TELEHEALTH FOR MATERNAL HEALTH EQUITY: A SUSTAINABLE INTEGRATION USING THE MCEI FRAMEWORK
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17377161Keywords:
Telehealth, maternal mortality, MCEI framework, health disparities, health equity, prenatal care, postpartum care,Abstract
Persistent maternal health disparities across racial, socioeconomic, and geographic lines remain a critical equity challenge in the United States, particularly for Black women who experience maternal mortality at rates nearly three times higher than white women. Technology-enabled care delivery through telehealth presents a transformative opportunity to address these systemic inequities by expanding access to quality maternal healthcare services across traditional barriers.
This paper reviews the Maternal Care and Equity Intervention (MCEI) framework, an innovative, scalable, equity-centered model for sustainable telehealth integration in maternal care systems. Drawing on a comprehensive review of telehealth applications across prenatal, emergency, and postpartum care, we examine how remote technologies, when implemented with deliberate, equity-focused strategies care, can improve access, reduce mortality, and support culturally competent maternal care.
Sustainable integration of technology-enabled maternal care requires supportive policy frameworks, provider training, and community partnerships to ensure virtual care benefits all women, regardless of geography, race, or income, rather than reinforcing existing disparities
