The COVID-19 pandemic created a massive shift in health care systems, including within pregnancy and birth care. To explore how experiences of pregnancy and birth were impacted, 15 patient participants and 14 nurse participants were interviewed and transcripts analyzed using critical thematic analysis. Patients highlighted how adaptations to care were inadequate to meet their needs, a desire for support in response to stress, and the impact of COVID on patients’ experiences. Nurses identified how inconsistencies in policies impacted nurses’ ability to care for patients, the impact on nurses from hospital actions, and the impact on patients from hospital actions. Both groups discussed how system changes had disparate impacts on marginalized communities, leading to racially-biased care. This pandemic will continue to have lasting impact on pregnant and birthing families, and the nurses who care for them, and it is imperative that hospitals examine their role and any potential impacts.

We explored the psychometric properties of 15 survey questions that assessed abortion providers' perceptions of stigma and its impact on providers' professional and personal lives referred to as the Abortion Provider Stigma Survey (APSS). We administered the survey to a sample of abortion providers recruited for the Providers' Share Workshop (N = 55). We then completed analyses using Stata SE/12.0. Exploratory factor analysis, which resulted in 13 retained items and identified three subscales: disclosure management, resistance and resilience, and discrimination. Stigma was salient in abortion provider's lives: they identified difficulties surrounding disclosure (66%) and felt unappreciated by society (89%). Simultaneously, workers felt they made a positive contribution to society (92%) and took pride in their work (98%). Paired t-test analyses of the pre- and post-Workshop APSS scores showed no changes in the total score. However, the Disclosure Management subscale scores were significantly lower (indicating decreased stigma) for two subgroups of participants: those over the age of 30 and those with children. This analysis is a promising first step in the development of a quantitative tool for capturing abortion providers' experiences of and responses to pervasive abortion stigma.

Background: Student populations in the United States are increasingly diverse, prompting the need to make learning environments in schools of nursing more inclusive. Training for faculty is needed to support this work; however, evidence regarding best practices to make classrooms more inclusive is lacking. Method: A 3-day Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Institute was developed and conducted to create inclusive learning environments; facilitate crucial conversations on racism and other -isms, especially in the context of nursing and health equity; and practice these skills and develop or transform at least one actual class activity. Results: DEI Institute satisfaction and impact were overwhelmingly positive, and statistically significant increases in DEI-related teaching self-efficacy were observed post-Institute ( p values ranging from .0004 to < .0001). Conclusion: The DEI Institute is one example of a successful approach that can create inclusive learning environments and address issues related to health equity. [ J Nurs Educ . 2019;58(11):633–640.]

Aims To explore the experiences of care for pregnant and birthing people, and the nurses who cared for them, during the COVID‐19 pandemic, with special emphasis on the impact of visitor restrictions policies. Design Qualitative study using critical thematic analysis. Methods We conducted semi‐structured interviews with 15 community members who were pregnant and/or gave birth and 14 nurses who worked in the perinatal setting between April and August 2020. Participants were recruited via purposive and snowball sampling, and interviews were conducted virtually via the Zoom platform. The research team used critical thematic analysis methods informed by other interpretive methodologies to arrive at resultant themes. Results Participants described experiences pertaining to how visitor restriction policies are not equitable and disproportionately impact Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) families, and the direct impacts of not having support people, and also provided recommendations for how to adapt current policies to be more equitable. Conclusions Visitor restriction policies have had a disproportionately harmful effect on BIPOC patients and families, leading some patients to make decisions that increase their physical risks to alleviate their risk of labouring and birthing without desired support. Impact While this pandemic is nearing the end, these results can guide structuring of policy not only for the next pandemic, but also for universal policy development. Mitigating the effects of racism in policies, by including diverse stakeholders in decision‐making, should be an inherent part of hospital administration procedures.

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