Clerical Staff Attitudes Toward Patients in 19 Prenatal Care Clinics in New York City

ABSTRACT

It is widely believed that prenatal care is essential if women are to have healthy pregnancies and infants. Yet many low income women do not initiate care early in their pregnancies or make sufficient visits for prenatal care. Although financial difficulties are usually considered the main reason why prenatal care is not sought, other barriers have also been identified, such as problems with transportation, child care, and understanding English. A possibly unrecognized barrier to obtaining prenatal care is the frontline clerical staff attitudes toward patients. We surveyed 102 frontline staff in 19 prenatal care clinics serving low-income pregnant women in New York City. We explored staff attitudes toward patients, the benefits patients receive, and staff job satisfaction. The survey revealed that many frontline staff questioned whether patients should receive some prenatal care benefits offered. The staff members felt that their needs were attended to less than those of patients or other health care personnel. The attitudes of frontline staff concerning patients, patient benefits, and perceived lack of recognition at work may influence their interactions with patients and be a factor in patients' satisfaction with prenatal care services. Recognizing and changing factors fostering employee dissatisfaction may improve the “user friendliness” of prenatal care clinics and remove a barrier for low-income women.

Keywords

Barriers - staff attitudes - prenatal care - low income women