Search Results: MCHLine

Annotation: This resource package from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment compiles educational materials on maternal health topics for pregnant and postpartum women. It emphasizes potential warning signs and the importance of women being aware of their bodies. The package includes patient education handouts, infographics, and action plans on topics such as signs and symptoms of preterm labor, urgent maternal warning signs, anxiety and depression around pregnancy, and postpartum warning signs. It also provides resources on perinatal hypertension, including educational handouts on preeclampsia, low-dose aspirin for prevention, increased risk of heart disease, and instructions for home blood pressure monitoring. Additional materials cover reproductive life planning, well-woman visits, and national initiatives for pregnancy and postpartum health. The resources are provided in both English and Spanish.

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Keywords: Emergencies, Hypertension, Kansas, Maternal health, Patient education, Postpartum care, Pregnancy, Prevention, Risk factors, Spanish language materials

Annotation: This resource outlines best practices for equitable maternal care, addressing the disparities experienced by women of color, particularly given the near 40% increase in maternal mortality since 2020. It identifies both individual-level strategies, such as screening and documenting social needs and practicing empathy, and systemic efforts, including offering implicit bias training, integrating health equity into quality improvement processes, and diversifying the maternal care workforce. The resource features hospitals in action, describing programs like the HoPE Doula Program and the Swedish Doula Services Program, which integrate community-based doulas to provide continuous support, advocacy, and connection to resources for pregnant and postpartum families. Additionally, it details the University of Chicago’s STAMPP-HTN (Systematic Treatment and Management of Postpartum Hypertension) program, a quality improvement bundle utilizing nurse educators and remote blood pressure monitors to improve immediate postpartum care for women with hypertensive disorders, which successfully eliminated follow-up disparities among Black and White women.

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Keywords: Community based services, Doulas, Health care disparities, Health equity, Hypertension, Maternal health, Postpartum care, Quality improvement, Resources for professionals

Annotation: This report provides information on the link between poor oral health and chronic disease and on efforts of the National Association of Chronic Disease directors (NACDD) to develop a national framework for medical-dental integration (MDI) and discusses NACDD's work with five states (Colorado, Connecticut, North Dakota, South Carolina, and Virginia) on projects whose purpose was to document successful approaches for increasing the effectiveness of state oral health and chronic disease collaborations with dental clinics and community providers to screen for chronic conditions such as hypertension, pre-diabetes, and diabetes. Each project is discussed, along oral health outcomes for each state and future directions. zzz

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Keywords: Chronic illnesses and disabilities, Colorado, Connecticut, Diabetes, Hypertension, North Dakota, Oral health, Service coordination, Service integration, South Carolina, State programs, Virginia

Annotation: This workbook provides guidance for implementing the Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health (AIM) patient safety bundle on severe hypertension in pregnancy. It summarizes the evidence on hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, including classifications, diagnostic criteria, and treatment recommendations from ACOG, with a focus on timely treatment of severe hypertension (≥160/110 mm Hg) with first-line antihypertensive medications within 30-60 minutes to prevent maternal stroke. The workbook discusses considerations in diagnosing and managing preeclampsia, which can progress rapidly and become life-threatening without prompt intervention. It highlights data on hypertensive disorders from the Missouri Pregnancy-Associated Mortality Review and provides action steps for implementation of the AIM bundle among Missouri maternal health stakeholders. Resources and references are included for further education and training.

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Keywords: Guidelines, Hypertension, Maternal health, Missouri, Perinatal care, Pregnancy induced hypertension, Prenatal care, Resources for professionals, State initiatives

Annotation: This toolkit from the Oregon Perinatal Collaborative provides guidance for clinical and non-clinical teams caring for pregnant and postpartum individuals with hypertensive disorders to improve processes, outcomes, and clinical decision-making, and to promote quality and equity in care. Organized around the "5 R's" framework (Readiness, Recognition & Prevention, Response, Reporting & Systems Learning, and Respectful, Equitable, and Supportive Care), the toolkit offers specific recommendations and resources for various settings, including hospitals, emergency departments, prenatal/postpartum clinics, public health home visiting, doulas, and community midwives. Quality improvement tools and operational considerations are included to support implementation. The toolkit was developed with input from a focus group of Black, Indigenous, and Pacific Islander individuals who experienced pregnancy-related severe hypertension or preeclampsia in Oregon, and their insights and recommendations are summarized in the appendix. Additional resources, such as diagnostic criteria for hypertensive disorders, are also provided.

