Journal Club: October - December Cycle

Welcome to the October - December 2026 cycle of the NANN & AWHONN Journal Club! This cycle, we will be discussing the article Becoming an Antiracist Neonatal Community by Ashlee Vance, PhD, MA, RN, RNC-NIC, and Tracey Bell, DNP, ARNP, NNP-BC.

Every nurse who has ever held a struggling newborn knows the ache of wanting better for that baby, and this article asks us to sit with an uncomfortable truth: that for many Black and Brown infants, "better" is still too often out of reach, not because of anything biological, but because of gaps in trust, bias, and care. Vance and Bell invite readers to acknowledge our responsibility, as neonatal nurses, to reduce neonatal inequities. The authors don't ask anyone to feel guilty or have all the answers overnight; instead, they offer a gentle on-ramp toward small, human steps like listening to a colleague's experience or asking a hard question and leaning in, because the same compassion that drew us to neonatal nursing is exactly what's needed to carry this anti-racism work forward.

Learning Outcomes:
Describe at least three documented racial disparities in perinatal/neonatal outcomes (e.g., preterm birth rates, NICU quality, mortality) and identify the social and systemic, rather than biological, factors that drive them.
Apply the Fear Zone/Learning Zone/Growth Zone framework to identify one actionable strategy for addressing implicit bias and promoting antiracist practice within their own NICU setting.

Author and Disclosure Information:

Ashlee Vance, PhD, MA, RN, RNC-NIC: no relevant financial relationships to disclose; Tracey Bell, DNP, ARNP, NNP-BC: no relevant financial relationships to disclose.

CE Credit Information:

Participants can earn up to 2 CE by posting comments, completing a short, 5-question quiz, and attending the live webinar discussion of this article.

The National Association of Neonatal Nurses is accredited as a provider of nursing continuing professional development by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.

Access Information: 

This article, discussion, and webinar will be available during a three-month cycle (October-December 2026). You can access and earn CE during this cycle. Access will be removed after December 31st, though a PDF of the discussion will be saved for review.

Start Date: 10/1/26

End Date: 12/31/26

An archive of the conversation will be saved for review. 

Background: There are pervasive and documented disparities in maternal and infant outcomes related to race and ethnicity. Critical awareness is growing in our current cultural environment about strategies to improve health equity, the need to challenge implicit bias, and to dismantle racism in healthcare to decrease racial health inequities. 

Methods: In this article, we provide a summary of health inequities that exist within the perinatal/neonatal population and offer strategies for initiating conversations and improving health equity by challenging bias and increasing diversity. 

Results: Transformative leaders must understand the evidence on health disparities, understand the social drivers of inequity, and identify solutions to drive change. 

Implications for Practice: With heightened awareness and examination of implicit bias, we can improve care for all infants and their families. Implications for Research: We need to continue research and quality improvement efforts to improve health equity. Furthermore, research is needed that focuses on social determinants of health as drivers of preterm delivery and birth complications, rather than biological (eg, racialized) factors. 

Click here to see the Video Abstract 

The Journal Club is a space to express your opinions on research, writing, and evidence-based content. NANN retains the right to hide offensive, irrelevant, or other comments as we deem fit. 

Rules: 

1. Your responses must be your own; AI usage is not allowed.

2. No foul language.

3. No offensive comments. 

4. No incivility against your fellow club members. 

5. Comments must only be relevant to the current article and discussion questions.