About this Research Topic
World Health Organization guidelines promote equity in women’s sexual and reproductive health care through ready access to appropriate, safe, competent, non-judgmental care while informing the development of maternal health policy frameworks, workforce training and practice, and health care delivery supporting the systematic application of evidence-based, decentralized, and relevant models of care.
Acceptable, readily available maternal health care results in more ante- and postnatal attendance, in turn reducing mother and infant mortality and pre-term births and improving healthy infant birth weight and life course outcomes. Access to free/low-fee, data-driven, evidence-based, and locally responsive maternal health care makes a positive difference for families, communities, and societies.
Globally, women continue to experience varied maternal and infant outcomes with underserved women being the most vulnerable to poor outcomes, whether in low-, middle- or high-income countries. Insufficient investment and unsuitable health system policy settings tend towards one-size-fits-all care delivery leading to minimal flexibility for health services to respond to women’s maternal care needs locally.
We are seeking articles that report solutions-based undertakings, or those in process, which address known inequities in maternal health care (e.g. inadequate/inappropriate/inaccessible care) and that aim to improve outcomes for underserved women in any location. Solutions may be: high-level (e.g. policy-led) or highly targeted (e.g. implemented model/s of care); adapted from other known successful innovations; or, uniquely designed for a specific population.
This Research Topic welcomes all types of studies, including original research (qualitative studies, cohort studies, case-control studies, time-series studies, cross-sectional studies), interventions or related protocols, clinical research and trials, meta-analyses and systematic reviews, short reports, and commentaries.
To gather further insights in advancing equity in maternal health care, we welcome articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:
● Evidence-based maternity care principles applied to maternity care policy frameworks.
● Epidemiological analyses (whole of population or specific maternity (sub)populations) which identify where inequities in maternal and infant health outcomes are most prevalent.
● New or redesigned maternal models of care or services, e.g., (localized, generalized, targeted) which address known inequities in the delivery of maternal health care.
● Maternal and infant outcome analyses of targeted/localized/redesigned maternity care services.
● Maternity workforce development and service improvements undertaken to meet the needs of underserved women in a health service/region/jurisdiction.
● Maternity care services redesigned to meet the needs of underserved women and the impact of the changes.
● Processes used to lead maternity care and service redesign (e.g. community consultations) and the process outcomes.
● Novel maternal care and support roles targeting and supporting underserved women’s and babies’ health, social, cultural, and developmental needs towards optimal outcomes.
Acceptable, readily available maternal health care results in more ante- and postnatal attendance, in turn reducing mother and infant mortality and pre-term births and improving healthy infant birth weight and life course outcomes. Access to free/low-fee, data-driven, evidence-based, and locally responsive maternal health care makes a positive difference for families, communities, and societies.
Globally, women continue to experience varied maternal and infant outcomes with underserved women being the most vulnerable to poor outcomes, whether in low-, middle- or high-income countries. Insufficient investment and unsuitable health system policy settings tend towards one-size-fits-all care delivery leading to minimal flexibility for health services to respond to women’s maternal care needs locally.
We are seeking articles that report solutions-based undertakings, or those in process, which address known inequities in maternal health care (e.g. inadequate/inappropriate/inaccessible care) and that aim to improve outcomes for underserved women in any location. Solutions may be: high-level (e.g. policy-led) or highly targeted (e.g. implemented model/s of care); adapted from other known successful innovations; or, uniquely designed for a specific population.
This Research Topic welcomes all types of studies, including original research (qualitative studies, cohort studies, case-control studies, time-series studies, cross-sectional studies), interventions or related protocols, clinical research and trials, meta-analyses and systematic reviews, short reports, and commentaries.
To gather further insights in advancing equity in maternal health care, we welcome articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:
● Evidence-based maternity care principles applied to maternity care policy frameworks.
● Epidemiological analyses (whole of population or specific maternity (sub)populations) which identify where inequities in maternal and infant health outcomes are most prevalent.
● New or redesigned maternal models of care or services, e.g., (localized, generalized, targeted) which address known inequities in the delivery of maternal health care.
● Maternal and infant outcome analyses of targeted/localized/redesigned maternity care services.
● Maternity workforce development and service improvements undertaken to meet the needs of underserved women in a health service/region/jurisdiction.
● Maternity care services redesigned to meet the needs of underserved women and the impact of the changes.
● Processes used to lead maternity care and service redesign (e.g. community consultations) and the process outcomes.
● Novel maternal care and support roles targeting and supporting underserved women’s and babies’ health, social, cultural, and developmental needs towards optimal outcomes.
Keywords: underserved maternity populations, maternal care inequities, maternal health policy, maternity care innovations, maternity workforce development
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
