Kathryn Brow, Christine Darko, Luiza Korobkova, Anthony Tran Infant Mortality: A health disparity between African Americans and the General Population in Massachusetts UMass, Amherst Brandeis University UMass, Boston

Kathryn Brow, Christine Darko, Luiza Korobkova, Anthony Tran Infant Mortality: A health disparity between African Americans and the General Population in Massachusetts UMass, Amherst Brandeis University UMass, Boston

INFANT MORTALITY Definition: The death of an infant before his or her first birthday. 1

Leading Causes of Infant Death Account for more than 46% of all infant deaths. 1. Low birth weight 2. Congenital malformations 3. Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) 4. Maternal complications 2

WHAT IS A HEALTH DISPARITY? Health disparities refer to differences between groups of people, these differences can affect how frequently: a disease affects a group how many people get sick how often the disease cause death 3

Evidence of the Disparity Infant Mortality Disparity between Blacks and the General Public in Massachusetts Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Birth Report

Infant Mortality Rates National vs. Massachusetts National Vital Statistics Reports,

What causes this disparity? Socioeconomic status Education Health care access Inadequacy of prenatal care Lack of treatment for chronic diseases which can complicate pregnancies 6

Low Birth Weight Rates Based on Race Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Birth Report

Adequacy of Prenatal Care by Race, Education and Age Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Birth Report

Highest Infant Mortality Rate Disparity is in Worcester Massachusetts Department of Public Health, 2011 Perinatal Trends 9

Ways to reduce risk of Infant Mortality Safe sleeping practices Adequate prenatal care Health campaigns Social Marketing Worcester Healthy Start Initiative WIC 10

Mediums of Awareness Campaign Mediums to carry messages included: bus ads radio ads church fans posters and cards distributed in: clinics daycares agency waiting rooms community organizations 11

Results (according to telephone surveys) (Campaign 1) Awareness of IM disparities 62% report some exposure (Campaign 2) Proper infant sleep position 48.5% report some exposure (Campaign 3) Taking action to reduce disparities 48.9% report some exposure 12

Summary There is a prevalent infant mortality rate disparity between African Americans and the general population. Though infant mortality rate in Blacks has decreased by half over the past 2 decades, the disparity persists. Data from recent years have shown increases in infant mortality rates for Blacks, Asians and Hispanics. There is an inverse correlation between prenatal care and infant mortality rates. Evidence has shown that awareness campaigns can greatly reduce risk of infant mortality. 13

Questions? 14

Every child deserves a chance. 15 Since the beginning of this presentation more than 36 infants have died….

Worcester Infant Mortality Rate by Race 16 Massachusetts Department of Public Health

City Demographics 17 US Department of Commerce, US Census Bureau

REFERENCES Date, I. (n.d.). Bureau of Health Information, Statistics, Research, and Evaluation. Community List. Retrieved May 30, 2013, from Health Disparities: MedlinePlus. (n.d.). National Library of Medicine - National Institutes of Health. Retrieved June 6, 2013, from MacDorman, M. F., Hoyert, D. L., & Mathews, T. (2013). Recent Declines in Infant Mortality in the United States, 2005–2011. National Vital Statistics Reports, 120, 6. Retrieved May 30, 2013, from "Massachusetts QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau." State and County QuickFacts. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 June MassCHIP. (n.d.). Mass.Gov. Retrieved May 30, 2013, from Mathews, T. J., & MacDorman, M. F. (2013). Infant Mortality Statistics From the 2008 Period Linked Birth/Infant Death Data Set. National Vital Statistics Reports, 60(5), Powers, D. A. (2013). Black&white differences in maternal age, maternal birth cohort, and period effects on infant mortality in the US ( ). Elsevier, 42(1), Rienks, J., & Oliva, G. (n.d.). Using Social Marketing to Increase Awareness of the African American Infant Mortality Disparity. Health Promotion Practice. Retrieved May 30, 2013, from 18