Measuring challenges and successes in infant mortality prevention

The USDHHS Secretary's Advisory Committee on Infant Mortality (SACIM) has endorsed “investing in adequate data systems, surveillance systems and research” as one of its six major strategies for reducing infant mortality. Timely and accurate data are needed to help inform the most important policies and programs for families across the country. Collecting, analyzing, and applying the knowledge from a wide range of data will help to define the extent, causes, and contributors to infant mortality and poor birth outcomes. Without such data, we cannot understand the problem, monitor trends in service utilization, and use data for quality improvement. The SACIM's recommendations include: 1) investments in the National Vital Statistics system to assure timely, and accurate birth and maternal and infant death statistics; 2) Incentivize reporting of Medicaid perinatal data from every state, based on a uniform set of quality and outcome measures; 3) Provide resources to expand PRAMS; to every state; 4) Systematic use of quality measures for women and children; 4) Prioritize research into the causes and prevention of infant mortality through key HHS agencies.(N=176)