Capturing the Voices of Black Women to Impact Policies that Affect Infant Mortality at the Community Level

Background: In 1997, the NJ Department of Health launched a statewide awareness campaign focusing on racial disparities in perinatal outcomes, including a “Black Infants, Better Survival” website and a requirement that physicians obtain cultural competency education, as a condition of licensure.  Funding was dedicated to interventions that reduced the stress levels of Black pregnant women and increased the cultural sensitivity of providers.    

Purpose: In 2013, the Department requested that the Partnership for Maternal and Child Health of Northern New Jersey, a non-profit health agency, conduct Focus Groups with Black women to determine whether the barriers to prenatal and primary care identified over 15 years ago, remained the same. 

Methods: The Partnership conducted Focus Groups reaching a total of 139 Black women.  After a qualitative content analysis of the transcripts, it was apparent that many obstacles currently preventing Black women from obtaining prenatal and primary care were the same as those identified in the 1990’s.  However, while cultural competency was cited as a concern, Focus Group attendees identified their priority concerns as insurance status and affordability of care. 

Conclusion: Focus Group participants identified difficulties in securing health insurance and a timely appointment as significant barriers to care.  A newly identified issue was the transfer of their care from hospital clinics to federally qualified health centers, where specialists were limited and quality of care was questionable.   When these findings were reported to the Department of Health; they shifted their priorities.  In conclusion, community voices influenced government policy and funding decisions.