{
  "abstract": "Introduction Postpartum care (PPC) in the USA remains largely inaccessible despite calls for community-driven care models to address poor birth outcomes and racial disparities. Fewer than 40% of US birthing people receive even one PPC visit within 6 weeks post-delivery. Lack of adequate/high-quality PPC exacerbates existing health inequities, with black birthing people more than two times as likely to die as white birthing people in the first year postpartum. PPC remains focused on individual biomedical risks and does not take into account social and structural determinants that shape US pregnancy-associated mortality and morbidity.Methods and analysis This paper describes a 6-year pilot mixed-methods intervention research protocol (fiscal years: 2025–2030) that draws on Reproductive Justice, Restoring Our Own Through Transformation and Public Health Critical Race Praxis frameworks to address gaps in current PPC models within the broader context of social justice. During years 1–2 (2025–2026), we assess baseline maternal health outcomes, including PPC completion, among pregnant individuals delivering at a single Pennsylvania hospital (n=~65 000) from 2016 to 2023. In year 3 (2027), we use qualitative data from focus group discussions and interviews with birthing people, clinicians and health centre staff to develop a community-informed PPC model tailored to the needs of black birthing people in Southwest Pennsylvania. We iteratively adapt the model in years 4–5 (2028–2029) based on community and clinician feedback, assessing both clinical and person-centred outcomes, including outcomes prioritised by black birthing people. To address key systemic and structural barriers of obstetric racism and economic insecurity, we include reproductive justice and anti-racism/anti-oppression training for perinatal clinicians, trainees and staff (with pre-training and post-training assessment) in year 3 (2027), and an unconditional cash transfer that mirrors paid family leave for postpartum people, piloted and assessed in years 4–5 (2028–2029), with overall final evaluation wrapping up in year 6 (2030).Ethics and dissemination The University of Pittsburgh Institutional Review Board approved this study (STUDY24050009). Findings will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications, community forums and partnerships with the EMBRACE Center.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Department of Behavioral and Community Health Sciences, University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA",
    "School of Public and International Affairs, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA",
    "Division of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA",
    "Department of Biostatistics and Health Data Science, University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA",
    "Department of Epidemiology, University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA",
    "Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA",
    "Department of Family Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA",
    "Division of General Internal Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA",
    "Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA",
    "Department of Health Policy and Management, University of Pittsburgh School of Health, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA",
    "Healthy Start Inc, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA"
  ],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 19,
  "authors": [
    {
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        0
      ],
      "name": "Cynthia L Salter"
    },
    {
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        1
      ],
      "name": "Cindy Pan"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Mehret Birru Talabi"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Jeanine M Buchanich"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4
      ],
      "name": "Andrea Casas"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Emily Dauria",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-4706-7782"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        5
      ],
      "name": "Natacha De Genna"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4
      ],
      "name": "Nikita Kubal",
      "orcid": "0009-0007-1737-5975"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        6
      ],
      "name": "Olga V Kravchenko",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-8069-8773"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        7,
        8
      ],
      "name": "Tamar Krishnamurti"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Claire Lama"
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    {
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        9
      ],
      "name": "Emma Mairson"
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    {
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        4
      ],
      "name": "Dara D Mendez"
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    {
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        0,
        4
      ],
      "name": "Iris Ryn Olson"
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    {
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        10
      ],
      "name": "Jada Shirriel"
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    {
      "affs": [
        8
      ],
      "name": "Hyagriv N Simhan"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        10
      ],
      "name": "Demia Tyler"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4
      ],
      "name": "Sade A Tukuru"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        6
      ],
      "name": "Stacy Bartlett"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/dfvfjcg9hx53v.bib",
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  "doi": "10.1136/bmjopen-2026-122255",
  "fulltext_url": "https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/16/10/e122255.full",
  "id": "dfvfjcg9hx53v",
  "issns": [
    "2044-6055",
    "2044-6055"
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  "language": "en",
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  "pdf_url": "https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/bmjopen/16/10/e122255.full.pdf",
  "pmcid": null,
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  "published": "2026-10-22",
  "publisher": "BMJ",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/dfvfjcg9hx53v.ris",
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  "subjects": [
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      "field": "medicine",
      "origin": "openalex:2729|Maternal and Perinatal Health Interventions",
      "subfield": "reproductive-child"
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  ],
  "title": "Implementing a community-partnered postpartum care model based in reproductive justice for black birthing people: protocol for a pilot mixed-methods intervention study",
  "title_text": "Implementing a community-partnered postpartum care model based in reproductive justice for black birthing people: protocol for a pilot mixed-methods intervention study",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T13:43:03Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/dfvfjcg9hx53v",
  "venue": "BMJ Open",
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