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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Recorded presentation

Beth Buxton-Carter, LCSW, Karin Downs, RN, MPH, and Hafsatou Diop. Division of Perinatal, Early Childhood, and Special Health Needs, Massachusetts Department of Public Health, 250 Washington Street, 4th Floor, Boston, MA 02108, 617-624-5910, beth.buxton-carter@state.ma.us

Massachusetts has high racial disparities in perinatal outcomes despite having overall low infant mortality rates. From 1998-2002, black women were 2.8 times more likely than white women to have a very-low-birth-weight infant; 3.7 times more likely to have an infant born at less than 28 weeks gestation; and were 2.8 times more likely to experience a feto-infant death. The proposed workshop will draw upon the experience of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health's (MDPH) Perinatal Disparities Project whose goals are to 1) enhance the capacity of community partners to address racial disparities in birth outcomes by collecting and analyzing state and local data to inform policy and identify program priorities; and 2) establish a formal communication network between Massachusetts communities to encourage information sharing, raise public awareness, and advocate for resources to eliminate institutional racism. The Project is a promising approach that identifies the roles of key stakeholders as decision makers, program administrators, data analysts, and consumers to participate in a strategic planning process that includes developing a logic model, an ecologic model, an Strengths- Weaknesses-Opportunities-Threats (SWOT) analysis and a Training Plan. Data methods used include risk statistics, perinatal periods of risk, and focus groups. The MDPH is partnering with a the Springfield MCH Commission, a task force identified by the City of Springfield's Department of Health and Human Services (DHH), to implement this project.

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

• identify challenges in developing a perinatal disparities model program with community based institutions,
• articulate mechanisms for overcoming the challenges; and
• identify promising practices from the Massachusetts Perinatal Disparities Program.

Keywords: Health Disparities, Birth Outcomes

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No

Recorded presentation