A team co led by a researcher from the College of Arts and Sciences, Cindy Brantmeier, and physicians at Maimonides Medical Center, Brooklyn, New York, are attempting to address communication issues during prenatal care and labor. For Phase One of the study, researchers tailored a self-assessment tool previously utilized with hospitals and clinics in the St. Louis region (Brantmeier, et al 2021) and collected data from 108 physicians in obstetrics and gynecology to help pinpoint the communication breakdowns that occur between language diverse patients and their healthcare providers. Phase Two of the research involves data collection with patients, who are female refugees and immigrants, to better understand expectant mother’s understanding of the provider’s recommendations that may conflict with cultural acceptability of methods as well as the impact of interpreter use. Co PIs for the study are Dr. Thammatat (Juwee) Vorawandthanachai, MD, Resident Physician, and Dr. Janet Stein, MD, MS, Director of Obstetrics, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Maimonides Medical Center, Brooklyn, New York.
The grant totals $49,370. Patients at Maimonides speak approximately 77 different languages, and many are new arrivals to the USA. Findings from the study will help attend to urgent needs for both healthcare workers and patients by offering interventions and trainings that attend to communication factors specific to this gynecological context.
Left to right: Dr. Thammatat (Juwee) Vorawandthanachai, Professor Cindy Brantmeier, and Dr. Janet Stein.
