Clinician Perceptions of Somali-American Patients in Specialized Maternal-Fetal Care

Objective: This study describes healthcare professionals’ perspectives on the barriers, facilitators, and considerations when delivering care to the Somali-American community in a maternal-fetal healthcare setting. Methods: We conducted an electronic survey during a 17-month period (January 2023 – May 2024) and performed a qualitative analysis to report thematic findings. Results: Forty-two respondents in a variety of clinical roles from 9 unique institutions throughout the Twin Cities and Rochester, MN, completed the survey. The majority of respondents were white (91%) with greater than 10 years of clinical experience (57%). Five themes were identified to describe the clinician respondents’ perceptions of providing maternal fetal care for Somali-American patients: 1) concerns surrounding language barriers and translation accuracy, 2) perceived importance of Islamic faith in the patient’s decision-making, 3) the reality of incorporating multiple social influences in decision-making, 4) recognition of mistrust in care and skepticism regarding prenatal diagnoses, and 5) a desire to provide equitable care to this patient population. Conclusion: The clinician respondents recognized that Islamic faith and community input are fundamental to a Somali-American patient’s decision-making process for their pregnancy, and stressed concerns surrounding language barriers, translation accuracy, and medical mistrust. This work emphasizes the desire and need to develop cultural education and clinician training resources to support informed patient-centered care for Somali-American families in a maternal-fetal care setting.