Health Management Associates (HMA), working with the Kaiser Family Foundation, recently conducted research and completed five case studies to identify distinct challenges that low-income women face in obtaining reproductive healthcare in five diverse communities, and the key factors contributing to them.
The findings will be the centerpiece of a briefing and roundtable discussion on Thursday, Nov. 14 in Washington, D.C.
HMA colleagues, including Managing Principal Sharon Silow-Carroll, Consultant Carrie Rosenzweig, Principal Rebecca Kellenberg, and Senior Consultant Diana Rodin, contributed to the research through state policy reviews, site visits, and interviews with local stakeholders. The HMA team learned about the experiences of women living in these communities and the reproductive health professionals caring for them.
They engaged participants from various demographics, including populations with historically greater health inequities such as low-income women, African Americans, Native Americans, immigrants, and refugees. Research was conducted in Dallas County (Selma), Alabama; Tulare County, California; St. Louis, Missouri; Crow Tribal Reservation, Montana; and Erie County, Pennsylvania. The selected regions represent urban and rural areas, including regions with limited healthcare resources due to closure and consolidation of family planning providers and hospitals.
The final study and five case studies will be published following the briefing and roundtable discussion.