 | The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
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| The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
Judith Sell-Gutowski, RN, MS, Public Health Programs Administration, Health Net of California, Inc., 11971 Foundation Place, D-1, Rancho Cordova, CA 95670, 916-935-1437, effie.ruggles@healthnet.com
The HHS Blueprint for Action on Breastfeeding outlines health and economic benefits of breastfeeding for mothers and infants. Unfortunately, the breastfeeding goals of Healthy People 2000, to increase to at least 75% the proportion of mothers who breastfeed their infants early postpartum; and to at least 50%, the proportion who continue breastfeeding until their babies are 5 to 6 months old, were not realized. Minority populations, along with low-income families and less educated women, breastfeed their babies at even lower rates than the general population.
Health plans including HMOs, PPOs, and POS plans share a focus on disease prevention and health promotion along with their commitment to provide comprehensive health care services. Women are more likely to breastfeed and to continue to breastfeed when they are fully informed about the benefits, are encouraged by their health care providers, and have adequate postnatal support including lactation consultation and durable medical equipment.
In June 1999, Health Net developed a Strategic Action Plan for the Promotion of Breastfeeding to address the decrease in breastfeeding prevalence among the Medicaid populations the health plan serves. The strategy includes specific actions to address provider education, network management services, public health coordination and corporate commitment. This session will offer background, lessons learned and insights associated with developing mutual consensus. The observations will illustrate the importance of internal organizational agreement to address meaningful health interventions.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Breastfeeding, Public/Private Partnerships
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.