The Impact of Nursing Diversity in Patient Care on the Medical-Surgical Floor

Original Research

Nurse workforce diversity and reduced risk of severe adverse maternal outcomes

Jean Guglielminotti, MD, PhD; Goleen Samari, PhD, MPH; Alexander M. Friedman, MD, MPH; Allison Lee, MD, MS; Ruth Landau, MD; Guohua Li, MD, DrPH

BACKGROUND: Racial and ethnic diversification of the physician and nurse workforce is recommended as a leverage point to address the impact of structural racism in maternal care, but empirical evidence sup- porting this recommendation is currently lacking. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to assess the association between state-level registered nurse workforce racial and ethnic diversity and severe adverse maternal outcomes during childbirth. STUDY DESIGN: This population-based cross-sectional study ana- lyzed 2017 US birth certificate data. Severe adverse maternal outcomes included eclampsia, blood transfusion, hysterectomy, or intensive care unit admission. Proportions of minoritized racial and ethnic registered nurses in each state were abstracted from the American Community Sur- vey (5-year estimate, 2013−2017). This proportion was categorized into 3 terciles, with the first tercile corresponding to the lowest proportion and the third tercile corresponding to the highest proportion. Crude and adjusted odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals of severe adverse maternal outcomes associated with terciles of the state proportion of minoritized racial and ethnic nurses were estimated using logistic regres- sion models. RESULTS: Of the 3,668,813 birth certificates studied, 29,174 recorded severe adverse maternal outcomes (79.5 per 10,000; 95% con- fidence interval, 78.6−80.4). The mean state proportion of minoritized racial and ethnic nurses was 22.1%, ranging from 3.3% in Maine to 68.2% in Hawaii. For White mothers, the incidence of severe adverse out- comes was 85.3 per 10,000 for those who gave births in states in the first tercile of the proportion of minoritized racial and ethnic nurses and 53.9 per 10,000 for those who gave birth in states in the third tercile (risk dif- ference, �31.4 per 10,000; 95% confidence interval, �34.4 to �28.5).

Cite this article as: Guglielminotti J, Samari G, Friedman AM, et al. Nurse workforce diversity and reduced risk of severe adverse maternal outcomes. Am J Obstet Gynecol MFM 2022;4:100689.

2589-9333/$36.00 © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ajogmf.2022.100689

EDITOR'S

It corresponds to a 37% decreased risk of severe adverse maternal out- comes associated with giving birth in a state in the third tercile (crude odds ratio, 0.63; 95% confidence interval, 0.60−0.66). A decreased risk of severe adverse maternal outcomes was observed for Black mothers (crude odds ratio, 0.65; 95% confidence interval, 0.61−0.70), Hispanic mothers (crude odds ratio, 0.51; 95% confidence interval, 0.48−0.54), and Asian and Pacific Islander mothers (crude odds ratio, 0.65; 95% con- fidence interval, 0.58−0.72) but not for Native American mothers (crude odds ratio, 0.89; 95% confidence interval, 0.72−1.09) or mothers with >1 race (crude odds ratio, 1.44; 95% confidence interval, 0.72−1.09). After adjustment for patients and hospital characteristics, giving birth in states in the third tercile was associated with a reduced risk of severe adverse outcomes as follows: 32% for White mothers (adjusted odds ratio, 0.68; 95% confidence interval, 0.59−0.77), 20% for Black mothers (adjusted odds ratio, 0.80; 95% confidence interval, 0.65−0.99), 31% for Hispanic mothers (adjusted odds ratio, 0.69; 95% confidence interval, 0.58−0.82), and 50% for Asian and Pacific Islander mothers (adjusted odds ratio, 0.50; 95% confidence interval, 0.38−0.65). The associations of the proportion of minoritized racial and ethnic nurses with the risk of severe adverse maternal outcomes were not statistically significant for Native American mothers and more than 1 race mothers. Results were similar when blood transfusion was excluded from the outcome measure. CONCLUSION: A diverse state registered nurse workforce was associ- ated with a reduced risk of severe adverse maternal outcomes during childbirth.

