Conference Abstract Compendium Examples from the ... - CityMatCH

2009 CityMatCH Urban MCH Leadership ConferenceThe showers are designed to do the following:• Provide interconceptional education and counseling to project area and community families.• Identify pregnant women for case management services.• Link families with maternal and child health resources.• Recruit lay health advisor training participants.• Recruit consortium members.• Provide intervention services using professionals from the community such as: a community healtheducator, certified lactation consultant and early childhood development specialist.ACCOMPLISHMENTS/RESULTSWomen’s Health Questionnaires are used to capture biological, behavioral, psychological, socialprotective and risk factors that may contribute to the birth outcomes across the span of each woman’s life.Results of participant survey pre/post intervention indicate participants were enthusiastic about thelearning environment; had increased awareness of community resources; believed that the showers wereeducational and useful; were more receptive to case management; and were more likely to becomeactively involved in the community-based consortium.Our success is measured at the end of the event when the families team up to play our interconceptionalhealth-themed JEOPARDY trivia game. This game allows us to gauge how much of the information wasretained. This presentation can be facilitated in 20-25 minutes and requires PowerPoint technology.BARRIERS• Lack of continuous reinforcement of interconceptional health education by physicians.• Local health agencies and providers with insufficient cultural competency guidelines.• Negative reputation of county health departments.LESSONS LEARNED• Most women who attend community showers lack financial and social resources to have traditionalshowers.• Community awareness about the racial disparities in infant mortality and health disparities for womenhas to be increased.• Educating the community about interconceptional care helps combat low birth weight and infantmortality.137