An evaluation of a pilot workshop to educate medical students about maternal mortality in ethnic minority women: workshop questionnaire

Introduction

Ethnic minorities consistently have worse health outcomes compared to White British patients. This is particularly stark in maternal health, with Black women four times more likely, women from mixed ethnic backgrounds three times more likely, and Asian women twice as likely to die as white women. Several key areas have been identified as contributing to these poorer outcomes, including communication issues, attitudes of healthcare professionals, and barriers to accessing health. Despite this inequity, teaching on this topic in medical school remains highly variable and often largely overlooked. This study evaluated the impact of a near-peer teaching session which aimed to improve student knowledge and attitude on the subject.

Methods

An in-person teaching session was designed to educate medical students on the issue of maternal mortality in ethnic minority women and the factors contributing to this. Participant knowledge pre- and post-intervention were assessed via a Likert scale written questionnaire. The attached file is the workshop questionnaire that was used to gather participant responses. The effectiveness of the intervention was then evaluated.

Results

A difference of 10.46, which was statistically significant, was noted in scores pre- and post-intervention. The intervention had greater impact in the learning domain compared to the behaviour domain.

Conclusion

This study demonstrated the positive impact of teaching on ethnic minority maternal health on medical student knowledge and attitudes. This intervention can be further developed and integrated into the medical programme to equip future clinicians with the knowledge and confidence to work with patients from ethnic minority backgrounds.