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Keywords: Hypertension, Oregon, Postpartum care, Prenatal care, Quality improvement, State initiatives

Annotation: This brief describes how hypertension disorders in pregnancy increase maternal morbidity and mortality rates; discusses federal actions to reduce the impact of hypertension in pregnancy; and presents i health agency strategies aimed at reducing the rate of hypertension in pregnancy.

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Keywords: Hypertension, Maternal health, Pregnant women, Prevention programs

Annotation: This issue brief highlights Action 1.7 from the White House Blueprint for Addressing the Maternal Health Crisis, which focuses on improving quality of care for pregnant and postpartum women with or at risk for hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP). The document presents evidence supporting the use of self-measured blood pressure monitoring tools and resources, discussing their effectiveness in reducing maternal morbidity and addressing racial disparities in healthcare access. It examines current data on HDP prevalence and outcomes across different populations, with particular attention to racial, ethnic, and geographic disparities, and outlines specific state-level maternal health innovations and evidence-based strategies being implemented across the United States. The brief includes detailed statistics, implementation examples from states like Arizona, Illinois, and Ohio, and recommendations for strategy development at state and local levels.

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Keywords: Federal initiatives, Hypertension, Maternal health, Maternal morbidity, Model programs, Postpartum women, Pregnant women, Prevention, State initiatives

Annotation: This progress report details the Minnesota Perinatal Quality Collaborative's initiative to address hypertension in pregnancy and the postpartum period. It outlines the collaborative's structure, methodology, and quality improvement approach using a hybrid model that incorporates both the Institute for Healthcare Improvement framework and Project ECHO telehealth education. The document presents results from six participating hospitals showing improvements in key metrics, including an increase from 57% to 71% in patients with severe hypertension treated within 60 minutes, and positive trends in discharge education and follow-up care within 3-5 days. The report discusses challenges encountered, including data collection difficulties during the COVID-19 pandemic, and offers recommendations for sustaining improvements, such as continued data reporting and expanding focus to the postpartum period. Charts display performance data with statistical analysis of trends and special cause variations, illustrating the initiative's impact on maternal health outcomes in Minnesota.

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Keywords: Hypertension, Minnesota, Model programs, Perinatal care, Quality improvement, State initiatives

Annotation: This web page from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) provides clinical case scenarios and training materials for the AHRQ Safety Program for Perinatal Care, Phase 2. The scenarios illustrate 10 teamwork tools and strategies for improving care in obstetric hemorrhage and severe hypertension in pregnancy. The page includes two sets of education materials: (1) Tier 1 consists of eight short video-based emodules for each condition that introduce frontline clinicians to the teamwork tools and demonstrate their use; (2) Tier 2 provides PowerPoint slide sets with speaker notes to help Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health (AIM) Team Leads disseminate the teamwork toolkit to frontline staff in their labor and delivery units, ideally through live workshops by a TeamSTEPPS master trainer.

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Keywords: Emergency medical services, Hemorrhage, Hypertension, Patient safety, Perinatal care, Postpartum care, Pregnancy complcations, Professional training

Annotation: This handbook provides guidance for hospitals and health systems interested in implementing STAC, a remote patient monitoring program that helps new mothers with hypertension-related diagnoses safely monitor and treat their blood pressure from home. It describes the program, its benefits, and the research demonstrating its efficacy in reducing postpartum readmissions. The document outlines the core elements of STAC, including daily needs, equipment requirements, enrollment criteria, and the roles of physicians, nurses, and enrollment staff. It also details the processes for patient onboarding, daily nurse assessments, and program completion. The handbook includes treatment algorithms, proper blood pressure measurement techniques, and appendices with program workflows, checklists, consent forms, tip sheets, and documentation templates. Additionally, it provides a sample job description, training plans, and scripts for patient communication.

