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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Recorded presentation

Barbara R. Gottlieb, MD, MPH, Brookside Community Health Center, 3297 Washington Street, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130, 617-522-4700, bgottlieb@partners.org, Cindy Engler, RN, MPH, Boston Public Health Commission, 1010 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston, MA 02118, and Ellen Hutchins, ScD, MSW, Boston, Massachusetts, HRSA/OPR - Boston Regional Division, JFK Building - Room 1826, Boston, MA 02203.

The Preconception Screening and Assessment Project (PSAP) is a collaboration between 2 community health centers, the Boston Public Health Commission, Massachusetts Department of Public Health and representatives from 2 schools of public health, to improve the health of reproductive age women and reduce racial disparities in infant mortality. Funded by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau, we have developed a brief screening tool for depression, substance use and domestic violence to enhance the capacity of primary care providers to identify these problems, and enhance coordination of services. A Community Advisory Group of health center staff and policy board members and representatives from community agencies meets quarterly to review project activities. Separate consumer focus groups have been conducted in English, Spanish, Portuguese and Vietnamese to review tool development, choice of questions, and to review findings and future directions after 18 months of implementation. After screening more than 1000 women, rates of positive screens have increased significantly compared to pre-PSAP yields. Baseline rates of depression were 12% compared to 23% using our tool; substance use 3% versus 26%, and domestic violence 2% versus 14% using our tool. Rates vary by ethnicity, with rates of all risks low among Asian women. and high among Latina and Brazilian women. We will present: the process of tool development, emphasizing multiple sector collaboration, community and consumer involvement; findings analyzed according to ethnic group, and qualitative findings from ethnic group-specific focus groups regarding disparities in rates and implications for future interventions.

Learning Objectives:

1.participants will learn principles of developing community agency-academic institution-public health agency partnerships to address critical issues in women's health
• participants will learn how to incorporate input from diverse ethnic groups into the development of a screening tool, implementation of a screening process and interpretation of findings 3.participants will learn about disparities in rates of risk and implications for intervention for health centers that serve diverse communities

Keywords: Women's Health, Ethnic Minorities

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No

Recorded presentation