Making the "Birthing-Friendly" Hospital Designation Better
Our analysis of hospital data finds that the Birthing-Friendly designation does not differentiate hospitals based on meaningful quality measures.
Kortney Floyd James is an associate health policy researcher at RAND. Specializing in maternal health equity, her research focuses on improving access to care, quality of care, and perinatal mental health outcomes for minoritized women and their infants, with a particular emphasis on Black and Hispanic populations. She uses mixed-methods approaches to explore the impact of social determinants of health on birthing outcomes and perinatal mental health. Her work has been independently funded through competitive grants, including an NIH Diversity Supplement, American Nurses Foundation, and internal grants at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).
Floyd James has over 15 years of experience in obstetric and pediatric care as a registered nurse and pediatric nurse practitioner, providing hands-on care to underserved communities across urban and rural settings. She is the Associate Editor of Nursing for Women’s Health, where she is committed to recruiting and supporting manuscripts that reflect diverse perspectives and identities.
Floyd James completed her Ph.D. at Georgia State University, where her doctoral research explored the relationship between racial identity and postpartum mental health in Black mothers. She further honed her expertise during her postdoctoral training in the National Clinician Scholars Program at the UCLA School of Medicine, where she investigated the effects of racial, language, and insurance discrimination on postpartum care utilization.
With her combined clinical and research background, Floyd James is committed to developing and implementing evidence-based interventions that address structural inequities in health care and improve perinatal health outcomes for minoritized and underserved populations.
Education
B.S. in nursing, University of South Carolina; M.S. in nursing, Georgia State University; Ph.D. in nursing, Georgia State University
Concurrent Non-RAND Positions
Adjunct Faculty, University California Los Angeles School of Nursing
Authored by Kortney Floyd James
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