Improving Maternal Outcomes for Croydon BME Women – A Mixed Methods Approach
No Thumbnail Available
Authors
J Griffith
A Brown
Contact
Check for full-text access
Issue Date
2025
Type
Abstract
Language
Keywords
Alternative Title
Abstract
Introduction: BME women in Croydon suffer poorer maternal health outcomes which affects their lives and the life of their newborns. As BME women are categorised within underserved communities, they experience health inequalities such as poorer physical and mental health, reduced enjoyment and overall quality of life in comparison to their counterparts. They are also less engaged in clinical research, making it more difficult to inform healthcare services on how to improve their health outcomes. In recognition of the need for equity, Croydon BME Forum, CBMEF’s Maternity project focuses on addressing the barriers Croydon BME women face when accessing these services.
The first phase of the project highlighted the main issues affecting BME women during their pregnancy when accessing maternal healthcare services. This includes a lack of guidance and support during pregnancy (especially for new mothers), difficulty accessing their GP and lack of trust in the NHS. They also highlighted the need for a Community Health Champion to support their journey and facilitate two-way communication between them and the NHS.
In this second phase of the project, we aim to uncover the reasons why these issues are occurring and how they can be addressed using a mixed methods approach, collecting qualitative and quantitative data. This project employs a newly recruited Community Health Champion as an outcome for the first phase of the project as well as a steering group to help improve engagement from the Croydon BME women with maternal healthcare services and clinical research. Continuous evaluation will inform the project as to how to best engage BME women in this research project going forward and beyond.
Aim: Exploring the reasons for these barriers and what can be done about these issues to improve maternal health outcomes for Croydon BME women.
Methods: This research project utilises a mixed methods approach to identify the reasons for these barriers and potential solutions suggested by BME women to address these issues. Data is being collected by conducting focus groups, surveys, interviews and will be used to produce reports and case studies.
Results: The key findings to date are outlined below.
Reasons for issues:
• Did not feel listened to
• Not enough time during their appointment
• Lack of guidance regarding their pregnancy and navigational of maternal health services
Potential solutions:
• Improve guidance and support through pregnancy and postnatal, especially for those new to motherhood
• Better cultural competence training of staff
• Better communication from staff – more empathy, respect, time, kindness
• More time for appointments
Recommendations & Next Steps:
Recommendations from this research to date include: a more targeted approach to reach more BME women who are pregnant and postnatal; case studies to gain a more indepth understanding; co-design resources with the community that provide guidance on pregnancy, maternal healthcare services and local community organisations/ other maternal services. BME women have also expressed the need for additional ongoing support where the Community Health Champion, through training of midwives, will be able to provide additional 1:1 support for those who are pregnant including non-clinical advice and signposting to specific local community groups. Through further research and providing support this project will help empower BME women for their pregnancy and motherhood.
Description
RESEARCH POSTER PRESENTATION WINNER (2025)