Key words: childbirth, epidemiology, healthcare workforce, maternal morbidity, racial and ethnic diversity, structural racism

CHOICE

Introduction

I n 2020, the US federal government recognized addressing racial and eth-

nic disparities in severe maternal mor- bidity as a public health priority.1,2

Compared with non-Hispanic White birthing people, minoritized racial and ethnic groups are up to 3 times as likely to experience life-threatening complica- tions during pregnancy, childbirth, and

the postpartum period.3 Among racial and ethnic minoritized people, non-His- panic Black and Native American people are at particularly high risk of severe adverse maternal outcomes (SAMOs).4,5

Structural racism contributes to these disparities in SAMO, independent of social determinants of health (eg, poverty or education).6−9 Structural racism refers to a system where public policies, institu- tional practices, cultural representations, and other norms work to perpetuate racial group inequities.10−13

Racial and ethnic diversification of the physician and nurse workforce has been recommended as a possible remedy for reducing the impact of structural racism

on racial and ethnic disparities in mater- nal health outcomes.14,15 A racially diverse workforce improves access to healthcare for minoritized racial and eth- nic people, reduces provider implicit bias, and increases the likelihood of racial and ethnic concordance between patients and healthcare workers. How- ever, evidence linking physician or nurse workforce diversity to improved mater- nal health outcomes is currently lacking. Registered nurses (RNs) are crucial for comprehensive maternal healthcare and are the frontline healthcare providers responsible for identifying warning signs of maternal complications that require urgent bedside evaluation by clinicians and timely intervention.16 Thus, a racially diverse RN workforce could be

September 2022 AJOG MFM 1

AJOG MFM at a Glance

Why was this study conducted? Racial and ethnic diversification of the physician and nurse workforce is recom- mended as a possible remedy for reducing the impact of structural racism on racial and ethnic disparities in maternal health outcomes. However, evidence linking healthcare workforce diversity to improved maternal health outcomes is currently lacking.

Key findings In this nationwide study in 2017, racial and ethnic diversity in the state nurse workforce was associated with a reduced risk of severe adverse maternal out- comes in White, Black, Hispanic, and Asian and Pacific Islander mothers.

What does this add to what is known? This finding could guide the development of intervention programs to reduce racial and ethnic disparities in maternal health outcomes by diversifying the healthcare workforce.

Original Research

associated with a reduced risk of SAMO. Using 2017 US birth certificate data, we aimed to assess the association between state-level proportion of RNs from minoritized racial and ethnic groups and SAMO.

Materials and Methods The study protocol was deemed exempt by the institutional review board of the authors’ institution. This study was reported according to the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology guidelines.

Data system Data for this study were abstracted from the 2017 US birth certificates contained in the restricted access Natality File of the National Vital Statistics System (National Center for Health Statistics, Centers for Diseases Control and Pre- vention). This data system is based on the 2003 revised US Standard Certificate of Live Birth.17 As of January 2015, it was implemented in the 50 US states and the District of Columbia.

Study sample The study sample included all births between January 1, 2017, and December 31, 2017. The exclusion criteria were (1) mother not residing in the United States, (2) maternal state of residence not corresponding to state of delivery, (3) birth not occurring in a hospital, (4) missing information on maternal race

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and ethnicity, (5) missing information on maternal outcomes, and (6) missing information on county or state identi- fiers for maternal residence or delivery hospital.

Exposure The exposure of interest was the propor- tion of RNs from minoritized racial and ethnic groups in each state. It was calcu- lated as follows: 100£ (total number of RNs�number of non-Hispanic White RNs)/total number of RNs. Total num- ber of RNs and number of non-Hispanic White RNs by state were abstracted from the American Community Survey (5-year estimate, 2013−2017) available in the Area Health Resource File (AHRF).18 The information on other race and ethnicity RNs (eg, non-His- panic Black RNs) was missing for many states, precluding the use of a state race- specific proportion (eg, state proportion of non-Hispanic Black RNs).

Outcome The outcome was SAMO defined as the presence of at least 1 of the 4 following conditions or procedures: eclampsia, blood transfusion, hysterectomy, and intensive care unit (ICU) admission. In a sensitivity analysis, we excluded blood transfusion from the definition of SAMO.

