World’s Leading Clinicians and Researchers to Examine Social Determinants of Health

Washington, DC ― It has been well documented by the World Health Organization and others that social determinants of health (SDOH) — a person’s economic and social conditions — can have a major impact on their health, well-being, and quality of life. SDOH also contribute to wide health disparities and inequities.

On February 1-2, 2022, the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine (SMFM) — together with the Commonwealth Fund, the Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health, and the Society for Women’s Health Research — will bring together leading national and international clinicians and researchers for an in-depth discussion about approaches that have and should be taken to lessen the detrimental effects of systemic racism and SDOH on obstetric outcomes.

The President’s Workshop on Social Determinants of Health and Obstetric Outcomes takes place in conjunction with SMFM’s 42nd Annual Pregnancy Meeting, which is being held virtually.

Topics to be discussed include:

• Epidemiology of SDOH and obstetric outcomes
• Biological embedding of SDOH that impact outcomes for the pregnant person and/or their offspring
• Recommendations for interventions and strategies to address SDOH and improve outcomes

“The effect of social determinants of health and systemic racism on obstetric health care and outcomes is one of the most important challenges in reproductive health care today,” says workshop co-leader and SMFM President William Grobman, MD, MBA. “As a profession, and as a society, we must find more effective interventions and strategies to improve maternal, infant, and lifelong health outcomes for all.”

“Despite research initiatives to understand SDOH and individual and systematic efforts to dismantle associated obstetric health disparities, inequities in health outcomes among obstetric patients and their children persist,” says workshop co-leader and Professor and Chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Pennsylvania Elizabeth Howell, MD, MPP. “This workshop will provide a space for clinicians and researchers to discuss recommendations and best practices for research and multi-level interventions to lessen the detrimental effects of structural racism and SDOH in an effort to increase equity in obstetric outcomes.”