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UTA Investigators Find Critical Gap in Severe Maternal Morbidity Research
The United States is facing a maternal mortality crisis. Researchers at The University of Texas at Arlington want to know what can be done in the nurse work environment to make a difference, and they are calling to action their fellow researchers to explore this topic as well.
Two College of Nursing and Health Innovation researchers and a graduate student in the CONHI public health master’s program, in collaboration with UTA Libraries, recently conducted the first known systematic review of research on the association between the nursing work environment and preventable severe maternal morbidity in high-income countries. Their findings were published in the Journal of Advanced Nursing. Severe maternal morbidity includes unexpected outcomes of labor and delivery that result in significant short- or long-term consequences to a woman’s health (e.g., preeclampsia, obstetric hemorrhage).
The authors, Kyrah Brown, assistant professor in public health, Jessica Smith, assistant professor in nursing, RaeAnna Jeffers, health sciences librarian, and Claudy Jean Pierre, public health master’s student, found there was little research that looks at the links between severe maternal morbidity and the nursing environment, such as staffing and nurse management. There was research on surgical mortality, general adult patient outcomes, but they found a significant gap in the literature when it comes to maternal morbidity in high-income countries.
“It was important to us that we looked at maternal morbidity in high-income countries, because many of the factors driving these outcomes in high-income countries are different than those in low- and middle-income countries. We wanted to explore, why then is the U.S. not doing well compared to its peer countries in maternal health outcomes, but first, we need to know what has already been discovered, and surprisingly, little has been,” said Brown.
This is particularly important, as the nurse work environment is known to be associated with general patient health outcomes, but there is limited knowledge about how it influences maternal health outcomes. Furthermore, this is something that could be adjusted or altered to target interventions that could improve those outcomes. This is why their article calls to action future nursing research and practice, as more needs to be researched about the impact or changes that could make a difference in maternal mortality or severe maternal morbidity.
“Components of the work environment, including nursing management and staffing, are modifiable. And there is a lot that could be done right now, as those in hospital systems could look at measuring the work environment, use internal data to look for associations, and other strategies. We would like to see nurse scientists begin to research this topic. We think better nurse work environments could result in improved maternal health outcomes, but more research is needed,” said Smith.
What’s next for the researchers is still being considered. There is interest in possibly a pilot study, but they are just beginning to explore their next route with the publication of this important review.
The United States is facing a maternal mortality crisis. Researchers at The University of Texas at Arlington want to know what can be done in the nurse work environment to make a difference, and they are calling to action their fellow researchers to explore this topic as well.
Two College of Nursing and Health Innovation researchers and a graduate student in the CONHI public health master’s program, in collaboration with UTA Libraries, recently conducted the first known systematic review of research on the association between the nursing work environment and preventable severe maternal morbidity in high-income countries. Their findings were published in the Journal of Advanced Nursing. Severe maternal morbidity includes unexpected outcomes of labor and delivery that result in significant short- or long-term consequences to a woman’s health (e.g., preeclampsia, obstetric hemorrhage).
The authors, Kyrah Brown, assistant professor in public health, Jessica Smith, assistant professor in nursing, RaeAnna Jeffers, health sciences librarian, and Claudy Jean Pierre, public health master’s student, found there was little research that looks at the links between severe maternal morbidity and the nursing environment, such as staffing and nurse management. There was research on surgical mortality, general adult patient outcomes, but they found a significant gap in the literature when it comes to maternal morbidity in high-income countries.
“It was important to us that we looked at maternal morbidity in high-income countries, because many of the factors driving these outcomes in high-income countries are different than those in low- and middle-income countries. We wanted to explore, why then is the U.S. not doing well compared to its peer countries in maternal health outcomes, but first, we need to know what has already been discovered, and surprisingly, little has been,” said Brown.
This is particularly important, as the nurse work environment is known to be associated with general patient health outcomes, but there is limited knowledge about how it influences maternal health outcomes. Furthermore, this is something that could be adjusted or altered to target interventions that could improve those outcomes. This is why their article calls to action future nursing research and practice, as more needs to be researched about the impact or changes that could make a difference in maternal mortality or severe maternal morbidity.
“Components of the work environment, including nursing management and staffing, are modifiable. And there is a lot that could be done right now, as those in hospital systems could look at measuring the work environment, use internal data to look for associations, and other strategies. We would like to see nurse scientists begin to research this topic. We think better nurse work environments could result in improved maternal health outcomes, but more research is needed,” said Smith.
What’s next for the researchers is still being considered. There is interest in possibly a pilot study, but they are just beginning to explore their next route with the publication of this important review.