CLINICIANS & PROVIDERS

Achieving better
health outcomes
for patients

Clinicians and care providers in maternal and child health want the best health outcomes for children and families. On this page, you’ll find evidence-based information and upstream-focused resources to help center families in your care.

NICHQ and CLINICIANS & PROVIDERS

Improving the quality of care for every patient we serve

The National Institute for Children’s Health Quality has long partnered with and supported clinical care professionals, who are key influencers of patient experience and related health outcomes. From our early focus on the medical home and child health disciplines to our continual work on breastfeeding/safe sleep, newborn screening, and sickle cell disease, relationships with physicians, clinical care specialists, and hospital staff have been critical to our project success.

Lasting change takes dedicated, consistent effort at many different levels.

Our dedicated staff – many with degrees in public health and medicine themselves – understand that to affect positive change, especially at the scale of population health, there are no quick fixes. It takes dedicated, consistent effort at many different levels to produce lasting results.

Clinical care providers working at hospitals, health departments, and community-based organizations serve key roles on NICHQ project teams, as subject matter experts, advisors, and members of quality improvement initiatives. Through evidence-based approaches, collaborative hospital teams have worked to improve patient engagement, transition of care for pediatric patients to adult services, and respectful care for all patients.

Because we are deeply committed to our mission, we offer a variety of open access resources, in the form of webinars, reports, publications, and more. This page is curated with resources for clinical care providers who are interested in improving the quality of care they offer mothers and birthing people, their children, and their families. Use these resources in your practice and share with colleagues to facilitate wider improvements.

CLINICIANS & PROVIDERS

Resources by Health Topic

Explore NICHQ Content

Health topics curated for clinicians and providers.

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Publications

Community infant safe sleep and breastfeeding promotion

A mixed-methods study to improve population-level health outcomes

Though breastfeeding is a protective factor against sudden unexpected infant death, motivations to breastfeed often couple with unsafe infant sleep practices. Racial/ethnic disparities are present in sudden unexpected infant death, accidental suffocation and strangulation in bed, and breastfeeding. The study aimed to investigate the relationship between community-level strategies and associated state-level outcomes for infant safe sleep and breastfeeding.

Findings

We identified two mixed insights: gaps in promotion and outcomes, and persistent disparities between infant safe sleep and breastfeeding promotion and outcomes. Findings indicate conversational approaches could improve infant safe sleep and breastfeeding promotion, outcomes, and relative disparities. Community collaboration is needed to address organizational capacity limitations in promoting infant safe sleep and breastfeeding.

CLINICIANS & PROVIDERS

How to engage with NICHQ

Access resources in maternal child health

Does your organization need an all-in-one collaborative communication hub? Whether you’re looking to improve internal communications or to serve your clients, check out getting a CORAL of your own!

Learn More

Get CORAL for your organization

Does your organization need an all-in-one collaborative communication hub? Whether you’re looking to improve internal communications or to serve your clients, check out getting a CORAL of your own!

Learn More

Get CORAL for your organization

Does your organization need an all-in-one collaborative communication hub? Whether you’re looking to improve internal communications or to serve your clients, check out getting a CORAL of your own!

Learn More

Webinars

Webinars to Improve your Practice

Harnessing the Power of Collaboration to Improve Outcomes for Families Affected by Substance Use Disorder in Pregnancy

Webinar on implementing Plans of Safe Care (POSC) to support infants, parents, and caregivers affected by substance use disorder.

Watch now

Impact of Doulas on MCH

This webinar highlights doula benefits, Medicaid legislation, and their role in healthcare.

Watch now

The Equity Exchange: Weathering + Equity Fatigue

Join us for a conversation about equity fatigue and weathering, where we’ll discuss strategies for maintaining momentum and engagement in equity initiatives.

Watch now

Reducing Preterm Birth

Webinar on data collected as part of IM CoIIN to improve birth outcomes and decrease infant morality rates.

Watch now

Resources for Clinicians & Providers

We’ve highlighted these specific resources for their relevance and practical application for medical care professionals.

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Podcast logo for Before Birth and Beyond: Improving Care in MCH with NICHQ.

S1E1B After Action Reviews Improve Systems, Strengthen Teams

In this bonus episode of Before Birth & Beyond episode, learn about the After Action Review (AAR) – a quality improvement process designed to help teams identify and learn from successes and failures.

Listen now

Leveraging Data for Equity in Maternal and Child Health

This report summarizes findings from the formative evaluation, encompassing data from three different activities with state teams.

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Catalyst Conversations: Connect with leaders, advocates, and innovators in maternal and child health

S1E1 Strengthening Inter-Organizational Efforts in Anti-Racism and Equity

Scott D. Berns, CEO of NICHQ, discusses the Coalition for Anti-Racism and Equity in Maternal and Child Health with Jonathan Webb, MPH, MBA, CEO of AWHONN, and Terrance Moore, CEO of AMCHP.

Listen now
Podcast logo for Before Birth and Beyond: Improving Care in MCH with NICHQ.

S2E2 Doula Care Improves Birth Outcomes, Patient Family Engagement

Celebrate World Doula Week as we discuss the ways doula support improves maternal and child health outcomes and patient & family engagement with LaToshia Rouse, owner of Birth Sisters Doula Services.

Listen now

A Physician’s Reflections on Racism and Treating Sickle Cell Disease

There are times in life when new information prompts us to reflect on our past experiences, ask ourselves tough questions, and contemplate how we could have made different choices. Our willingness to experience those moments and how we change after having them is what could make all the difference for someone else’s quality of life….

Read more

NICHQ News

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Initiatives

NICHQ projects improving the quality of care

Learn about active and recent projects that engage clinical care providers.

National Network of Perinatal Quality Collaboratives

NICHQ works to enhance the coordination and communication of perinatal quality collaboratives across the nation, with the ultimate goal of improving health outcomes for mothers and newborns.

Learn more about this project

Community-Centered Hospital Initiative (CCHI)

The Community-Centered Hospital Initiative (CCHI) aims to address the stark and persistent disparities in the health outcomes of mothers, birthing people, and infants by strengthening collaboration and power-sharing between communities and hospitals.

Learn more about this project

Family Engagement and Leadership in Systems of Care

The purpose of the FELSC program is to enhance engagement of families of children and youth with special health care needs (CYSHCN) and individuals with lived experience, within the systems that serve them. FELSC includes two projects: 1) providing national family engagement leadership to support maternal and child health programs that serve CYSHCN and 2) providing TA to Family to Family Health Information Centers.

Learn more about this project

New York State Perinatal Quality Collaborative (NYSPQC) Projects

A set of projects focused on providing the best and safest care for women and infants in New York State by collaborating with birthing hospitals, perinatal care providers and other key stakeholders to prevent and minimize harm.

Learn more about this project

Sudden Unexpected Infant Death Prevention

The Sudden Unexpected Infant Death (SUID) Program’s purpose is to reduce the overall rates of sudden unexpected infant death (SUID) and reduce racial and ethnic disparities in SUID; to guide improvements; and to identify and support policy changes that address state- and community-specific SUID risks.

Learn more about this project