Search Results: MCHLine

Annotation: This resource provides a geographic representation of child health in the United States. Contents include national and state-specific data on pediatric health care delivery at the Primary Care Service Area level. A range of maps is available including the number of children under age 18 per pediatrician, the number of children in linguistically-isolated households, median household income, the number of pediatric residents and fellows, and estimated vaccine coverage rates. An interactive mapping tool is available to members of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

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Keywords: Access to health care, Children, Data sources, Geographic regions, Health care disparities, Immunization, Integrated information systems, Interactive media, Language barriers, Low income groups, Patient care planning, Pediatricians, Statewide planning, Work force

Annotation: This survey provides information about the oral health of young children in Nebraska during the period 2021–2022. Topics include the statewide Head Start survey, the statewide third grade survey, the Lancaster county third grade survey, oral health disparities, and trends. The oral health status of young children in Nebraska compared with the oral health status of young children in the United States as a whole is discussed.

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Keywords: Data, Health care disparities, Nebraska, Oral health, State information, Surveys, Trends

Annotation: The Birth Equity Action Map is an interactive mapping tool that describes urgent actions needed by specific system actors (i.e., birth equity partners) to improve birth and racial equity, and it highlights where the system funders can use their leverage to accelerate birth equity. The tool is designed to accelerate the work of communities, coalitions, and funders in strategically assessing their efforts, identifying opportunities, and committing to specific actions to strengthen the birth equity and early childhood ecosystem.

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Keywords: Access to health care, Childbirth, Health care disparities, Health care systems, Health equity, Interactive media, Maps, Maternal health, Perinatal care

Annotation: This website provides information about the Healthy Start program, administered by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB), that works to improve health outcomes before, during, and after pregnancy in high-risk communities. The program focuses on enhancing mothers' health, preventing infant death, and eliminating health disparities through comprehensive, personalized care. The website offers several key resources, including a downloadable Healthy Start Fact Sheet providing program overview, links to evaluation reports showing program effectiveness, information about the Healthy Start EPIC Center for training and technical assistance, and access to the CAREWare database system for data management. Visitors can also find a program locator tool to find local Healthy Start sites, details about grant awards from 2019-2024 (including specific community-based doula initiatives), and contact information for additional questions. The site highlights program accomplishments, showing that Healthy Start participants receive early prenatal care, well-woman visits, and depression/interpersonal violence screenings at higher rates than national averages. The website also explains the structure of the Community Consortium approach and describes the Alumni Peer Navigator initiative that employs former program participants to help current families access needed services.

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Keywords: Health care disparities, Health promotion, Healthy Start, Infant health services, Infant mortality, Maternal health services, Perinatal care, Prevention

Annotation: This report presents a roadmap of California's Birthing Care Pathway initiative launched by the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) to address maternal health disparities and improve outcomes for pregnant and postpartum Medi-Cal members. It describes the current state of maternal health in California, highlighting concerning trends in pregnancy-related mortality and severe maternal morbidity with significant racial disparities affecting Black, American Indian/Alaska Native, and Pacific Islander individuals. The document outlines DHCS' strategic approach to improve maternal health through policy solutions developed with input from diverse stakeholders, including Medi-Cal members. Key components include strengthening provider access, enhancing clinical care coordination, providing whole-person care, and modernizing maternity care payment systems. The report details recent Medi-Cal policy enhancements for perinatal care and describes California's participation in the federal Transforming Maternal Health Model to further strengthen delivery systems in selected Central Valley counties.

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Keywords: California, Health care disparities, Maternal health, Maternal morbidity, Maternal mortality, Model programs, Perinatal care, Policy development, Postpartum care, Quality improvement, State initiatives, Trends

Annotation: This roadmap provides detailed information on policies and strategies that foster nurturing environments for infants and toddlers and reduce disparities in access and outcomes. Published annually, the roadmap is designed to help state leaders (1) Assess the wellbeing of its infants and toddlers and prioritize state policy goals; (2) Identify evidence-based policy solutions proven to impact policy goals; (3) Monitor states’ adoption and implementation of effective policies and strategies; and (4) Track the impact that policy changes have on improving the wellbeing of children and families and reducing disparities between racial and ethnic groups. A summary of each state’s progress is included.

• 2024
• 2023

Keywords: Child health, Data collection, Early childhood development, Family leave, Health care access, Health status disparities, Home visits, Infant health, MCH programs, Policy, Prenatal care, State initiatives, State policy

Annotation: This guide presents an overview of inequities in access to health care and insurance coverage in the U.S. and highlights policy and accountability levers that advocates and other change-makers can use to advance equity. Among the topics addressed are providers and service delivery, financing, barriers to obtaining health insurance, barriers to accessing health care, disparities in coverage, accountability and oversight, and policies and actions that could lesson barriers. Links to additional sources of information are included.

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Keywords: Access to care, Barriers, Health care disparities, Health equity, Health insurance, Initiatives, Policy, Uninsured persons

Annotation: This guide presents an overview of the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), including system inequities, and highlights policy and accountability levers that advocates and other change-makers can use to advance equity. Among the topics addressed are financing, providers and service delivery, barriers to accessing and maintaining CHIP coverage, barriers to accessing health care services in CHIP, accountability and oversight, and policies and actions that could lesson barriers. Links to additional sources of information are included.

