Safe sleep messages are often contradicted in advertising. Magazines have images of babies sleeping on their stomachs and surrounded by stuffed animals and loose blankets. Furniture sections of baby stores are filled with cribs with matching bumper sets and newborn quilts. This culture of mixed messages not only confuses parents, according to a recent study…
The growing demand for maternal and child health services and support, coupled with stagnant or shrinking resources, is causing state health departments to find creative ways to do more with less. Many states are leveraging home visiting programs as a convenient way to spread important information and strategies related to safe sleep practices, a key…
Native Americans have rich traditions and beliefs that often conflict with Western healthcare culture. To address disparities in infant health in this vulnerable population, experts say public health and healthcare workers need to build relationships first, then offer advice second. “Everyone can play a role addressing infant mortality with Native communities. It’s unfair to assume…
The growing trend of increasing capacity and timeliness of collecting surveillance data (such as birth and death records used by epidemiologists) is opening up opportunities for these rich data sources to be used for quality improvement (QI) efforts. In the Collaborative Improvement and Innovation Network to Reduce Infant Mortality (Infant Mortality CoIIN), states are working…
When Stephanie Birch, RNC, MPH, MS, was a new nurse in 1982, Alaska’s infant mortality rate was the highest in the nation. More than 30 years later, Alaska sits at the opposite end of the spectrum, with the lowest rate of infant deaths. While it wasn’t a quick fix, Birch says Alaska shows significant improvement…
Last week I was sharing some of the exciting work happening in my NICHQ projects with my family and they asked (jokingly) what my boss had against me. You see, I’m expecting my first child in July and they couldn’t imagine how I could enjoy working on projects related to infant mortality. My take is…
Thousands of infants die each year in unsafe sleep conditions. Sadly, the majority of sleep-related deaths are preventable. One innovative and successful approach to reduce these tragedies is to train law enforcement, fire rescue squads and other first responders to educate families about safe sleep habits. “We have access to homes that no one else…
The saying, “if you can make it here you can make it anywhere,” of New York City, holds true for even its youngest members. New York City’s infant mortality rate—4.6 deaths per 1,000 live births in the first year of life—is nearly 30 percent lower than the U.S. rate. What’s the city’s secret? A multi-pronged,…
From my recent experience at the Infant Mortality Summits, a meeting of the Collaborative Improvement and Innovation Network (CoIIN) to Reduce Infant Mortality (Infant Mortality CoIIN), it seems that the time is ripe for the widespread growth of quality improvement (QI) strategies in the public health arena. Prior to the Summits in July, public health leaders…
Compared to other Western countries, infant mortality in the U.S. is shockingly high. High infant mortality is a social problem that can only be solved through massive collaboration and out-of-the-box innovation. To tackle this issue I propose to tap into the “creativity of the swarm,” using collaborative innovation to help parents and caregivers take the…