An inner-agency multidisciplinary team approach to reducing Mississippi infant mortality utilizing inter-agency collaboration

Background: Little progress has been made to reduce infant deaths in Mississippi between 1996 and 2005. The period's average Mississippi infant mortality rate was 10.6. The 2006 rate was 10.5.

Methods: An inner agency infant mortality task force was convened in August 2007 utilizing a multidisciplinary, multigeographical approach. Representatives from all nine Public Health Districts were assembled.

Findings: Open forum discussions explored key themes for contributing or confounding factors such as prenatal care availability, skills/knowledge base updates, working relationships with local providers, home visiting services, statewide media campaigns and housing Medicaid enrollment specialists inside local health departments. Recommendations were presented to the State Health Officer.

Results: Immediate action was taken to address the absence of Medicaid enrollment specialists in local health departments. Between October 2007 and January 2008, the number of days per month that Medicaid representatives are available inside local health departments increased from 41 to 105, a percent change of 156%.

Discussion: Recent changes in the Medicaid application process poses a barrier to timely application for Medicaid, which in turn delays entry into prenatal care due to lack of healthcare coverage. A committee was formed to address the issue with a goal to negotiate reasonable parameters for accommodating Medicaid representatives within local health clinics to provide a sort of “one-stop-shop” opportunity for mothers to apply for Medicaid as soon as pregnancy is confirmed.

Implications for Public Health: Inter-agency collaborations are an economical, and time saving strategy to improve birth outcomes and reduce Mississippi's infant mortality rate.