 | The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
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| The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
Geraldine Oliva, MD MPH, Family Health Outcomes Project, University of California, San Francisco, 3333 California Street, Suite 365, San Francisco, CA 94118, 415-476-5283, dyleli@itsa.ucsf.edu, Judith A. Hager, MPH, MA, Family and Community Medicine, Family Health Outcomes Project, University of California, San Francisco, 3333 California St., Suite 365, San Francisco, CA 94118, Virginia Smyly, MPH, Community Health Education Section, San Francisco Department of Public Health, 30 Van Ness Ave, Suite 2300, San Francisco, CA 94102, and Jennifer Rienks, MS, Family Health Outcomes Project, Dept. of Family and Community Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, 3333 California St, Suite 365, San Francisco, CA 94118.
The African American infant mortality rate of 14.8 per 1000 in San Francisco is three times the rate for whites and double that for other race/ethnic groups. The preterm birth and low birthweight rates remain twice that of whites. The most common cause of death is SIDS followed by prematurity.
In order to develop an effective intervention strategy for a CDC funded cooperative agreement aimed at decreasing infant mortality, the SFDPH in partnership with UCSF conducted facilitated community meetings in those neighborhoods with the highest number of African American births and infant deaths.
250 community members ages 21 to 65 that participated in 18 discussion groups (40% male, 60% female; 85% African American) were questioned about infant mortality and related concerns. Over half of the people did not know that the African American infant mortality rate was higher than that for whites. They were not aware of the increased risk of SIDS. When told of the disparity and asked about underlying causes, groups identified late prenatal care, poor nutrition, violence, drugs, and poverty. This information was incorporated into the content for a baseline telephone survey that was administered to a cross-sectional random sample of African American residents of targeted neighborhoods prior to the initiation of a series of community media campaigns designed to increase awareness and knowledge about these issues. Detailed results of the discussion groups and survey will be presented. The added value of using both qualitative and quantitative community input to inform the media campaign will be discussed.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Community Education, Infant Mortality
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.