The role of social risk factors and engagement with maternity services in ethnic disparities in maternal mortality: A retrospective case note review.
retrospective_cohort · Level III
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 35923429.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1016/j.eclinm.2022.101587 and PMC identifier 9340503.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Reasons for ethnic disparities in maternal death in the UK are unclear and may be explained by differences in social risk factors and engagement with maternity services. In this retrospective systematic case note review, we used anonymised medical records from MBRRACE-UK for all Other than White, and White European/Other women plus a random sample of White British/Irish women who died in pregnancy or up to 1 year afterwards from 01/01/2015 to 12/31/2017. We used a standardised data extraction tool developed from a scoping review to explore social risk factors and engagement with maternity services. Of 489 women identified, 219 were eligible for the study and 196 case notes were reviewed, including 103/119 from Other than White groups, 33/37 White European/Other and a random sample of 60/333 White British/Irish. The presence of three or more social risk factors was 11⋅7% (12/103) in Other than White women, 18⋅2% (6/33) for White European/Other women and 36⋅7% (22/60) in White British/Irish women. Across all groups engagement with maternity services was good with 85⋅5% (148/196) receiving the recommended number of antenatal appointments as was completion of antenatal mental health assessment (123/173, 71⋅1%). 15⋅5% (16/103) of Other than White groups had pre-existing co-morbidities and 51⋅1% (47/92) had previous pregnancy problems while women across White ethnic groups had 3⋅2% (3/93) and 33⋅3% (27/81) respectively. Three or more unscheduled healthcare attendances occurred in 60⋅0% (36/60) of White British/Irish, 39⋅4% (13/33) in White European/Other and 35⋅9% (37/103) of Other than White women. Evidence of barriers to following healthcare advice was identified for a fifth of all women. None of the 17 women who required an interpreter received appropriate provision at all key points throughout their maternity care. Neither increased social risk factors or barriers to engagement with maternity services appear to underlie disparities in maternal mortality. Management of complex social factors and interpreter services need improvement. National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Applied Research Collaboration West Midlands.