Bachelor Student Prize Winner

Eighteen students completed their bachelor's degree in 2021 with a thesis that was labelled ‘excellent’ by their faculty. Here you will find a short introduction to these excellent theses in the form of an "elevator pitch" from each student, plus a video in which the supervisor briefly addresses the lucky winner.

Alicja Mastylak

  Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences | Bachelor European Public Health

"The “Blessing” of Pregnancy? Barriers to Accessing Adequate Maternal Care in Poland: A mixed-methods study among women, healthcare providers, and decision-makers"

Alicja's elevator pitch
Adequate and respectful maternal care is fundamental to maximising health outcomes of mothers and newborns. In my thesis, I examined the accessibility of adequate maternal care in Poland, where good maternal health indicators co-exist with poor experience of care. Results of a survey with women who recently gave birth and interviews with healthcare professionals and decision-makers highlighted barriers related to inadequate provider communication and attitudes, high share of out-of-pocket payments, informalities in seeking quality, and shortages of maternal care providers. Together, these create an environment in which adequacy of care can be characterized more as an outlier than a norm.