Doctoral Dissertation Research: Socio-demographic variation in experiences of maternal healthcare in relation to conceptions of health crisis

Maternal mortality has decreased significantly over the last century, yet remains highly variable, impacting how people understand and experience maternal healthcare. Significant research has shed light on how factors such as proximity to healthcare and socioeconomic status impact maternal health. Yet, maternal characteristics intersect with numerous other sociological variables and histories to impact how they use and experience maternal healthcare. This doctoral dissertation research investigates how variation in concepts of maternal health crises affects how women intersect with mainstream and alternative forms of healthcare. It trains a graduate student in scientific cultural anthropology theory and methods and disseminates findings broadly to academic and policy audiences. The researcher investigates how clinicians and patients understand concepts of maternal health crises and how this impacts delivery of and experiences of care. Using interviews and participant observation, the investigator asks: how individual factors intersect to affect patient experiences; how clinicians’ understandings of crises impact maternal healthcare; and how patient and clinician experiences intersect in shaping maternal health outcomes. The project is responsive to recent calls to investigate how perceptions of public health articulate with patient experiences in driving health and welfare among mothers. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.