141st APHA Annual Meeting

In This section

293946
Applying quality improvement in public health systems for maternal and child health

Wednesday, November 6, 2013 : 9:50 AM - 10:10 AM

Marianne McPherson, PhD , National Initiative for Children's Healthcare Quality, Boston, MA
In this panel, we will feature four projects of NICHQ (the National Initiative for Children's Healthcare Quality) and our partners. Each of these projects is applying quality improvement methods in public health systems to improve maternal and child health in four different content areas. Specifically, projects address: 1) enhancing the performance of Early Hearing Detection and Intervention programs for newborn hearing screening and follow-up in 53 states and territories nationwide, 2) breastfeeding promotion (including Baby-Friendly Designation) in hospitals across Texas, 3) facilitating the transition to patient-centered medical home for 13 pediatric practices in Massachusetts, including testing reliability and usability of 24 pediatric healthcare quality measures, and 4) promoting healthy weight in 49 communities nationwide via bringing together multi-sector teams composed of primary care, public health, and community-based representatives. All projects apply quality improvement methods and collaborative learning to make sustainable change in public health systems and communities.

We will feature theory and design, results (both qualitative and quantitative data), innovative and promising models, lessons learned and instructive failures, and recommendations for future quality improvement efforts and their applicability to similar settings or maternal and child health topic areas. The panel addresses the section's interest area of “quality improvement or performance management in public health.” (For specific details on each of the four projects, kindly see previously-submitted individual abstracts for each presentation.)

Learning Areas:
Clinical medicine applied in public health
Program planning
Provision of health care to the public
Public health or related organizational policy, standards, or other guidelines
Public health or related public policy

Learning Objectives:
Describe four quality improvement initiatives of NICHQ (National Initiative for Children’s Healthcare Quality) working to improve public health systems for maternal child health in the areas of newborn hearing screening and follow-up, breastfeeding promotion, patient-centered medical home, and healthy weight promotion. Identify emerging lessons and innovative models and practices from these initiatives and the states, territories, and communities participating in them. Describe how to use quality improvement methods to make sustainable changes in a public health system. Evaluate how lessons from these quality improvement projects may apply to additional topic areas and public health settings.

Keywords: Quality Improvement, Maternal and Child Health

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am Director of Applied Research and Evaluation at NICHQ, the organization where all of these projects are conducted.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.