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Keywords: Hypertension, Postpartum, Remoting patient monitoring, Telemedicine

Annotation: This action plan lays out specific steps that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is taking to address the high maternal mortality rate in the United States. The document targets the following actions: reduce the maternal mortality rate by 50 percent in five years; reduce the low-risk cesarean delivery rate by 25 percent in five years; achieve blood pressure control in 80 percent of women of reproductive age with hypertension. In addition to describing the challenges of maternal mortality and the specific action steps, the report also provides a detailed list of current maternal health programs and initiatives with links for more information.

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Keywords: Cesarean section, Childbirth, Hypertension, Maternal health, Perinatal care, Plans, Pregnancy, Pregnancy complications, Pregnancy outcomes, Pregnant women, Public policy

Annotation: This resource presents the Community Preventive Services Task Force recommendations on exercise programs for pregnant women to reduce the development of gestational hypertension. In addition to describing interventions aimed to engage women in regular exercise during pregnancy, the website offers information from a systematic review that included 17 studies published through February 2017. The review assessed the effectiveness of exercise programs in preventing gestational hypertensive disorders, defined as new onset high blood pressure during pregnancy.

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Keywords: Exercise, Hypertension, Maternal health, Physical fitness, Pregnancy, Pregnancy complications, Pregnancy induced hypertension, Pregnancy outcomes, Pregnant women, Prevention

Annotation: This resource presents the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommendation on screening for preeclampsia in pregnant women with blood pressure measurements throughout pregnancy. The recommendation statement; supporting documents, including the research plan, evidence review, evidence summary, clinical summary; and related information for health professionals.

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Keywords: Childbirth, Evidence based medicine, Hospitals, Preeclampsia, Pregnancy induced hypertension, Pregnant women, Prenatal care, Reproductive health, Screening, Women's health

Annotation: This supplement to Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report examines the use of selected clinical preventive services for infants, children, and adolescents in the United States. Topics include breastfeeding counseling; screening for hearing loss and provision of follow-up services; screening for developmental delays, lead poisoning, vision impairment, and hypertension; vaccination against human papillomavirus; tobacco use and tobacco cessation counseling and medication; screening for chlamydia infection; and provision of reproductive health services. Additional topics include the potential benefits of selected services, the challenges related to their underuse, and effective collaborative strategies to improve use.

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Keywords: Adolescents, Breastfeeding, Children, Chlamydia infections, Clinics, Counseling, Developmental screening, Health care utilization, Health services delivery, Hearing screening, Human papillomavirus, Hypertension, Infants, Lead poisoning screening, Oral health, Prenatal care, Prevention services, Reproductive health, Smoking cessation, Tobacco use, Vision screening

Annotation: This policy brief estimates the magnitude of current cost burdens both nationally and for several large states for a select set of preventable diseases (diabetes, hypertension, stroke or renal disease, and poor general health), focusing on racial and ethnic disparities in these diseases. The brief provides background, discusses data and methods, and presents national results and results for selected states.

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Keywords: Blacks, Costs, Diabetes mellitus, Health, Health insurance, Hispanic Americans, Hypertension, Low income groups, Medicaid, Prevention, Public policy, Racial factors, Stroke

Annotation: This report focuses on the use of community-led interventions to alter risky health behaviors among minority populations who have higher rates of diseases and conditions such as hypertension, high blood cholesterol levels, diabetes, tobacco use, physical inactivity, and obesity than their white counterparts. The report, which includes an executive summary, discusses racial and ethnic health disparities; reducing racial and ethnic health disparities through community interventions; tailored community interventions at work; community interventions in the African-American, American Indian and Alaska Native, Hispanic, and Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander populations; budget implications; and policy recommendations. A conclusion and endnotes are included.

