Thursday, November 21, 2024
11/21/2024
Project Name Columbus Healthy Start- My Baby & Me Organization Name Columbus Public Health Address 240 Parsons Avenue, Columbus, OH 43215 Primary Contact: Valerie Eldridge Title Project Director Telephone Phone (614)645-1697/Fax (614)645 The Columbus Public Health Department (CPH) submits this application for funding under the HRSA Healthy Start Initiative: Eliminating Disparities in Perinatal Health (HRSA-24-033) to address the significant disparities in maternal and infant health outcomes that exist in Franklin County Ohio, particularly disparities experienced by non-Hispanic Black (NHB) families and other families facing liabilities pertaining to Social Determinants of Health (SDOH). Franklin County, Ohio is a large and diverse community in terms of race, culture, and socio-demographics. It includes some communities which provide residents with resources that foster health and well-being (e.g., good schools, employment). Yet, the county also includes communities with far fewer opportunities. Instead, they present residents with a host of liabilities (e.g., unsafe housing) that diminish health and well-being and increase stress. Pregnant women and infants are often the residents of these communities. NHB women is one segment of county residents that tends to be faced with significant challenges either because they reside in opportunity-poor and stress-rich communities, and/or they experience disparities in services (e.g., restricted access to culturally responsive healthcare). NHB women and their children often pay a high price in terms of adverse maternal and child outcomes. The Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) for NHB women in Franklin County is 12.5 deaths per 1000 births which exceeds the county-wide rate (7.1/1000) and national average (5.5/10 00). Infants born to NHB women in the county were 1.7 times as likely to be low birthweight as those born to non-Hispanic white (NHW) women (12.6% vs. 7.3%). Looking at very low birthweight babies (<1500g), the black/white disparity ratio is even higher at 2.5 (2.8% vs. 1.1%). Similarly, babies born to NHB women were more likely to be born preterm (<37 weeks gestation) than babies born to NHW women, with an overall preterm rate in 2019-2021 of 11%. The MBM project will particularly focus on NHB women and their families in the county. MBM will serve 700 county residents per year, over a 5-year period. This includes pregnant or parenting adults of babies up to 18 months old, including partners and fathers and women between pregnancies. Major program components are direct and enabling services and a Community Consortium (CC). Direct services include home visitation and group education services. Home visitors (e.g., social workers, nurses) will ensure participants can access healthcare, insurance, and community resources, such as transportation, food resources, and education and employment opportunities. Home visitors also will provide health, pregnancy, and parenting education. Group education classes will be available in community settings so that families can meet, learn together and build supportive relationships with fellow parents. Content like pregnancy and breastfeeding, infant milestones, parenting, and mental health will be covered. Community members will be served using a strengths-based approach and can select services that best help them reach their personalized family goals. A Community Consortium (CC) will be convened to support, oversee, and seek to improve services over the course of the grant period. The CC will be comprised of MBM participants, community members, and agency stakeholders. The CC also will approve and oversee the implementation of a plan to address SDOH in communities and rectify liabilities associated with adverse maternal, in fant and child outcomes.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).
