Giving birth in states with high nurse workforce diversity is tied to significantly reduced risks of adverse maternal outcomes, according to a recent study from researchers at Columbia University in New York City.
Using U.S. birth certificate data from 2017 as well as data from the American Community Survey, researchers compared state-level nurse workforce diversity to the rates of severe adverse maternal outcomes during childbirth, such as eclampsia, blood transfusion and hysterectomy.
State-level nurse workforce diversity was categorized into three groups: low (3.3 to 14 percent of registered nurses are racial and ethnic minorities); intermediate (14 percent to 32 percent); and high (32 to 68 percent). The average proportion of RNs who were racial and entnic minorities was 22 percent.
The findings, published July 10 in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology Maternal-Fetal Medicine, showed giving birth in states with the highest nurse diversity was tied to a 32 percent reduced risk of adverse maternal outcomes for white mothers, 20 percent for Black mothers, 31 percent for Hispanic mothers and 50 percent for Asian and Pacific Islander mothers.
"Our study provides robust evidence to support the recommendation to diversify the healthcare workforce as a strategy for addressing racial and ethnic disparities in maternal health outcomes," said Guohua Li, MD, DrPH, study author and professor of anesthesiology and epidemiology at Columbia Mailman School of Public Health in New York City. "We hope this research will help facilitate the development of intervention programs to reduce racial and ethnic disparities in maternal health outcomes."