Thursday, November 21, 2024
11/21/2024
Project Title: Multnomah County Health Department Healthy Birth Initiatives Address: 5329 NE MLK Jr. Blvd., Portland, OR 97211 Project Director Name: Maya Noble Contact Phone: 503-988-2488 Email: maya.noble@multco.us Website: www.multco.us Requested Grant Funds: $1,100,000 per year Description of project: The Multnomah County Health Department (MCHD) is proposing continuation of its Healthy Start project, The Healthy Birth Initiatives (HBI), to improve health outcomes before, during, and after pregnancy and reduce racial/ethnic differences in rates of infant death and adverse perinatal outcomes within the Black/African American community in Multnomah County, Oregon. HBI has been a Healthy Start grantee implementing culturally specific and responsive services since 1997. Needs to be addressed: Multnomah County’s Black/African American population experiences persistent disparities in perinatal/birth and lifecourse health outcomes, fueled by structural racism and disadvantage across the social determinants of health. The Black/African American infant mortality rate is the highest in the county, over two-times that of the total population, and over three-times that of non-Latine white infants. Additionally, the pre-term birth rate is 42% higher than that of the total population, and the low birthweight rate is 79% higher than that of the total population. These adverse birth outcomes stem from systemic inequities and socioeconomic hardships that produce toxic stress, inhibit healthy lifestyles, and trigger epigenetic changes that result in adverse health outcomes that persist throughout an individual’s life span, affecting generation after generation. Key issues include lack of affordable housing, gentrification and forced displacement, and lack of culturally responsive healthcare. Proposed services: HBI provides case management/care coordination, group-based health and parenting education, community-based health promotion, and equity-based sys tems change. Specific services include outreach and client recruitment; screening, linkage to care, and assistance attending prenatal, preventive, other clinical, and behavioral healthcare, as well as other services; referral to other community-based resources and assistance programs; group-based prenatal/childbirth, parenting, and newborn care education; and community-wide education events. HBI also convenes a community consortium to advise program planning and implementation and serves as a subject matter expert in culturally responsive services for health systems, regional and State collaboratives, research partners, and more, in order to effect systems change. Population to be served: HBI’s population of focus is people identifying as Black/African American in Multnomah County, including those born in the U.S. and those who are immigrants or refugees. Due to fewer than 30 deaths among Black/African American infants during 2019-2021, Multnomah County’s Black/African American population is eligible for Healthy Start programming based on the combined 2019-2021 low birthweight rate of 12.7%, which is higher than 12.5% or 1.5 times the national average.
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).
