Matida Bojang, “Racial/Ethnic Disparities in NICU Utilization/Outcomes and the Potential Effects of Community and Hospital/NICU Segregation in Wisconsin”
Mentor: Emmanuel Ngui, Public Health

Significant racial/ethnic disparities exist with Wisconsin having the highest African-American infant mortality in the 2013-2015 period. The underlying reasons for this disparity are not clear, however, residential and hospital/Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) segregation are thought to play a key role. The purpose of this research is to investigate the racial/ethnic disparities in NICU utilization/outcomes and the potential effects of community and hospital/NICU segregation in Wisconsin. We conducted a comprehensive review of the literature on this topic using the following key terms e.g. NICU, hospital segregation, residential/racial segregation, race/ethnicity disparities, and adverse birth outcomes (fetal/infant mortality, preterm birth, low-birthweight), NICU length of stay, and provider communication. The PRISMA guidelines were used to conduct searches using PubMed and CINAHL databases. Only recent studies from 2010-2020 were included. One of the preliminary findings suggests there is a strong correlation between hospital and residential segregation, with hospitals reflecting the overall nature of segregation in the community. Other findings based on the articles reviewed showed that Black and Hispanic NICU patients are more likely to have poorer health outcomes and be placed in lower-quality NICUs, which may contribute to the disparities seen when comparing to White and Asian infants. The relationship between hospital segregation and adverse health outcomes differs by race and is something that needs more attention. Polices on the hospital, state, and national levels that target these disparities may help circumvent this issue.

Synchronous Presentation April 16th at 2:00pm