Diagnosis Culture: African American Maternal Health in Houston

Abstract

This project investigates the cultural issues underlying why mothers identified as racially Black in Harris County, Texas are upwards of three to five times more likely to either die or suffer debilitating health effects in the year following giving birth than any other identified group. The first section describes an ethnography project investigating the emic perspectives of both Black mothers and medical providers. The next section identifies overarching themes that arose in the interviews. The remainder of the project includes two proposed projects developed to demonstrate how creative storytelling projects collaboratively developed in partnership with affected communities could potentially serve as catalysts to create solutions that involve consent, shared authority, and dialogical, mutual, and respectful engagement between equals to improve outcomes for all concerned.