ERIC Number: EJ1313606
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2021-Oct
Pages: 10
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1090-1981
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
A Participatory, State-Community-Academic Model to Improve Pregnancy Outcomes in Texas: The Healthy Families Initiative
Patel, Divya A.; Salahuddin, Meliha; Valerio, Melissa; Elerian, Nagla; Matthews, Krystin J.; McGaha, Paul; Nelson, Robert; Lakey, David L.
Health Education & Behavior, v48 n5 p690-699 Oct 2021
Background: While the Texas infant mortality rate (IMR) is below the Healthy People 2020 objective (5.7 per 1,000 live births), stark differences in IMR are seen across Texas communities. Health indicators for the state suggest important missed opportunities for improving maternal and infant outcomes. The Healthy Families initiative was a collaboration between a Texas state agency, community partners, and academic institutions to understand how evidence based interventions could be identified, adapted, and implemented to address community priorities and reduce disparities in pregnancy outcomes. Method: The Healthy Families initiative included two Texas counties, one with low utilization of prenatal care and one with persistent disparities in infant mortality. The model served to (1) identify community factors influencing IMR and maternal morbidity through stakeholder engagement and secondary data, (2) build community capacity to link pregnant women with existing and newly developed services, and (3) develop partnerships within the community and clinics to improve access to and sustainability of services. Results: A community-based participatory approach focused on stakeholder engagement was used to identify, design, and adapt strategies to address community-identified priorities. Conclusions: The Healthy Families initiative is a unique state-community-academic partnership aimed at improving pregnancy outcomes in vulnerable communities, with a focus on promotion of capacity building, maintenance, and sustainability of maternal and infant health programs
Descriptors: Health Programs, Pregnancy, Outcomes of Treatment, Health Promotion, Evidence Based Practice, Intervention, Community Influence, Capacity Building, Community Involvement, Cooperation, Access to Health Care, Prenatal Care, Racial Bias
SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: http://sagepub.com.bibliotheek.ehb.be
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Texas
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A