Step 1: Read the vignette below.
Vignette: You are completing a clinical rotation in a small community agency that provides services to pregnant women or women with children under the age of 3. This agency is located in an urban area of the southern United States. The racial composition of the community is 78.1% white, 9.6% African American, 8.0% Hispanic, 0.3% American Indian/Alaska Native, 2.0% Asian, and 2.0% other. In 2009, 110,800 women of child-bearing age resided in the county with 5,300 total births.
Recently you and your fellow students learned that current statistics for the county reveal that from 2006 to 2008, the infant mortality (number of deaths per 1000 live births) rate was 8.2%; an increase from 6.5% in 2005-2007. For African Americans, the rates were 10.0% in 2005 to 2007 and increased to 14.4% in 2006 to 2008. The local Healthy Start agency confirms that these data are accurate for the community. In fact, based on a review of deaths by the coroner, in the last year, the major causes of neonatal and infant demise were low birth weight, babies sleeping in bed with an adult (roll over/unintentional deaths), and SIDS.
Step 2: Post a response to the following questions in the discussion board.
Discuss which actions should be taken first.
Identify the community partners that will help with your campaign.
Using research, what action should you take to move the action forward in the community?
Step 3: Read other students’ posts and respond to at least two of them by Friday night at 11:59pm Mountain Time.
Cite any sources in 7th ed. APA format.
Response Posts: In your responses to your classmates, contribute to the discussion with your own original opinions or interpretation of the course materials.
See rubric for grading details
Search entries or author
Erica SAID:
Using Political Strategies to Move Advocacy Forward
Knowing which population is more affected by the issue, will start to develop a plan on how to educate on prevention to lower death rates. Effective education will be done when research is done on how to approach a specific population taking into consideration their beliefs without bias.
Developing a plan on how to reach the desirable population needs to have the support of the community. Social media can be used to reach out to the community in this case childbearing women. Also, written and visual education can be left at doctors’ offices, libraries, gyms, and all other places to which we can think they will have access.
Assessing needs and resources can be helpful to find out where they can receive help and how they can ask for help is important to properly guide the ones in need. Communities have places where they can access donated food, clothes, and other things they may need. Refereeing them to other disciplines can be helpful as well.
Black women in the United States experience unacceptably poor maternal health outcomes, including disproportionately high rates of death related to pregnancy or childbirth. Both societal and health system factors contribute to high rates of poor health outcomes and maternal mortality for Black women, who are more likely to experience barriers to obtaining quality care and often face racial Black women are three to four times more likely to experience a pregnancy-related death than white women (nationalpartnership, 2018).
Reference
nationalpartnership. (2018, April). Black women’s maternal health. Black Women’s Maternal Health: Retrieved April 17, 2023, from https://www.nationalpartnership.org/our-work/health/reports/black-womens-maternal-health.html
Laren SAID:
Due to the increase in infant mortality starting a campaign that provides services and opportunities to ensure infant mortality rates decrease. First step would be to improve access to services before, during, and after pregnancy. If access to comprehensive, affordable, and high-quality health care could provide efforts of decreasing infant mortality (Nadeau et. al., 2022). As this campaign expands, we would prioritize populations such as urban areas in southern states including women and infant that may or may not have low-income and/or little to no health care coverage (Nadeau et. al., 2022). It would be our job to strengthen the health care services with quality care that treats patients and infants with dignity (Nadeau et. al., 2022).
Community partners that can assist in achieving a goal of decreasing infant mortality rates includes UNICEF, PSI (Postpartum Support International), and Hayes Foundations. UNICEF operates in more than 190 countries, with goals of keeping children safe and healthy (Brusie, 2022). UNICEF provide safe water, nutrition, health, and protective services. PSI focuses on dedication to assisting mothers that may be suffering from pregnancy, perinatal, and postnatal mood disorders (Brusie, 2022). Not only does PSI offer training and resources but they have members that are considered active help geared to women in need. With SIDS being the leading cause of newborns and infant deaths, this foundation educates new mothers and existing mothers the importance of babies sleeping on their backs as well as SIDS research information (Brusie, 2022).
Actions to take to ensure the campaign starts in the right direction and targeting communities considered more at risk is the first step. Prioritizing households that are more vulnerable. Set up donations centers and collect donated items from community partners to share with the community in need. Connect with low-income families to jobs, transportation, education seminars, and social support. Provide donated items to families in need along with proper nutrition for infants, babies, and mothers. It is important that we act in addressing immediate needs to build better opportunities for optimal health and positive social relationships.
Lauren M.
References
Brusie, C. (2022, June 19). Get involved with advocacy groups for women and Children’s Health. Verywell Family. https://www.verywellfamily.com/leading-infant-and-maternal-health-charities-and-organizations-4146549
Nadeau, S., Cusick, J., Shepherd Director, M., Lofgren, E., West, R., Ross, J., Nelson, D. A., Buchanan, M. J., & Donald, K. (2022, May 5). Eliminating racial disparities in maternal and infant mortality. Center for American Progress. https://www.americanprogress.org/article/eliminating-racial-disparities-maternal-infant-mortality/ Links to an external site.