Black women are twice as likely to deliver a low birth weight or preterm infant and are three to four times more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications compared with white women. They are also at increased risk of severe maternal morbidity. Indigenous and Hispanic/Latinx mothers also suffer disproportionate adverse health outcomes. Research has established that these disparities in maternal health outcomes are inadequately explained by socioeconomic factors, medical comorbidities, access to care or location of care. Attempts to improve overall obstetric care provision via traditional quality improvement techniques have similarly failed to eliminate racial inequities in birth outcomes. With a few notable exceptions, these research and quality improvement projects have failed to include the voices and priorities of communities of color.

We propose to establish the RESTORE (Reproductive Sexual Gynecologic Health Community Partnership) project. Our intent is to assemble a permanent patient advisory board for the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology at Boston Medical Center (BMC). Using the Research Prioritization for Affected Communities (RPAC) framework, we will elicit patient and community research priorities around maternal health inequities. In continued partnership through the RESTORE Project, this compendium of priorities will form the agenda for continued community-based participatory research with the Boston community. This project will inform advocacy efforts to improve maternal health care provision at the local and state level and will be disseminated to other institutions to guide future research and quality improvement to address maternal health inequities.