Racial residential segregation, neighborhood disorder, and racial discrimination among black pregnant women.
Emily Dove-Medows, Dawn P Misra, Lindsey McCracken and 1 others
PMID 35238414WHAT IT FOUND
Among 27 Black pregnant women, survey answers and interview accounts often disagreed about segregation, neighborhood disorder, and discrimination.
Interviews revealed experiences some did not report on surveys, so asking open questions may capture stressors that surveys miss.
Key findings
01For racial discrimination, 20 of 27 women gave consistent accounts on the survey and interview, but 7 participants disagreed; five reported no discrimination on the scale yet described experiences in interview.
02Fifteen participants had neighborhood disorder scores consistent with their interview descriptions, and a participant with a high disorder score still said she felt safe.
03Thirteen women's interview descriptions matched their survey answer about racial residential segregation, while ten diverged and four had missing data.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
Final analysis included 27 women, after nine were excluded for missing qualitative data, eight for inadequate key data, and one for pregnancy loss. The study did not measure preterm birth outcomes. Interviews were conducted by White female researchers who did not share the participants' race, which may have limited disclosure. The segregation interview questions were novel and not drawn from published literature. The sample was mostly low income, never married, and had limited education, so results may not apply to other Black pregnant women. The analysis did not explore relationships between income, relationship status, or gestational age at first interview. Data were collected in 2019 and compared survey answers with interview accounts, so the study cannot show cause.
Declared interests
The paper is tagged as NIH extramural research support. The supplied text has no conflict-of-interest statement.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that neighborhood disorder or discrimination caused preterm birth in these women. The study did not report preterm birth outcomes, and it compared survey answers with interview accounts.