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Keywords: Access to care, Barriers, Children's Health Insurance Program, Health care disparities, Health equity, Initiatives, Policy

Annotation: This workbook provides guidance for implementing preconception and interconception care, which focuses on optimizing the health of individuals before and between pregnancies to improve maternal and infant outcomes. It summarizes the evidence on the importance of addressing modifiable risk factors prior to pregnancy, such as chronic disease management, nutritional status, substance exposure, and preventive health services. The workbook highlights concerning trends in maternal morbidity and mortality in the U.S., with stark racial disparities, and presents Missouri-specific data on conditions like hypertension, diabetes, and obesity that contribute to adverse outcomes. Evidence-based recommendations are provided for key components of preconception and interconception care across health care settings, including family planning, preventive screenings, chronic disease management, breastfeeding support, and depression screening. The workbook offers clinical tools and resources for providers to implement this care to promote optimal health for birthing people.

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Keywords: Guidelines, Health care disparities, Missouri, Preconception care, Prevention, Primary care, Risk factors, State initiatives

Annotation: This workbook provides guidance for implementing evidence-based practices to improve postpartum care during the transition from hospital discharge to outpatient follow-up. It summarizes trends in U.S. maternal mortality, with more than 50% of pregnancy-related deaths occurring in the postpartum period. The workbook outlines ACOG's updated recommendations for postpartum care as an ongoing process through 12 weeks after birth, including an initial visit within 3 weeks and a comprehensive visit by 12 weeks. It presents Missouri-specific data on the timing and causes of pregnancy-related deaths, low postpartum visit attendance rates, and shortages of obstetric and mental health providers. Key objectives and strategies are provided for improving postpartum transitions, such as implementing discharge templates and processes, increasing postpartum visit attendance, screening for medical and mental health conditions, providing linkages to specialist and community-based care, and leveraging Medicaid coverage extensions. The AIM Postpartum Discharge Transition Bundle components and resources for implementation are included.

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Keywords: Guidelines, Health care disparities, Missouri, Patient discharge, Postpartum care, Quality improvement, State initiatives

Annotation: This blog post details policy and programmatic strategies states are implementing to strengthen the perinatal health care system, improve maternal health outcomes, and address disparities, particularly noting that Black women are 2.6 times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than White women. Based on an analysis of states’ strategic plans, the key priorities for supporting pregnant and postpartum women include (1) ensuring access to timely and high-quality care, citing examples such as Iowa’s Obstetrics Mobile Simulation Training Program and North Carolina’s Region IV Provider Support Network; (2) developing and sustaining the perinatal workforce, citing examples such as Illinois DocAssist, a free statewide psychiatric access program, and New Jersey’s Maternal and Infant Health Innovation Center; and (3) supporting high-quality care coordination, citing examples such as California’s Enhanced Care Management Birth Equity Population of Focus under CalAIM and Texas’s High-Risk Maternal Care Coordination Services Program.

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Keywords: Access to care, Blacks, California, Healthcare disparities, Illinois, Iowa, Maternal health, New Jersey, North Carolina, Perinatal care, Policy, State initiatives, Strategic plans, Texas

Annotation: This issue brief describes the role of the doula; explains how doula support can reduce maternal health disparities and improve birthing outcomes; and provides examples of state Medicaid programs that cover doula care. The brief also addresses policy considerations; funding challenges, barriers to doula coverage, and considerations for states seeking to expand doula care.

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Keywords: Access to care, Doulas, Financing, Health care disparities, Labor companions, Maternal health, Medicaid, Policy, State initiatives

Annotation: This action brief discusses the importance of prioritizing respectful maternity care, calling attention to the need to support dignity, autonomy, and companionship in pregnancy, birth, and postpartum care. The brief highlights five anti-discriminatory action steps highlighted in the White House blueprint for addressing the maternal crisis and links to a wide variety of programs and resources aimed at improving maternal health outcomes. Statistical data related to maternal maltreatment and a description of factors affecting progress are included

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Keywords: , Barriers, Federal programs, Health care disparities, Health equity, Initiatives, Maternal health, Models, Perinatal care, Quality improvement, Racial discrimination

Annotation: This annual report applies a model of health to rank states across multiple measures related to the health and well-being of women of reproductive age, infants, and children. The 2023 report highlights several trends in mortality among women of reproductive age and children, including rising rates of maternal mortality, drug deaths among women and injury deaths among women and children. The 2023 report also highlights several changes that occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic, including a a drop in the percentage of 3- and 4-year-olds enrolled in early childhood education and decrease in the prevalence of electronic vapor product use among high- school students.

