High rates of low birth-weight (LBW) deliveries have been an ongoing public health problem for the US. Disparities in reproductive outcome have persisted despite a proliferation of programs designed to improve health care for minority and underserved families. Traditional interventions start in the antepartum period and therefore have minimal impact on women with late prenatal care or whose medical and social problems antedate pregnancy. The Interconception Health Promotion Initiative (IHPI) is a novel home visitation program, implemented at Denver Health Medical Center (DHMC) in 1996, targeting women who have had repeated poor reproductive outcomes. DHMC is an urban safety net hospital serving a primarily minority obstetrical population with a high prevalence of medical and psychosocial problems. Approximately 10% of deliveries are LBW. IHPI identifies women at delivery of a LBW baby or fetal demise. Eligible women are offered a client centered home visitation providing relationship-based support, counseling, education and care coordination by professional staff through the postpartum and interconception periods. Caseworkers identify the biopsychosocial risk factors that may have contributed to the poor outcome, and develop individualized interventions to address these factors, and support their compliance medical care. Data will be presented on the factors predicting successful recruitment and retention of clients, as well as comparing outcomes to a historical control group. Outcome measures to be described include: compliance with family planning and post-partum care, interval to next pregnancy, resolution of psycho-social issues, preconception care, and for subsequent pregnancies, adequacy of prenatal care and birth outcomes, including NICU days.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Home Visiting, Perinatal Outcomes
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: The Colorado Trust
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.