Oral

In the last decade, heightened attention has been focused on customer service in health care fields as concerns rise about the quality of health care in the U.S. and especially about increasing disparities in health care and health outcomes, between racial and ethnic groups. Poor customer service has been implicated for many years as a significant barrier to health services for women and children. Barriers to access and use have adverse effects on health outcomes, especially for at-risk children and pregnant women. The Lawton and Rhea Chiles center for Healthy Mothers and Babies through a cooperative agreement with the Center for Disease Control and Prevention implemented and evaluated the efforts of four communities to create improve patients’ access, use, and satisfaction with maternal and child health services by creating a culture of service excellence. This presentation will explore insights gained form the program and practical applications for improving maternal and child health outcomes at the local level.

Session Objectives: 1. Relate the impact of poor customer service on consumers’ access use of maternal and child health services. 2. Identify the challenges of conducting community based research for practice, program, and policy development. 3. Recognize opportunities for decreasing racial and ethnic disparities through improved customer service in local maternal and child health service systems

CE Credits: CME, Health Education (CHES), Nursing