Doctoral Dissertation Research: Impacts of Midwifery Healthcare Training on Maternal Outcomes

How different health care approaches can address maternal and birth outcomes is important to our understanding of health care inequities and outcomes nationally and globally. This doctoral dissertation research provides a systematic scientific investigation into the different kinds of midwifery training and knowledge that impact maternal and birth outcomes amongst underserved populations. Results from this research advance our understandings of the various networks of maternal care that are most effective in reducing maternal mortality rates and improving birth outcomes. The broader impacts of this study are the training of a graduate student in scientific anthropological methodology. Further, research results will be made available to policymakers, healthcare professionals, and midwifery certification organizations and can be utilized by healthcare professionals and policymakers to improve maternal health initiatives nationally and globally. To analyze the impacts of different health care approaches on maternal and birth outcomes, the investigators use qualitative interviews, participatory immersion, and methods from cognitive anthropology. They test the impacts of various forms of person-centered care on health outcomes. This research contributes to the advancement of scientific knowledge of maternal healthcare systems and to improving health and professional outcomes for both mothers and care practitioners. It makes significant contributions to medical anthropology, the science of public health, and to research on health inequities. 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.