The 4 conditions and procedures are recorded in specific check boxes on the birth certificate. The reported sensitivity

of the individual components in a study conducted in Massachusetts in 2011 to 2013 and using administrative hospital discharge data as the gold standard ranges from 12% for blood transfusion to 51% for hysterectomy.19

Birth certificates do not contain codes of the International Classification of Diseases, precluding the assessment of severe maternal morbidity as defined by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.20

Maternal, hospital, and state characteristics Maternal characteristics and comorbid- ities directly recorded from birth certifi- cate data included age (≤19, 20−29, 30 −39, or ≥40 years), race and ethnicity, education level (less than high school, high school with no diploma, high school graduate or General Educational Diploma, or college and higher), health insurance (Medicaid, private, self-pay, or other); body mass index (≤18.4, 18.5 −24.9, 25.0−29.9, 30.0−34.9, or ≥35 kg/ m2), and preexisting or gestational dia- betes mellitus or hypertension. Maternal race and ethnicity were categorized into 6 mutually exclusive groups: (1) non- Hispanic White (hereafter referred to as White); (2) non-Hispanic Black (Black); (3) Hispanic; (4) non-Hispanic Asian, Native Hawaiian, and Other Pacific Islander (Asian and Pacific Islander); (5) non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native (Native American); and (6) more than 1 race. The following maternal characteris-

tics were estimated at the county of resi- dence level: urban or rural residence, proportion of persons in poverty, and proportion of persons unemployed. Obstetrical characteristics directly

recorded from birth certificate data included previous cesarean delivery, month of gestation prenatal care began (1−3, 4−6, ≥7, or no prenatal care), number of prenatal visits, delivery dur- ing a weekend, mother transferred in, nulliparous, gestational age at delivery (≤33, 34−38, or ≥39 weeks), multiple pregnancy, noncephalic presentation, induction of labor, attendant at birth (doctor of medicine, doctor of osteopa- thy, midwife, or other), delivery mode

Original Research

(vaginal spontaneous, vaginal assisted [vacuum or forceps], or cesarean), and birthweight (≤2499, 2500−4000, or ≥4000 g). Because birth certificate data do not

provide a hospital identifier, the follow- ing hospital characteristics were esti- mated at the hospital county level: urban or rural location, number of hos- pital births, and number of obstetricians and gynecologists (per 1000 hospital births). The following state characteristics

were abstracted from the AHRF or the State Health Facts of the Kaiser Family Foundation18,21: proportion of racial and ethnic minority residents, proportion of

FIGURE 1 Flowchart of the study

(Asterisk) Reasons for exclusion are not mutually ex ICU, intensive care unit.

Guglielminotti. State workforce diversity and maternal health.

persons below poverty level, proportion of persons unemployed, number of physicians (per 1000 residents), number of RNs (per 1000 residents), and Medic- aid income eligibility threshold.

Statistical analysis Statistical analysis was performed with R (version 4.0.3; R Foundation for Sta- tistical Computing, Vienna, Austria) and the package “lme4” for mixed-effect modeling.22 No study a priori power was performed.

Descriptive statistics The distribution of the state proportion of minoritized racial and ethnic RNs

clusive.

Am J Obstet Gynecol MFM 2022.

across the 50 states and the District of Columbia was examined visually using a caterpillar plot. Moreover, this proportion was compared between mothers with and without SAMO using the standardized difference (SD), with a value >10% indic- ative of a significant imbalance.23

Crude analysis The state proportion of RNs from racial and ethnic minorities was categorized into 3 terciles, with the first tercile cor- responding to the lowest proportion and the third tercile corresponding to the highest proportion. Terciles were calculated for each of the 6 racial and ethnic maternal groups. For each

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FIGURE 2 Proportion of minoritized racial and ethnic registered nurses across states

RN, registered nurse.

Guglielminotti. State workforce diversity and maternal health. Am J Obstet Gynecol MFM 2022.

Original Research

maternal racial and ethnic group, the incidence of SAMO was estimated for each tercile of the state proportion of minoritized racial and ethnic RNs. The risk difference was estimated as the dif- ference between the incidence in the third tercile and the incidence in the first tercile (reference). Crude odds ratios (ORs) of SAMO associated with terciles of the state proportion of minoritized RNs were estimated using univariate fixed-effect logistic regression models, with SAMO as the dependent variable and proportion as the indepen- dent variable.

Adjusted analysis For each maternal racial and ethnic group, the adjusted ORs (aORs) of SAMO associated with terciles of the state proportion of minoritized racial and ethnic RNs were estimated using multivariate mixed-effect logistic regression models with the hospital

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county nested within the hospital state as the random effect (random intercept and constant slope), and adjusted for patients and hospital characteristics. Mixed-effect models consider the corre- lation between women within hospitals and hospitals within states.

