The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA

Abstract #42079

Karen Wesley¹, Ann Scott¹, and Sara Dumais². (1) South Central Perinatal Council, 3300 Rivermont Avenue, Lynchburg, VA 24503, 4349477472, karen.wesley@centrahealth.com, (2) Virginia State Chapter, March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation, 4906 Fitzhugh Avenue, #100, Richmond, VA 23230

In the United States, the infant mortality rate for all races has declined substantially over the past decade. Despite this decline, the rate for African American infants is more than twice the rate for white infants and in many communities across the country this gap is even greater. In Lynchburg, Virginia, the 1999 mortality rate for African American infants was 29.4 per 1,000 live births, nearly six times higher than the white rate of 4.3 and more than five times higher than the Healthy People 2010 objective of 4.5. To reduce these disparities, models for innovative approaches are critically needed. The Community Voice program in Lynchburg represents a unique way of addressing infant mortality by targeting the consumer population with an aggressive outreach campaign. This program is based on the theory that people must “own” an issue before they are able to change it and this comes from local input and community awareness and mobilization. Awareness of the problem of African American infant mortality has been addressed by Community Voice through approaches such as Town Hall meetings, appearances on local faith-based television programs and the recruitment, training and support of lay health advisors, who provide information to the public on a range of perinatal topics. Courses and a curriculum, adaptable to the style of the instructor and needs of the participants, were developed to train lay health advisors. Key strategies, accompanying materials, identified barriers and lessons learned will be shared.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of this session, participants will be able to

• Understand that rates of infant mortality are highest for African Americans compared to other racial/ethnic groups in the United States.
• Describe the purpose and successes of the Community Voice program.
• Describe at least one barrier to the effective implementation of a community-based program to increase awareness of mortality among African American infants and one strategy to address this.

Keywords: Infant Mortality, African American

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
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.