Provider characteristics desired by African American women in prenatal care.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to describe provider characteristics African American pregnant women identified as important when interacting with their prenatal care providers in an outpatient office setting.

Study Design: A descriptive qualitative design was used to explore provider characteristics desired by African American women receiving prenatal care at two inner-city hospital-based obstetric clinics. A total of 22 African American women between the ages of 19 and 28 years participated in the study.

Findings: Four major provider characteristic themes emerged from the data: (a) demonstrating quality patient-provider communication, (b) providing continuity of care, (c) treating the women with respect, and (d) delivering compassionate care.

Discussion: An overarching theme revealed by the data analysis was the desire by African American women in this study to have their prenatal providers know and remember them. They wanted their providers to understand the context of their lives from their prenatal interactions. Incorporating findings from this study to improve patient-provider interactions during prenatal care could provide an increased understanding of the many complex variables affecting African American women's lives.

Implications: Prenatal care provides an opportunity for African American women to develop a trusting relationship with a provider. Developing models of prenatal care congruent with the realities of African American women's lives has the potential to improve patient- provider interactions and potentially affect birth outcomes.