Webinars

While preterm birth rates did decline nationwide and in many states between 2006 and 2014, rates in the U.S. increased throughout the span of the project. Additionally, significant disparities persisted in the preterm birth rate, with the gaps steadily widening. These disparities and widening gaps account for the increase in the overall U.S. preterm birth rate despite success in many states — and point to the critical need to address these disparities to have a meaningful impact on national rates.

Data collected as part of NICHQ’s leadership of IM CoIIN, a national initiative to improve birth outcomes and decrease infant mortality rates, coupled with contextual knowledge facilitated by strong relationships between NICHQ and state IM CoIIN teams, has enabled us to explore and document systems and infrastructures that promoted or hindered improvements in four states: Kansas, Massachusetts, Mississippi, and Oklahoma.

Webinar Objectives:

• Share key insights from case studies, including targeted interventions and policy efforts
• Share key insights about emerging issues identified in specific states that may apply more widely

Sickle cell disease (SCD) affects approximately 100,000 Americans, predominantly those of African descent. The inherited blood disorder may cause acute pain episodes, infection and other serious health problems that can affect every organ in the body.

To optimize health outcomes, national guidelines recommend routine follow-up appointments every six months, and more frequently for patients on specific therapies or experiencing complications. Yet, a 2019 national study showed that a majority of patients, both children and adults, reported missing a clinic appointment. This means that a majority of patients with SCD may miss out on therapies that have the potential to improve their health and quality of life.

To better understand what's behind the high rate of missed appointments, NICHQ conducted a series of interviews with patients and providers. Now, we're inviting all SCD stakeholders—health professionals, service providers, patients, and families—to view this webinar where we'll share our findings and facilitate a discussion on change strategies. 

Webinar objectives:

• Share key takeaways from the national study on appointment attendance among patients with SCD
• Share findings from the stakeholder interviews, including common reasons behind missed appointments and suggestions for increasing appointment attendance
• Facilitate an interactive discussion on systems-, hospital- and individual-level opportunities to increase appointment attendance

This webinar was hosted by NICHQ on behalf of Baby 1st Network

Understanding African American grief requires taking a long look at the historical and contemporary experiences around the issues of death. But troublingly, there is very little research conducted on Black grief and its connection to racism and the social injustices connected to it. Understanding the impact of systemic racism and its influence on how a person reacts to loss sets the stage for addressing how best to support communities that are disproportionately affected by infant death.

This webinar will offer insight on how some women of color deal with compounded loss and trauma. Participants will walk away with an opportunity to gain additional knowledge on how to best serve communities of color affected by infant loss. 

Racism continues to adversely affect the health of families across the country. There are stark racial disparities in health outcomes for moms and babies; and families of color have shared countless stories that reveal disturbing differences in care. 

Thus, the need to combat racism is undeniable, especially for those working in public health and health care. But what does this look like for an individual? This third webinar in our series on health equity focuses on providing strategies and guidance that individuals can use to identify and address racism and racial bias. 

After watching the webinar, viewers will be able to:

• Understand and contextualize the three levels of racism: internalized, interpersonal and institutionalized/structural racism
• Apply a racial equity lens to collective impact-based health improvement initiatives using six guiding questions 
• Identify key strategies for designing intentional, action-oriented, and strengths-based approaches to start and sustain an equity-focused organizational culture shift 

This second webinar in our Health Equity Series shares experiences from two health equity champions: Arthur R. James, MD, an obstetrician, gynecologist and pediatrician who has sought to improve care for underserved populations for the entirety of his medical career; and Denise Evans, MM, MA, a certified facilitator on cultural intelligence and unconscious bias.

Together, they provide insights on:

• Successful programs that have addressed health equity
• Lessons learned about what led to those programs’ successes
• Strategies that programs and organizations can use to champion health equity in their work

In this webinar, you'll learn about: 

• The prevalence of maternal depression, and its effect on early childhood outcomes and health disparities
• The latest recommendations for maternal depression screening from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force
• Strategies for improving access to screenings and interventions
• Actions you can take at the community, state, and federal level to help more mothers and families get the support they deserve

The first in a series of webinars to support individuals who are pursuing equity within the health system. If you have ever felt overwhelmed on where to begin with tackling such a complex subject, we invite you to watch our first webinar and join us in what will be an ongoing conversation.

Specifically, this webinar provides: 

• An overview of health equity and implicit bias, and their impact on children's health
• A modeling exercise to explore how to recognize and address individual implicit bias
• Resources and guidance to help attendees continue this journey after the webinar

Medicaid covers many of the children who could most benefit from better supports in early childhood, making it a vital resource for developmental health. Innovative changes in Medicaid payment mechanisms can help more children get the care they need. What are these opportunities? How can we—as parents, advocates, organizers and care professionals—put them into action?

In this webinar, you'll:

• Learn how Medicaid can be used to improve early childhood health and address disparities
• Discover ideas on how families and community advocates, specifically, can leverage Medicaid
• Engage in a Q&A workshop with some of the top policy experts in the field

This webinar provides approaches and strategies health professionals can use to help mothers open up about the challenges they face when breastfeeding. By understanding those challenges, we can better provide the supports they need.

Viewers will walk away with insight on:

• The supports and barriers facing breastfeeding mothers
• Methods to identify breastfeeding concerns 
• Conversational approaches to better identify and engage with breastfeeding concerns
• Methods for inspiring behavioral change

The webinar concludes with a role-play scenario so attendees can see how to put these approaches into action.

How can we break the cycle of addiction and improve health for moms and babies? Experts discuss the benefits of universal screening for opioid use in the prenatal period and identify best practices of caring for a mother during the prenatal period. Specifically, viewers will learn about: 

• Overview of the continuum of care for mothers and infants
• Patient story 
• Evidenced based recommendations and strategies to identify mothers and infants at risk
• Standardized management of mothers and infants optimizing a non-pharmacologic care bundle
• Importance of maternal involvement in care

This webinar is provided by the National Network of Perinatal Quality Collaboratives.