Date of Conferral
2020
Degree
Doctor of Public Health (DrPH)
School
Public Health
Advisor
Patrick Tschida
Abstract
African American women have higher rates of chronic disease including diabetes and cardiovascular related disease compared to White women and are 3 to 4 times more likely to die during childbirth, more than any other ethnic group in the United States. . When African American women become pregnant these conditions may influence their maternal health outcomes. This study aimed to determine difference in pregnancy related death associated with chronic conditions between African American women and White women. Based on secondary/archival data from the Center for Disease Control and Preventions' 2017 National Center for Health Statistics Mortality Multiple Cause Files a binary logistic regression was conducted to assess if diabetes and cardiovascular related disease predicted maternal mortality outcomes. Statistical analysis revealed that a diagnosis of diabetes or cardiovascular related disease was associated with a decreased maternal death outcome. The binary logistic regression revealed that that chronic disease does have an impact on maternal mortality. Overall, a 46% decrease and a 64% decrease in a maternal death outcome were associated with diabetes and cardiovascular related disease diagnosis, respectively. The knowledge of one's chronic disease status was associated with a decreased maternal death outcome. On this basis it is recommended that healthcare providers and public health practitioners make efforts to educate African American women on the importance of health knowledge, pre-pregnancy health, and knowing one's disease status leading to positive social change.
Recommended Citation
Inyang, Glory, "African American Maternal Mortality in the United States: A Quantitative Analysis of Chronic Disease and Maternal Deaths" (2020). Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies. 9751.
https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/9751
