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Racial Equity in Public Health Policy and Reproductive Health, Rights and Justice

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A special issue of Societies (ISSN 2075-4698).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 November 2021) | Viewed by 27489

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Monica R. McLemore

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Guest Editor

Department of Family Health Care Nursing, Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
Interests: reproductive health, rights, and justice; community engagement

Dr. Jamila Taylor

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Guest Editor

Health Care Reform, The Century Foundation, New York, NY 10004, USA
Interests: reproductive rights and justice; structural barriers of health care; racial and gender disparities in health outcomes; intersections between health care and economic justice

Mrs. Stephanie R. M. Bray

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Black Women Write
Interests: historical fiction; health equity; philanthropy

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The scope of this Special Issue is to highlight and amplify racial equity in public health policy and reproductive health, rights and justice. We seek articles, reviews or concept papers that include but are not limited to: descriptive or creative projects, reports of interventions, proposed actions and/or policy analyses that move individuals and institutions to a greater understanding of health equity.

The focus of this Special Issue is health equity, policy, reproductive health, rights and justice. The scope is to provide descriptive work, creative works and reports of interventions, ideas, and policy solutions geared toward resolving health disparities and inequities.
This issue will usefully supplement the existing literature by centering policy, solutions, and radical ideas yet to be fully embraced that deserve attention and that are evidence-based, but are not scaled or amplified by traditional scholarly publications. We seek changemaking manuscripts that will provide new directions, insights, and opportunities to improve the health of pregnant-capable people, people across the reproductive spectrum, and systems that provide their care.

This Special Issue will collect research studies grounded in reproductive justice to understand reproductive health and rights for people with the capacity to become pregnant. Topics include but are not limited to:

abortion and contraception,
family planning and healthy sexuality
pleasure and consent of sexuality
care for marginalized people
health disparities and inequities
community engaged and embedded health services
health policy research and social interventions

Dr. Monica R. McLemore
Dr. Jamila Taylor
Mrs. Stephanie R. M. Bray
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as conceptual papers are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Societies is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

reproductive health, rights, and justice
health equity
public health

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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16 pages, 1614 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Breastfeeding Awareness and Empowerment (BAE): A Black Women-Led Approach to Promoting a Multigenerational Culture of Health

by Rebecca Duncan, Jabina Coleman, Sharon Herring, Meg Kawan, Christy Santoro, Meghana Atre, Aleigha Mason, Shawana Moore and Aparna Kumar

Societies 2022, 12(1), 28; https://doi.org/10.3390/soc12010028 - 18 Feb 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 3705

Abstract

(1) Background: Critical gaps in the U.S. healthcare system perpetuate adverse reproductive health outcomes for Black people. Grounded in reproductive justice and trauma-informed care, Breastfeeding Awareness and Empowerment (BAE) has developed a program titled BAE Cafe to directly address these gaps by providing community-based lactation and perinatal mental health support. A literature review identified key programmatic gaps, namely, access to knowledge relevant to troubleshooting breastfeeding, peer support, community support and healthcare system support, and system-level factors that impede families and communities from accessing lactation support. (2) Methods: This paper describes BAE Cafe through a group process observation and participant survey. (3) Results: The observation of groups highlighted the core elements of the BAE Cafe model: knowledge, support and mental health support in a peer driven format. Participant survey feedback was overwhelmingly positive and highlighted the critical importance of lactation support for Black women by Black women and BAE’s role in participants’ decisions to continue breastfeeding. (4) Conclusions: BAE Cafe is a replicable, scalable, peer-driven and low-barrier intervention that has the potential to improve outcomes for Black families. Additional research and investment are now needed to assess large-scale implementation to reduce disparities and address health inequity across different contexts and settings. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Racial Equity in Public Health Policy and Reproductive Health, Rights and Justice)

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15 pages, 250 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Doulas, Racism, and Whiteness: How Birth Support Workers Process Advocacy towards Women of Color

by Juan L. Salinas, Manisha Salinas and Megan Kahn

Societies 2022, 12(1), 19; https://doi.org/10.3390/soc12010019 - 30 Jan 2022

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 8810

Abstract

Systemic racism is embedded in healthcare settings and is linked to high maternal mortality rates for Black women in US Society. Doulas, or birth support workers, are uniquely positioned to advocate for women of color going through the birthing process, but little is understood on how doulas come to terms with race, racism, and whiteness in maternal healthcare settings. Using qualitative in-depth interviews with 11 doulas in northeast Florida, this research study found that doulas’ advocacy for maternal justice leads to an intersection with racial justice through their support of minority women clients. Doulas shared stories of racial injustice when they compared their white and Black client experiences, leading to shifting strategies to address racism in maternal healthcare settings. Doulas also grappled with their connection to whiteness through their own identities and interaction with white and minority clients. Many doulas shared a need for anti-racism training and recruitment of Black doulas to meet the needs of women of color going through the birthing process. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Racial Equity in Public Health Policy and Reproductive Health, Rights and Justice)

16 pages, 6048 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Reproductive Justice, Public Black Feminism in Practice: A Reflection on Community-Based Participatory Research in Cincinnati

by Carolette Norwood, Farrah Jacquez, Thembi Carr, Stef Murawsky, Key Beck and Amy Tuttle

Societies 2022, 12(1), 17; https://doi.org/10.3390/soc12010017 - 29 Jan 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 4560

Abstract

Research on reproductive justice has mainly, but not exclusively, appeared in academic literature in the context of grassroots social justice movements and as a theoretical framework for understanding the limitations of “reproductive choice” in the absence of social justice. But how can scholars design research to explore and understand reproductive (in)justice in the real lives of women of color? How can research partnerships between university scholars and community stewards be formed and sustained? What tensions and challenges are inherent in these efforts? And how can we find more equitable ways of sharing research findings and creating change with and not on behalf of our community? This paper reflects on the use of Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) in a reproductive justice research project focused on Black women residing in Cincinnati. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Racial Equity in Public Health Policy and Reproductive Health, Rights and Justice)

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Other

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17 pages, 1958 KiB

Open AccessConcept Paper

Addressing Reproductive Healthcare Disparities through Equitable Carrier Screening: Medical Racism and Genetic Discrimination in United States’ History Highlights the Needs for Change in Obstetrical Genetics Care

by Aishwarya Arjunan, Deanna R. Darnes, Katelynn G. Sagaser and Ashley B. Svenson

Societies 2022, 12(2), 33; https://doi.org/10.3390/soc12020033 - 24 Feb 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 7288

Abstract

Carrier screening, a nearly half-century old practice, aims to provide individuals and couples with information about their risk of having children with serious genetic conditions. Traditionally, the conditions for which individuals were offered screening depended on their self-reported race or ethnicity and which conditions were seen commonly in that population. This process has led to disparities and inequities in care as the multi-racial population in the U.S. has grown exponentially, yet databases used to determine clinical practice guidelines are made up of primarily White cohorts. Technological advancements now allow for pan-ethnic expanded carrier screening (ECS), which screens for many conditions regardless of self-reported race or ethnicity. ECS presents a unique opportunity to promote equitable genetic testing practices in reproductive medicine. However, this goal can only be achieved if we acknowledge and appreciate the innumerable inequities evidenced in reproductive medicine and other socio-legal practices in the United States, and if we intentionally work in concert with healthcare providers, policy makers, advocates, and community health champions to reduce current and future reproductive health disparities. Herein, we provide a brief review of the way that US medical racism and genetic discrimination has shaped the current landscape of carrier screening. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Racial Equity in Public Health Policy and Reproductive Health, Rights and Justice)

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