A Qualitative Research Study of Structural and Institutional Racism in Health Care for Black Birthing People

The research team at the University of Minnesota will utilize a mixed-methods approach to identify the elements of structural and institutional racism salient to the lived experiences of Black birthing people in three regions: Allegheny County, Pa.; Sacramento, Calif.; and Hennepin and Ramsey Counties, Minn. Central to this work is conducting Sister Circles (focus groups) with 90 Black birthing people across the three regions, holding the groups throughout participants’ pregnancies and postpartum periods. Findings from these activities will allow the project team to refine a conceptual model describing the ways in which structural and institutional racism, together and separately, lead to inequities in maternal and infant health and reproductive health care delivery.