Kathryn Brow, Christine Darko, Luiza Korobkova, Anthony Tran

Infant Mortality: A health disparity between African

Americans and the General Population in Massachusetts

UMass, AmherstBrandeis UniversityUMass, Boston

Kathryn Brow, Christine Darko, Luiza Korobkova, Anthony Tran

Infant Mortality: A health disparity between African

Americans and the General Population in Massachusetts

UMass, AmherstBrandeis UniversityUMass, Boston

INFANT MORTALITY

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

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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

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Evidence of the Disparity

Infant Mortality Disparity between Blacks and the General Public in Massachusetts

Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Birth Report 2010

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Infant Mortality Rates National vs. Massachusetts

National Vital Statistics Reports, 2008

5

What causes this disparity?

• Socioeconomic status

• Education

• Health care access• Inadequacy of prenatal care• Lack of treatment for chronic diseases

which can complicate pregnancies

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Low Birth Weight Rates Based on Race

Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Birth Report 2010

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Adequacy of Prenatal Care by Race, Education and Age

Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Birth Report 2010

8

Highest Infant Mortality Rate Disparity is in

Worcester

Massachusetts Department of Public Health, 2011 Perinatal Trends

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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

1111

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

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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.

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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

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Massachusetts Department of Public Health

City Demographics1717

US Department of Commerce, US Census Bureau

REFERENCESDate, I. (n.d.). Bureau of Health Information, Statistics, Research, and Evaluation. Community List. Retrieved May 30, 2013, from http://archives.lib.state.ma.us/handle/2452/36959Health Disparities: MedlinePlus. (n.d.). National Library of Medicine - National Institutes of Health. Retrieved June 6, 2013, from http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/healthdisparities.htmlMacDorman, 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 http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db120.pdf"Massachusetts QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau." State and County QuickFacts. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 June 2013. <http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/25000.html>.MassCHIP. (n.d.). Mass.Gov. Retrieved May 30, 2013, from http://www.mass.gov/eohhs/researcher/community-health/masschip/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), 1-27.Powers, D. A. (2013). Black&white differences in maternal age, maternal birth cohort, and period effects on infant mortality in the US (1983-2002). Elsevier, 42(1), 1033-1045.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 http://hpp.sagepub.com/content/14/3/408

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