Poster Session 2
Category: Health Equity/Community Health
Poster Session 2
Jessica Montgomery, MD (she/her/hers)
Maternal-Fetal Medicine Fellow
Department of Women’s Health, Dell Medical School at the University of Texas at Austin
Austin, Texas, United States
Anna Madden-Rusnak, PhD (she/her/hers)
Research Scientist
Department of Women’s Health, Dell Medical School at the University of Texas at Austin
Austin, Texas, United States
Vaishnavi V. Kankate, MBBS, MS
Research Associate
Department of Women’s Health, Dell Medical School at the University of Texas at Austin
Austin, Texas, United States
Shreyaa Ganesh
Department of Women’s Health, Dell Medical School at the University of Texas at Austin
Austin, Texas, United States
Keila Gavia
Department of Women’s Health, Dell Medical School at the University of Texas at Austin
Austin, Texas, United States
Jeny Ghartey, DO
Maternal Medical Director
Department of Women’s Health, Dell Medical School at the University of Texas at Austin
Austin, Texas, United States
Alison G. G. Cahill, MD, MSCI
Assoc. Dean, Translational Research; Prof, Women’s Health; Dir, Health Transformation Research Inst.
Department of Women’s Health, Dell Medical School at the University of Texas at Austin
Department of Women’s Health, Dell Medical School at the University of Texas at Austin, Texas, United States
Lorie M. Harper, MD (she/her/hers)
Associate Professor
Department of Women’s Health, Dell Medical School at the University of Texas at Austin
Austin, Texas, United States
The 1/21/25 executive order allowed US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids to occur in sensitive areas, including hospitals, where prior statute largely barred this practice. We aimed to see if this change impacted in-person attendance in our Maternal-Fetal Medicine (MFM) clinic.
Study Design:
This retrospective cohort study included scheduled in-person MFM visits at a quaternary care center in central Texas for two 60-day periods: Jan 21-Mar 20 in 2024 (pre) and 2025 (post). Clinic-indicated cancellations were excluded. No-show rates are reported by year, ethnicity (Hispanic/Latino vs. non-Hispanic/Latino), and primary language (English vs non-English). A multivariable logistic regression tested associations between no-show status and year, ethnicity, and language. A post-hoc logistic regression examined rates of missing demographic data across years.
Results:
A total of 8,040 appointments (show and no-show) were included. In 2024, 2,397 patients across 4,442 appointments had a no-show rate of 15%. In 2025, 2,446 patients across 3,598 appointments had a no-show rate of 18%. No-show rates in 2024 were similar between non-Hispanic (15%) and Hispanic patients (14%) and odds of no-show for all ethnicity categories were not significantly different (all p > 0.05). In 2025, no-show rates for Hispanic patients increased by 63% but only 28% for non-Hispanic, reflecting significantly higher odds of no-show for Hispanic patients compared to non-Hispanic in this year (aOR = 1.39, 95% CI: 1.00–1.87, p = 0.047). There was no significant difference in no-show odds for patients with unknown ethnicity compared to those with known in 2025 (p = 0.48). The odds of non-reported ethnicity or primary language increased dramatically in 2025 from 2024 (both p < 0.001).
Conclusion:
There was a significant increase in no-show rates for MFM appointments after the Executive Order permitting ICE raids to occur in hospitals. These findings highlight how immigration policy impacts healthcare access by introducing barriers to prenatal care, potentially increasing disparities among vulnerable populations.