• 2023 Full Report
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Keywords: Access to health care, Child health, Environmental influences, Health behavior, Health care disparities, Health disparities, Health status, Infant health, Measures, Public policy, Racial factors, Trends, Women's health

Annotation: This report offers guiding principles that can help Head Start staff promote health literacy in their programs. The report focuses on seven core concepts: capacity, content, equity, dissemination, feedback, practice, and evaluation. Programs can use the principles to increase their capacity to implement health-literate practices and evaluate the principles’ effectiveness.

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Keywords: Access to health care, Communication skills, Health care disparities, Health equity, Health literacy, Intervention

Annotation: This issue brief highlights Action 2.6 from the White House Blueprint for Addressing the Maternal Health Crisis, focusing on training healthcare providers on implicit biases, culturally and linguistically appropriate care, and behavioral health needs of pregnant and postpartum women. The document examines how racism, bias, and structural inequities contribute to maternal health disparities, particularly for people of color, and presents evidence about the effectiveness of different approaches to addressing implicit bias and providing respectful maternity care. It outlines specific state-level innovations and evidence-based strategies being implemented across the United States, including mandated training programs, cultural competency initiatives, and tools for measuring and evaluating bias reduction efforts. The brief includes data on racial disparities in maternal health outcomes and provider-patient racial concordance, while providing recommendations for developing more equitable and culturally responsive care systems.

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Keywords: Cultural competency, Health care disparities, Implicit bias, Maternal health, Perinatal care, Racial factors, State initiatives, health equity

Annotation: This issue brief highlights Action 2.2 from the White House Blueprint for Addressing the Maternal Health Crisis, which focuses on strengthening community participation in Maternal Mortality Review Committees (MMRCs), particularly among communities of color. The document examines the critical role of MMRCs in reviewing pregnancy-related deaths and making recommendations to prevent future deaths, with special attention to the importance of including diverse community voices and lived experiences in these reviews. It provides detailed information about current MMRC implementation across states, highlights key challenges like limited rural representation and transparency issues, and outlines specific innovations being implemented by states like Arizona and Maryland to increase meaningful community engagement. The brief includes recommendations from the Black Mamas Matter Alliance for enhancing equity and community participation in MMRC processes.

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Keywords: Blacks, Community participation, Health care disparities, Health equity, Maternal health, Maternal mortality, Minority groups, Outreach, Prevention, State initiatives

Annotation: This issue brief highlights Action 1.14 from the White House Blueprint for Addressing the Maternal Health Crisis, focused on expanding capacity to screen, assess, treat, and refer for maternal depression and related behavioral disorders. The document examines evidence-supported interventions for addressing perinatal depression, including universal screening protocols, psychiatric consultation services, and care coordination support. It presents current data on the prevalence and disparities in maternal mental health screening and treatment across different populations and geographic areas, with particular attention to racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic factors. The brief outlines specific state-level innovations being implemented to improve maternal mental health care, such as Illinois's DocAssist program and Montana's PRISM consultation line, and provides evidence-based measures for tracking progress in expanding behavioral health support services.

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Keywords: Assessment, Coordination, Depression, Health care disparities, Maternal health, Mental health, Model programs, Postpartum depression, Referrals, Screening, State initiatives

Annotation: This issue brief highlights Action 1.15 from the White House Blueprint for Addressing the Maternal Health Crisis, focusing on integrating behavioral health supports in community settings through community health workers (CHWs) and patient navigators. The document examines the essential role of CHWs in addressing healthcare disparities and improving maternal health outcomes, presenting evidence of their effectiveness in increasing access to care and supporting positive health behaviors. It provides detailed information about the current state of the CHW workforce, including demographic data, state-level Medicaid coverage policies, and key barriers such as lack of standardized training and sustainable funding. The brief outlines specific innovations being implemented across states and offers evidence-based strategies for developing and supporting CHW programs, with particular attention to examples from state maternal health initiatives in North Carolina and Maryland.

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Keywords: Behavioral disciplines and activities, Community health workers, Community-based services, Health care disparities, Maternal health, Maternal morbidity, Service integration, State initiatives

Annotation: This brief describes the maternal health crisis in the United States, noting that the U.S. has the highest maternal mortality rate among high-income nations, with more than 80% of pregnancy-related deaths considered preventable. It explains how the crisis disproportionately affects people of color, particularly Black women who die at three to four times the rate of non-Hispanic White women from pregnancy-related complications. The document outlines key factors contributing to these disparities, including implicit and explicit racial bias, systemic bias, barriers for people with disabilities, limited access to healthcare facilities, lack of skilled providers, socioeconomic challenges, and domestic safety concerns. It presents the White House Blueprint for Addressing the Maternal Health Crisis, which identifies five goals and more than 50 action steps to improve maternal health, and introduces Evidence to Action Briefs developed by the Maternal Health Learning & Innovation Center to facilitate implementation. The brief includes detailed data visualizations depicting maternal mortality trends by race, ethnicity, geography, and causes of death, and features the ROOTT Framework that illustrates how structural and social determinants affect maternal health outcomes.

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Keywords: Barriers, Blacks, Data, Federal initiatives, Health care disparities, Health care systems, Maternal health, Maternal morbidity, Maternal mortality, Quality improvement, Service integration, Social determinants of health, Trends