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Review
. 2017 Aug;41(5):266-272.
doi: 10.1053/j.semperi.2017.04.002. Epub 2017 Jul 21.

Improving hospital quality to reduce disparities in severe maternal morbidity and mortality

Elizabeth A Howell  1 , Jennifer Zeitlin  2
Affiliations
Review

Improving hospital quality to reduce disparities in severe maternal morbidity and mortality

Elizabeth A Howell et al. Semin Perinatol. 2017 Aug.

Abstract

Significant racial/ethnic disparities in maternal morbidity and mortality exist in the United States. Black women are 3-4 times more likely to die a pregnancy-related death as compared with white women. Growing research suggests that hospital quality may be a critical lever for improving outcomes and narrowing disparities. This overview reviews the evidence demonstrating that hospital quality is related to maternal mortality and morbidity, discusses the pathways through which these associations between quality and severe maternal morbidity generate disparities, and concludes with a discussion of possible levers for action to reduce disparities by improving hospital quality.

Keywords: Disparities; Quality; Severe maternal morbidity.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Pathways Linking Hospital organization and Quality to Disparities in Severe Maternal Morbidity and Mortality
Fig 2
Fig 2
Hospital quality and severe maternal morbidity: structural factors
Figure 3
Figure 3
Distribution of delivery rates by race. Adapted from Howell EA et al. Am J Obstet Gynecol 2016. OI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ajog.2016.05.007
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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