Search Results: MCHLine

Annotation: This paper presents a prevention model to reduce problem behavior in adolescents by identifying risk factors and protective factors in an adolescent's environment and targeting gaps between the two at all stages of the adolescent's environmental system—individual, family, peers, school, work, and community. The paper reviews current research on risk and protective factors that influence the well being of youth and suggests implications of this research for developing comprehensive community based prevention programs.

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Keywords: Adolescent behavior, Community programs, Environmental influences, Models, Prevention programs, Protective factors, Risk factors

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 brief provides information on expanding access to oral health care in New York. It discusses challenges to accessing oral health care among young children, uninsured children, children living in poverty, non-Hispanic black children, children from non-English-speaking households, and children with special health care needs. It addresses structural inequities that create barriers to achieving good oral health and pregnant women’s difficulties with accessing oral health care, in spite of the fact that they are at high risk for oral health problems. Policy recommendations are included.

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Keywords: Access to care, Children with special health care needs, High risk groups, New York, Oral health, Poverty, Pregnant women, Racial factors, State information, Uninsured persons, Young children

Annotation: This workbook provides guidance on addressing fatal injuries, particularly intimate partner violence (IPV), homicide, suicide, and motor vehicle collisions (MVCs), as significant contributors to maternal mortality. It summarizes the evidence on the heightened risks of homicide and suicide for pregnant and postpartum women, with disparities among adolescents, Black women, and those with mental health conditions or IPV history. Environmental factors like poverty, lack of support, and firearm access also play a role. The workbook presents concerning data from Missouri's Pregnancy-Associated Mortality Review on injury-related deaths, finding that homicides and suicides, often involving firearms and IPV, accounted for a significant portion of pregnancy-related mortality. Younger women, Black women, Medicaid participants, and those in metropolitan areas were disproportionately impacted. MVCs were a leading cause of deaths not directly related to pregnancy. Key recommendations are provided for healthcare providers and community organizations to improve screening, intervention, support, and prevention efforts around mental health, IPV, and vehicle safety to reduce maternal injury deaths. Resources and references are included for further training and implementation.

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Keywords: Data, Guidelines, Injury prevention, Maternal mortality, Missouri, Risk factors, State initiatives

Annotation: This report examines disparities in tobacco use and tobacco-related health outcomes across population groups in the United States, finding persistent inequities by race and ethnicity, income level, education level, sexual orientation and gender identity, occupation, geography, and behavioral health status. Using a multidisciplinary perspective, it reviews scientific evidence about drivers of tobacco-related health disparities, including social and environmental influences, the tobacco industry's targeted marketing practices, and the physiological and genetic factors that may influence use of flavored tobacco products. The report outlines promising interventions to reduce disparities, such as comprehensive smokefree laws, restrictions on flavored tobacco products including menthol cigarettes, barrier-free cessation services, and reducing nicotine levels in tobacco products to minimally addictive levels, while emphasizing that achieving health equity requires both tobacco-specific interventions and broader efforts to address underlying social and structural inequities.

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Keywords: Federal initiatives, Health behavior, Health equity, Health status disparities, Passive smoking, Prevention, Research, Risk factors, Smoking, Smoking cessation, Smoking during pregnancy, Tobacco use

Annotation: Podcast host Christie Allen talks with Amy Romano, founder and CEO of Primary Maternity Care. Romano, a nurse midwife with an MBA, who shares her experience blending clinical expertise with system-level healthcare leadership to revolutionize maternity care in rural communities. They discuss the critical role of freestanding birth centers, their capacity to offer low-risk, community-based care, and how these centers could be a key part of the solution to the growing issue of maternity deserts. Romano also dives into the challenges of regulatory barriers, the importance of risk-appropriate care, and the unique quality improvement strategies needed for safe community births. From pandemic-driven innovations to rethinking the future of rural maternity care, this episode is packed with actionable insights for improving maternal health outcomes in underserved areas. It is part of the AIM for safer Birth podcast series that dive deeper into the rising severe maternal morbidity and maternal mortality rates in the United States through a data-driven, quality improvement lens.

