Women are dying at an increasing rate during childbirth in the U.S., and it’s not because of medical reasons or diseases that doctors can’t treat.
“The rate of maternal mortality in the U.S. per 100,000 live births is 27. In Canada it’s 10. In Australia it’s two,” says Tshiya Subayi, a third-year student in the Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) program at the Weatherhead School of Management. “Why does the U.S. that spends trillions of dollars on healthcare have the highest maternal mortality rate in the developed world?”
This question is one Subayi is examining in her research on maternal mortality in conjunction with access to maternal health services and how that impacts maternal outcomes.
“The health professionals I interviewed for my qualitative research point out four major issues: education, income, distance and the utilization of health services,” she says. “And we need to find out why.”
Subayi will present her research at the Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition on Feb. 17 at the Tinkham Veale University Center. In the 3MT competition, graduate students from schools across Case Western Reserve University will have three minutes to present their research to a non-specialist audience with a single PowerPoint slide.
“I was really surprised when I was given the news that I was a finalist,” she says. “I thought, ‘Oh, maybe this will give these women who have died during childbirth a voice.’”
Subayi’s home country is The Democratic Republic of the Congo and her interest in giving women a voice began decades ago. She worked for the World Bank for 30 years where many of the issues she was dealing with was serving women in communities that practice female genital mutilation.
“For a women, particularly in Africa or Asia where they still practice female genital mutilation, there chances of maternal mortality increases,” she says. “I always thought about working at the grassroots level and giving these women a voice.”
Subayi credits the support she received in her research from peers in her cohort in the DBA program, and her method advisor, Associate Professor in the School of Medicine Yunmei Wang, and her content advisor, Professor in the School of Medicine David Aron.
Learn more about Subayi’s experience in the DBA program and her plans upon graduation:
What led you to apply for the DBA program at Weatherhead?
The intensity and rigor of the program. Coming into the program, you already have management experience. The program builds on that basis and then teaches you rigor in your research and design thinking, and how you can apply those skills you learn in those three years in your day-to-day work.
What do you love most about the DBA program?
The cohort-based learning is the best method to assimilate anyone in academia and I cannot emphasize this enough. You know that you can rely on others who are going through the same thing as you. This is not a race. This is a marathon. And sometimes we need to take a deep breath, but others are there to help us get to the finish line.
What advice would you give to students who are about to begin their journey in the DBA program?
First, come with an open mind and come prepared with your subject. Do a little bit of research on your own. What do you want to study? Why do you want to study that? Those are the first things that you're going to be inquiring about and the professors are going to help you through that. If you've already thought about it, it's easier to navigate.
The second is to be committed. There is a lot of work. But the work that you're going to be doing will pay off. It's a prestigious institution and so there's rigor. Be rigorous in everything that you do and be open minded to shift. Don't be rigid. If one research topic doesn't work, be willing to change and just explore. Open your minds to your horizons. This is what I did and I’m enjoying every second of it.
What are your plans upon graduation this spring?
I'm going back to work with women in Africa to make sure that women who are pregnant have the proper education, income and transportation. I would like to partner with the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee and start a program similar to theirs in Senegal.