To identify variables required to adjust the ORs of SAMO, we developed a multivariable prediction model for SAMO using data from all race and eth- nicity mothers. Candidate variables included in the model were characteris- tics with an SD of >10% in the compari- son of mothers with and without SAMO presented in Appendix 1. Race and eth- nicity were not included as a candidate variable. We used mixed-effect logistic regression modeling with SAMO as the dependent variable, the candidate varia- bles as independent variables, and the hospital county nested within the hospi- tal state as the random effect. Selection was performed using a backward

procedure with a significance threshold of 0.05. We performed a complete case analysis with 200,655 birth certificates (5.5%) excluded for missing values of the candidate variables. The results of the multivariable prediction model are presented in Appendix 2. In a sensitivity analysis, the state pro-

portion of the racial and ethnic group examined was added to the variables used for adjustment (eg, state propor- tion of Black residents when analyzing Black mothers).

Results Of the 3,668,813 birth certificates stud- ied, 29,174 recorded SAMO or 79.5 per 10,000 (95% confidence interval [CI], 78.6−80.4) (Figure 1). The most fre- quent complication recorded was blood transfusion (39.3 per 10,000), followed by eclampsia (28.1 per 10,000), ICU admission (16.3 per 10,000), and hyster- ectomy (4.7 per 10,000) (Appendix 3).

Descriptive statistics The mean proportion of minoritized racial and ethnic RNs in the 50 US states and the District of Columbia was 22.1%. It ranged from a minimum of 3.3% in the state of Maine to a maxi- mum of 68.2% in the state of Hawaii (Figure 2). Compared with mothers without SAMO, mothers with SAMO gave birth in states with a lower propor- tion of minoritized racial and ethnic RNs (30.6% vs 27.9%, respectively; SD, 17.2%). A lower state proportion of minoritized racial and ethnic RNs for mothers with SAMO was observed for all racial and ethnic groups, except for mothers with more than 1 race (Appen- dix 4).

Crude analysis For White mothers, the incidence of SAMO was 85.3 per 10,000 for those who gave births in states in the first tercile of the proportion of minoritized racial and ethnic RNs and 53.9 per 10,000 for those who gave birth in states in the third tercile (risk differ- ence, �31.4 per 10,000; 95% CI, �34.4 to �28.5) (Table 1). It corresponds to a 37% decreased risk of SAMO associ- ated with giving birth in a state in the

TABLE 1 Incidence of severe adverse maternal outcomes associated with the terciles of the state proportion of minoritized racial and ethnic registered nurses (United States, 2017)

Maternal race and ethnicity Number of women

Number of SAMO cases

Incidence (per 10,000; 95% CI)

Risk difference (95% CI)a Crude OR (95% CI)b Adjusted OR 1 (95% CI)c Adjusted OR 2 (95% CI)d

White

Tercile 1 (3.3%−14.2%) 632,434 5395 85.3 (83.0−7.6) 0.0 (Reference) 1.00 (Reference) 1.00 (Reference) 1.00 (Reference)

Tercile 2 (14.3%−32.2%) 653,299 5262 80.5 (78.4−82.7) �4.8 (�7.9 to �1.6) 0.94 (0.91−0.98) 0.87 (0.78−0.98) 0.78 (0.65−0.92)

Tercile 3 (32.3%−68.3%) 594,021 3199 53.9 (52.0−55.7) �31.4 (�34.4 to �28.5) 0.63 (0.60−0.66) 0.68 (0.59−0.77) 0.53 (0.39−0.72)

Black

Tercile 1 (3.3%−21.9%) 208,367 2721 130.6 (125.7−135.5) 0.0 (Reference) 1.00 (Reference) 1.00 (Reference) 1.00 (Reference)

Tercile 2 (22.0%−41.4%) 203,273 2141 105.3 (100.9−109.8) �25.3 (�31.9 to �18.7) 0.80 (0.76−0.85) 0.94 (0.79−1.12) 1.05 (0.87−1.26)

Tercile 3 (41.5%−68.3%) 133,295 1142 85.7 (80.7−90.6) �44.9 (�51.9 to �38.0) 0.65 (0.61−0.70) 0.80 (0.65−0.99) 0.81 (0.65−0.99)

Hispanic

Tercile 1(3.3%−36.6%) 283,422 2844 100.3 (96.7−104.0) 0.0 (Reference) 1.00 (Reference) 1.00 (Reference) 1.00 (Reference)

