26 June 2019
The association between missed care in pregnancy and maternal mortality will be explored at our upcoming Annual Professional Conference when veteran nurse researcher and US university professor Dr Patti Hamilton takes the stage.
Dr Hamilton says conference delegates “can expect to learn to recognise risk factors and intervene to rescue mothers from severe morbidity and mortality”.
“Action is needed not just at the time of delivery but throughout the pre- and postpartum periods and not just at the bedside, but in the community and at the table where health policy is created,” she says.
“We learned that drug overdose, suicide, and homicide are strongly associated with maternal mortality in the US.”
She says anyone who comes in contact with women of child-bearing age can help to prevent maternal mortality.
“One of the major factors associated with missed care in the US is staffing. My research into off-peak nursing work environments has helped to raise awareness of the importance of adequate available human and material resources (24/7, every day of the week) for delivering safe, quality care.”
She is currently collaborating with the native American Chickasaw Nation in Oklahoma, with Black Activist groups in Texas, and with other “citizen scientists” who are engaged in reducing the appalling rate of maternal mortality in the US.
“As nurses, midwives, and personal care workers we have strong allies in the general public. These allies can teach us many things about the realities of life that contribute to serious maternal morbidity and mortality.”
“Our challenge in the near future is to learn how to include their input, along with our research findings, to develop a comprehensive understanding of the problem and find solutions that will really work to reduce maternal morbidity and mortality.”
Dr Hamilton is the Emeritus Professor of Nursing at Texas Woman’s University, where she has served as Director of Research for more than 20 years. She has authored two books and more than 50 journal articles and is currently serving as an international collaborator on an EU-funded project to enhance research related to Missed Nursing Care across Europe. Her research spans infant mortality, failure to rescue, rationed care, and off-peak work environments for nursing. She currently serves on the Advisory Board of the Rosemary Bryant Research Centre at the University of South Australia.
Book your seat at this year’s Annual Professional Conference from 31 July to 1 August.