Becoming an Antiracist Neonatal Community

Area of Science:

• Perinatal and neonatal health
• Health equity research
• Healthcare disparities

Background:

• Documented racial and ethnic disparities exist in maternal and infant outcomes.
• Growing awareness of the need to challenge implicit bias and dismantle racism in healthcare.
• Urgent need to address health inequities within the perinatal/neonatal population.

Purpose of the Study:

• To summarize existing health inequities in the perinatal/neonatal population.
• To offer strategies for improving health equity by challenging bias.
• To promote diversity within healthcare settings.

Main Methods:

• Review of literature on health disparities in perinatal/neonatal care.
• Identification of strategies to initiate conversations about health equity.
• Analysis of methods to challenge bias and increase diversity in healthcare.

Main Results:

• Transformative leaders must understand evidence on health disparities.
• Understanding social drivers of inequity is crucial for influencing change.
• Identifying actionable solutions is key to addressing systemic issues.

Conclusions:

• Heightened awareness and examination of implicit bias can improve infant and family care.
• Continued research and quality improvement efforts are essential for advancing health equity.
• Future research should prioritize social determinants of health over biological factors in preterm birth and complications.