Tercile 2 (36.7%−46.2%) 185,946 1185 63.7 (60.1−67.3) �36.6 (�41.8 to �31.5) 0.63 (0.59−0.68) 0.78 (0.64−0.94) 0.71 (0.57−0.88)

Tercile 3 (46.3%−68.3%) 413,657 2112 51.1 (48.9−53.2) �49.2 (�53.6 to �45.0) 0.51 (0.48−0.54) 0.69 (0.58−0.82) 0.50 (0.34−0.73)

Asian and Pacific Islander

Tercile 1 (3.3%−28.6%) 85,673 830 96.9 (90.3−103.4) 0.0 (Reference) 1.00 (Reference) 1.00 (Reference) 1.00 (Reference)

Tercile 2 (28.7%−46.2%) 66,924 393 58.7 (52.9−64.5) �38.2 (�46.9 to �29.4) 0.60 (0.54−0.68) 0.61 (0.48−0.77) 0.54 (0.43−0.69)

Tercile 3 (46.3%−68.3%) 101,163 636 62.9 (58.0−67.7) �34.0 (�42.2 to �25.8) 0.65 (0.58−0.72) 0.50 (0.38−0.65) 0.33 (0.24−0.46)

Native American

Tercile 1 (3.3%−21.9%) 10,468 202 193.0 (166.6−219.3 0.0 (Reference) 1.00 (Reference) 1.00 (Reference) 1.00 (Reference)

Tercile 2 (22.0%−26.5%) 7599 118 155.3 (127.5−183.1 �37.7 (�76.0 to 0.6) 0.80 (0.64−1.01) 0.97 (0.64−1.45) 0.69 (0.43−1.13)

Tercile 3 (26.6%−68.3%) 10,183 175 171.9 (146.6−197.1 �21.1 (�57.6 to 15.4) 0.89 (0.72−1.09) 0.89 (0.61−1.29) 0.82 (0.56−1.21)

More than 1 race

Tercile 1 (3.3%−17.3%) 26,476 250 94.4 (82.8−106.1) 0.0 (Reference) 1.00 (Reference) 1.00 (Reference) 1.00 (Reference)

Tercile 2 (17.4%−41.4%) 26,653 218 81.8 (71.0−92.6) �12.6 (�28.5 to 3.3) 0.87 (0.72−1.04) 0.84 (0.64−1.10) 0.82 (0.62−1.07)

Tercile 3 (41.5%−68.3%) 25,960 351 135.2 (121.2−149.3) 40.8 (22.5−59.0) 1.44 (1.22−1.69) 0.89 (0.66−1.21) 0.80 (0.58−1.11)

CI, confidence interval; OR, odds ratio; SAMO, severe adverse maternal outcome. aCalculated as the difference between the incidence in the third (or second) tercile and the incidence in the first tercile (reference). bEstimated using univariate fixed-effect logistic regression. cEstimated using multivariate mixed-effect logistic regression with the hospital county nested within the hospital state as the random effect and adjusted for (1) age, (2) body mass index, (3) residence (rural or urban), (4) preexisting diabetes mellitus, (5) gestational dia- betes mellitus, (6) preexisting hypertension, (7) gestational hypertension, (8) month prenatal care began, (9) number of prenatal visits, (10) mother transferred in, (11) gestational age at delivery, (12) multiple pregnancy, (13) noncephalic presentation, (14) induction of labor, (15) attendant at birth, (16) delivery mode, (17) birthweight, and (18) hospital location (rural or urban). dWith further adjustment for the state proportion of the racial and ethnic group examined (eg, state proportion of Black residents when analyzing Black mothers).

Guglielminotti. State workforce diversity and maternal health. Am J Obstet Gynecol MFM 2022.

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TABLE 2 Incidence of severe adverse maternal outcomes after exclusion of blood transfusion associated with the terciles of the state proportion of minoritized racial and ethnic registered nurses (United States, 2017)

Maternal race and ethnicity Number of women Number of SAMO cases without blood transfusion Incidence (per 10,000; 95% CI) Risk difference (95% CI)a Crude OR (95% CI)b Adjusted OR (95% CI)c

White

Tercile 1 (3.3%−14.2%) 632,434 3145 49.7 (48.0−51.5) 0.0 (Reference) 1.00 (Reference) 1.00 (Reference)

Tercile 2 (14.3%−32.2%) 653,299 3257 49.9 (48.1−51.6) 0.1 (�2.3 to 2.6) 1.00 (0.95&#

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