothers and infants affected by addiction in their caseloads. Existing research suggests that previous negative experiences with the health care system whereby mothers felt judged have led to mistrust of the medical community. Addicted mothers are often challenged by economic disadvantage, limited access to health care, and stigmatization within the health and mental health systems. Barriers to effective health care provision are both practical and attitudinal. Moreover, lack of knowledge among caregivers is also cited as a barrier to quality care with this population. This workshop describes a mixed methods research study conducted by researchers representing the disciplines of social work and nursing. The goals of the research were threefold: to better understand mothers' perspectives on the helpfulness of health professionals' caring behaviors; to use this new knowledge to develop quality-based initiatives to better serve this population; and third, to improve health outcomes for infants, including those with Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS) and their mothers. Early findings from this study have thus far contributed to the development of an integrated and interprofessional caring/relational framework (CRF) for building productive relationships with addicted mothers of newborns. The workshop will illustrate application of this evolving framework using a simulation based teaching strategy. Future research and educational strategies targeted at quality based health care will serve as a impetus to promote equity and social justice toward this vulnerable population.