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Keywords: Birthing centers, Childbirth, Maternal health, Quality assurance, Risk factors, Rural health, Safety, Underserved communities

Annotation: This report examines the critical impact of mental health and substance use disorders on maternal mortality and morbidity in the United States, highlighting how suicide and substance use-related overdoses account for over 20 percent of postpartum deaths. It presents promising approaches from states including Massachusetts, New Jersey, Oregon, New Hampshire, and California that integrate maternity care with behavioral health services and social supports. The report outlines six key recommendations for improving care: supporting dedicated multidisciplinary care teams, centering people with lived experience to drive health equity, normalizing substance use care, training all staff on bias and stigma, expanding the community-based workforce including doulas and peer recovery specialists, and implementing harm reduction and street medicine approaches. The authors emphasize that with nearly every state now providing 12 months of postpartum Medicaid coverage, there are unprecedented opportunities to implement integrated, trauma-informed, non-punitive care models that can significantly reduce maternal mortality and improve outcomes for families.

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Keywords: Substance abusing pregnant women, Community participation, Disorders, Health care reform, Initiatives, Maternal morbidity, Maternal mortality, Medicaid, Mental health, Model programs, Perinatal addiction, Perinatal care, Postpartum care, Quality improvement, Risk factors, Service integration, Substance use disorders

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 curriculum is designed to help health and early childhood professionals working in community settings (e.g., Head Start, home visiting, WIC staff) promote oral health in the course of promoting general health for infants, children, and their families. Topics include tooth decay, risk factors, and prevention; oral health risk assessment and oral health screening; and anticipatory guidance for parents. Each of the four modules includes an overview, learning objectives, key points, a post-test, and resources. [Funded by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau]

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Keywords: Anticipatory guidance, Child care providers, Child health, Curricula, Dental caries, Distance education, Families, Head Start, Health personnel, Infant health, Oral health, Parents, Prevention, Risk factors, Screening, WIC program

Annotation: This tool is designed to help health professionals implement oral health risk assessment for infants and children from birth to age 6 during health supervision visits. The tool, which can be used to document dental caries risk, presents a checklist for evaluating the oral health status of a child that includes risk factors, protective factors, and clinical findings, as well as an assessment and plan. Guidance on the factors in the checklist and color photographs depicting clinical findings are included. The tool is available in English and in Spanish.

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Keywords: Dental caries, High risk groups, Infants, Oral health, Protective factors, Resources for professionals, Risk assessment, Risk factors, Spanish language materials, Young children

Annotation: This is a systematic review of risk factors associated with maternal morbidity and mortality in the U.S. during the prenatal and postpartum periods, including social and structural determinants of health. The focus is primarily on research that examines factors to which pregnant and birthing people have been exposed and that may underlie poor perinatal health outcomes. The U.S. Office of Disease Prevention requested the review to inform the November 29 – December 1, 2022 Pathways to Prevention workshop cosponsored by the National Institutes of Health’s Office of Research on Women’s Health, the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, the National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities, and the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

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Keywords: Evidence based medicine, Literature reviews, Maternal morbidity, Maternal mortality, Racism, Risk factors, Social determinants of health

Annotation: This report presents recommendations and a national call to action to improve the safety of community streets and roads. The authors compare the relative safety of pedestrians in different states and metropolitan areas, factoring in measurable changes in walking danger during the COVID-19 pandemic. Topics include the most dangerous places to walk; street design; the characteristics of dangerous roads; and impact on vulnerable populations, including older adults, communities of color, and low-income neighborhoods.

• 2022
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Keywords: Injury prevention, Motor vehicle accidents, Pedestrians, Resources for professionals, Risk assessment, Risk factors, Safety, State initiatives, Traffic safety, Transportation, Walking

Annotation: This technical report summarizes research findings on infant sleep safety, risk reduction, and trends in sleep-related infant deaths and postneonatal mortality. The report defines the terminology and diagnostic issues related to sudden infant death; explores the risk factors associated with sleep-related infant death, and recommends preventive measures based on scientific evidence The report also examines the racial and ethnic disparities that place some populations at higher risk.

