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Online Program

329746
Improving birth outcomes in South Side Chicago Communities: Role of Healthy Start Southeast Chicago


Tuesday, November 3, 2015 : 11:15 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.

Chika Elechi-Onicha, M.Sc, MPH, Department of Health Studies, Chicago State University, Chicago,, IL
Ruth Awam, BS, Healthcare Consortium of Illinois, Dolton
Shaffdeen Amuwo, Ph.D, MPH, UIC School of Public Health, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL
Audio (mp3) recording Recorded Presentation (mp4)
Background: United States most recent reported  infant mortality rate (6.14/1000 live births) compared to other developed countries is a public health concern. To reduce infant mortality rate, healthy start program targets communities with rates 1.5 to 2.5 above the national average. The goal of this study was to evaluate the impact of Healthy Start Southeast program in reducing adverse birth outcomes in South Side Chicago communities.

Methods:Birth outcomes of prenatal participants (n=2730) enrolled from (2009-2013) was assessed using data abstracted from Electronic Medical Records (EMS), case manager’s intake forms and logbooks. The data was evaluated using time- series method and compared with most recent available vital statistics from the Chicago Department of Public Health Data Portal of comparison community population to assess program impact on birth outcomes. Descriptive data analysis was performed on all data using SPSS 11.0.

Results: Participants that received healthy start core services have lower rates of infant mortality rate (8.32/1000 live births) compared to  (14.57/1000 live births) six comparison healthy start community populations. Comparing healthy start participants and comparison community population low birth weight rate (11.24% vs. 13.57%) and prematurity rate (9.02% vs 14.43%) showed improved birth outcomes among participants.

Conclusion: Reduced infant mortality rate, low birth weight rate and prematurity rate among program participants demonstrate that healthy start core services (Outreach and Client Recruitment, Health Education, Case Management, Interconceptional Care, and Perinatal Depression Screening and Referral) have a measurable and sustainable impact on participants birth outcomes.

Learning Areas:

Conduct evaluation related to programs, research, and other areas of practice

Learning Objectives:
Assess the impact of healthy start Southeast Chicago in improving birth outcomes in South Side Communities

Keyword(s): Birth Outcomes, Maternal and Child Health

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have a Bachelors of Science (B.Sc) in Biotechnology and Biochemistry and Masters of Science (M.Sc) in Medical Biochemistry. I also recently earned a Master of Public Health (MPH) degree with (GPA 4.0) from Chicago State University. As a Research Specialist for Healthcare Consortium of Illinois under the Healthy Start Southeast Chicago program, I worked with the evaluator to assess the impact of Healthy Start Southeast Chicago program on maternal and child health outcomes.
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.

Back to: 4148.0: Improving Birth Outcomes: Identifying health disparities, promoting health equity