Research Experiences of Non-White Postpartum Women

Understanding barriers to the participation of non-White postpartum women in medical research is needed to achieve maternal health equity.

The objective of this study was to assess research experiences of non-White postpartum women.

This was a cross-sectional, mixed-methods study with a qualitative component. Participants completed a questionnaire using rating scales with options including "not at all," "a little bit," "moderately," "very much," and "extremely," assessing their research experiences. They also completed the PROMIS-29 Profile, version 2.1. Inclusion criteria were non-White race, Hispanic ethnicity, age 18 years or older, delivery of a term infant, and English-speaking. Results were analyzed using descriptive statistics.

Between July 2024 and October 2024, 64 women were invited to participate; 48 opted in (75.0% response rate) at a median (±SE) of 17± 3.6 days postpartum. Of these, 18 (37.5%) had previously been approached for medical research participation. They cited "benefitting my community/people like me" (85.0%) and monetary compensation (88.1%) as motivators to participate. Four women (22.0%) had declined participation when approached. All 48 noted that none of the research team was the same race as themselves. A large majority (90.0%) of those who had never been approached reported they would be more likely to participate in studies benefitting children like theirs and if the researcher were concordant in race and/or sex with themselves (60.0%). More than 75.0% endorsed being at least "moderately" likely to participate in future research.

Although the majority of non-White, postpartum women report never having been approached for medical research, most were enthusiastic about participation. Motivators included a perceived benefit for children/communities like theirs and researchers of concordant race/sex.