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Keywords: Alaska Natives, American Indians, Blacks, Community programs, Diabetes mellitus, Ethnic factors, Financing, High risk groups, Hispanic Americans, Hypertension, Intervention, Obesity, Pacific Islanders, Physical activity, Public policy, Racial factors, Risk factors, Smoking

Annotation: This report updates clinicians on the latest recommendations concerning the diagnosis, evaluation, and treatment of hypertension in children and adolescents. The report evaluates evidences of early target-organ damages in children and adolescents with hypertension; provides the rationale for early identification and treatment; and provides revised recommendations, based on recent studies, for the use of antihypertensive drug therapy. Treatment recommendations also include updated evaluation of nonpharmacologic therapies to reduce additional cardiovascular risk factors. The report also describes how to identify hypertensive children who need additional evaluation for sleep disorders that may be associated with blood pressure elevation. Appendices include demographic data, computational charts, and a scheme used for classification of the evidence, along with references.

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Keywords: Adolescent health, Child health, Diagnosis, Drug therapy, Hypertension, Resources for professionals, Risk factors, Screening, Therapeutics

Annotation: This book, which is geared toward health professionals and educators on nutrition and adolescent pregnancy, focuses on the biological, psychosocial, and cognitive changes that begin during puberty and continue through adolescence, which directly affect nutritional status and nutrient needs. Topics include adolescent growth and development; understanding adolescent eating behaviors; nutrition needs of adolescents; nutrition, screening, and intervention; nutrition education and counseling; promoting healthy eating and physical activity behaviors; the overweight adolescent; the underweight adolescent; iron deficiency anemia; hyperlipidemia; hypertension; eating disorders; body image and adolescents; diabetes mellitus: type 1 and type 2; reproductive health issues; sports nutrition; vegetarian eating patterns; and adolescents with special health care needs. Some of the information is presented in tables. One appendix containing a list of food sources of vitamins and minerals is included.

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Keywords: Adolescent behavior, Adolescent development, Adolescent health, Adolescent nutrition, Adolescent pregnancy, Adolescents with special health care needs, Body image, Diabetes mellitus, Eating disorders, Food habits, Health promotion, Hyperlipidemia, Hypertension, Intervention, Iron deficiency anemia, Nutrition counseling, Nutrition education, Nutritional requirements, Nutritional status, Obesity, Physical activity, Puberty, Reproductive health, Screening, Sports, Underweight, Vegetarianism

Annotation: This book for health and community service professionals and the general public focuses on heart disease risks common among black women. Topics include high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes, nutrition, cholesterol, estrogen replacement therapy, and smoking. Alternative treatments such as herbs, vitamins, stress reduction techniques, and visualization techniques are discussed. Appendices include questions for healthcare providers, resources, a stay-on-track checklist, an exercise checklist, and a glossary. An index is provided.

Keywords: Alternative medicine, Blacks, Consumer education materials, Diabetes mellitus, Heart diseases, Hormone replacement therapy, Hypertension, Nutrition, Prevention, Smoking, Women's health

Annotation: This report provides guidance to the practicing physician in 1) managing hypertensive patients who become pregnant and 2) managing pregnant patients who become hypertensive. This report updates the 1990 National High Blood Pressure Education Program Working Group Report on High Blood Pressure in Pregnancy. It expands on recommendations made in the 6th Report of the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure (JNC v1). Sections of the report are devoted to classification of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy; pathology and pathophysiology; differential diagnoses; chronic hypertension in pregnancy; preeclampsia; postpartum counseling and followup; and recommendations for future research. The section on management of hypertension in pregnancy contains recommendations on diet, alcohol and tobacco use, and lactation.

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Keywords: Pregnancy complications, Pregnancy induced hypertension, Professional education