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Keywords: Guidelines , Injury prevention, Risk factors, SIDS, Safety, Sleep, Sleep position

Annotation: [This online resource describes the ABCs of safe sleep-- baby sleeps safest Alone, on their Back, and in a Crib-- and provides a variety of tools and materials to help reduce the risk of sleep-related infant deaths. Included are screening tools for hospitals; model policies for licensed child care centers, maternity units, and pediatric hospitals; training materials for health professionals, and educational materials for parents and caregivers. Also provided are flyers, brochures, posters, and a Safe Sleep video in multiple languages, including Spanish, Arabic, French, Nepali, Burmese, Chinese, Mandarin, Swahili, Karen, Pashto, Marshallese, and Kinyarwanda,

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Keywords: Non English language materials, Prevention, Public health, Risk factors, SIDS, Safety, Sleep position

Annotation: This report describes strategies for implementing regionalized risk-appropriate maternal care across the United States through a levels of maternal care (LoMC) classification system. It examines key implementation components including facility assessment and verification, establishment of regional care networks, maternal transport systems, quality improvement processes, and data monitoring approaches. The report highlights challenges faced by rural facilities, the role of telemedicine, and the importance of addressing health equity in maternal care systems. Using case studies from various states and health systems, it provides specific recommendations for building sustainable LoMC systems nationally, including establishing a coordinating center, expanding funding mechanisms, and improving payment structures for obstetrical care.

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Keywords: Classification, Perinatal care, Reproductive health, Risk appropriate care, Risk factors

Annotation: This report describes the landscape of infant mortality in Minnesota, addressing prematurity and birth defects, racial and ethnic disparities, racial justice, and statewide strategic planning to addresses health inequities and improve birth outcomes. A discussion of the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on infant mortality is included.

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Keywords: Alcohol use during pregnancy, Drug use during pregnancy, Ethnic factors, Infant death, Infant mortality, Minnesota, Prenatal influences, Racial factors, Risk factors, State initiatives

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Keywords: Child care, Child safety, Gun control, Injury prevention, Risk factors, Unintentional injuries

Annotation: This Advisory offers recommendations for supporting the mental health of children, adolescents, and young adults. It describes the various factors that can shape the mental health of young people and explains how action can be taken at various levels to improve health outcomes. Separate sections explain how individuals, families and caregivers, educators, health professionals and health organizations, social media, community organizations, funders and foundations, employers, and goverrnments (federal, state, and local) can each address the mental health needs of young people. Included is a discussion of youth mental health before the pandemic, and the ways in which COVID-19 increased risk factors for children and young adults.

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Keywords: Children, Adolescents, Health promotion, Intervention, Mental health, Mental health services, Risk factors, Young adults, Youth

Annotation: This paper describes a multi-state technical assistance project on statewide approaches to address adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) across the lifespan, starting in June 2020. It addresses the goals, policy, and programs developed and launched by five states (Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Wyoming) that were selected to participate in the project by the National Governors Association and its partner organizations. A summary of the states’ work focuses on the following: (1) Establishing trauma-informed states by creating a holistic, cross-agency vision for cultural change; (2) Developing a common, statewide language and lens around trauma and ACEs and implementing universal trauma awareness communications and/or training; (3) Improving the quality of ACEs surveillance data; and (4) Increasing access to ACEs screening and developing a comprehensive, trauma-informed system of care. Highlighted are lessons learned from states that served as models for statewide approaches that prevent and address ACEs (e.g., disruption in family life, loss of income, food insecurity, and social isolation) and the development of trauma-informed policies (Alaska, California, New Jersey, and Tennessee).

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Keywords: Child health, Family health, High risk children, High risk families: Trauma, Model programs, Policy development, Prevention, Risk factors, State initiatives, Stress

Annotation: This publication explores the link between interpersonal and community-level racism and its impact on preterm birth, lower gestational age at birth, and infant low birth weight. Rather than focusing on individual behaviors that put pregnant people of color at higher risk of poor health outcomes, the authors describe how the toxic stress of racism affects physiological processes. One in a ten-part series of publications titled Saving the Lives of Mothers and Babies produced jointly by the National Partnership for Women and Families and the National Birth Equity Collaborative.

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Keywords: Blacks, Infant health, Low birthweight, Maternal health, Pregnancy, Preterm birth, Racial factors, Racism, Risk factors