Open AccessPositive Deviance to Address Health Equity in Quality and Safety in Obstetrics
Author(s) -
Elizabeth A. Howell,
Zainab Ahmed,
Shoshanna Sofaer,
Jennifer Zeitlin
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
clinical obstetrics and gynecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.927
H-Index - 75
eISSN - 1532-5520
pISSN - 0009-9201
DOI - 10.1097/grf.0000000000000472
Subject(s) - medicine , positive deviance , ethnic group , health equity , equity (law) , deviance (statistics) , obstetrics , family medicine , nursing , public health , sociology , statistics , mathematics , anthropology , political science , law
Racial/ethnic disparities persist in obstetrical outcomes. In this paper, we ask how research in obstetrical quality can go beyond a purely quantitative approach to tackle the challenge of health inequity in quality and safety. This overview debriefs the use of positive deviance and mixed methods in others areas of medicine, describes the shortcomings of quantitative methods in obstetrics and presents qualitative studies carried out in obstetrics as well as the insights provided by this method. The article concludes by proposing positive deviance as a mixed methods approach to generate new knowledge for addressing racial and ethnic disparities in maternal outcomes.