There is a lack of research on the development of hospital doula programming with a community-engaged approach that focuses on the expertise and services of the community, including perinatal service organizations and community doulas themselves. We want to develop a program that offers a bridge to community resources by listening to those who have a stake in it. We also want to build a roadmap for hospitals who may be interested in developing a similar program so we can share what we learn.

Our Research Question:

What are the attitudes, preferences, needs, and priorities of community stakeholders in the implementation of a hospital-based culturally concordant doula program for self-identified Black birthing people in an academic medical center? 

Study Design:

This is a mixed methods research project. The research project aims is collecting data using a combination of focus group discussions, semi-structured interviews, and surveys, with four defined groups of stakeholders. These groups are: (1) Black people who gave birth in King County between July 1, 2022 and June 30, 2024, (2) local community-based Black doulas, (3) leaders of community-based perinatal service organizations, (4) University of Washington obstetrics unit staff including physicians, midwives, nurses, lactation consultants, and social workers.

Objectives:  

• Assess baseline attitudes, preferences, needs, and priorities of stakeholders relevant to the development of a community-engaged race-concordant doula program 

• Describe perceived barriers and facilitators relevant to development of a community-engaged race-concordant doula program