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Preconception Health and Health Care Update
Greetings
This is a monthly communication for individuals interested in improving the health of women and infants through preconception health and health care. We welcome your readership and contributions. |
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State Medicaid Agencies Focus on Women's Health and Preconception Care
A new project, "Improving Primary and Interconception Care for Women in Medicaid: Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Learning for State Agencies," was launched this month. Growing from states' interest in improving women's health and birth outcomes, the purpose of this project is to provide a forum for peer-to-peer learning through online meetings and communication.
The participating states are: California, Florida, Illinois, Louisiana, North Carolina, Oklahoma, and Texas. Each state has a learning team representing Medicaid, Title V, and other agencies and organizations.
The project is jointly sponsored by The Commonwealth Fund and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Preconception Health and Health Care Initiative. Consistent with the Commonwealth Fund's State High Performance Health Systems program, this project will assist states in the development of programs, policies, and infrastructure needed to improve health care quality and outcomes for women of childbearing age.
Key questions states will explore include the following.
- How can our state improve the quality of primary care visits (including postpartum visits) for Medicaid-covered women in order to boost access to and use of evidence-based preconception care?
- What approaches can be used to engage and educate providers in related quality improvement efforts?
- How can our state develop an "interconception care" strategy to focus on providing more intensive services for women who experienced a Medicaid-financed pregnancy with adverse outcomes (e.g., fetal loss, preterm birth, very low birthweight birth, infant mortality)?
- What is the value/benefit of focusing on the poorest women who remain eligible for 60-days of postpartum coverage after a Medicaid financed birth?
- How can we leverage Title V and Title X financing along with Medicaid?
- What opportunities exist within the new federal health reform legislation, including eligibility expansion options?
States will meet over the coming twelve months. Through collaborative thinking, states expect to learn from one another about opportunities to better use: quality improvement processes, managed care contracting, data systems, waivers, and interagency strategies. |
Preconception Peer Educators:
September Training Opportunity
 Preconception peer educators are being trained on college campuses acrosss the country.
Many have expressed interest in the Preconception Peer Educators Program for their stats, universities, or organizations. Given limited resources, the Office of Minority Health (OMH), of the US Department of Health and Human Services, would like to convene a training conference in Washington, DC in September 2010. The conference would bring together students from 20 states, with 5 universities/colleges from each state bringing a team of 4 students and 1 advisor from each school. If your state or university has interest, please contact Isabel Estrada-Portales.
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LA County Preconception Health Report Measures Scale of Challenge Ahead
A new report, Healthy Women, Healthy Children: Preconception Health in LA County: Women's Health in the Reproductive Years, examines the health of all women of reproductive age (15- 44 years).
The report found that, in Los Angeles County, 50% of all pregnancies are unplanned, 20% of women did not have a regular source of health care, 15% of women reported being previously diagnosed with depression, 20% were obese, and more than one-third reported engaging in minimal to no physical activity in a typical week. Of the 4 million babies born in the United States each year, more than 150,000 babies are born in Los Angeles County.
"As women think about when or whether to have children, they should also think about how to improve their health first. The opportunity to impact the health of a baby starts before conception, and the health of a potential mother should be a priority long before pregnancy," said Jonathan E. Fielding, MD, MPH, Director of Public Health and Health Officer.
Cynthia A. Harding, MPH, Director of Public Health Maternal, Child, and Adolescent Health Programs, is among the leaders of the Los Angeles County Preconception Health Collaborative, which aims to incorporate preconception health care into public health practice and medical care to reduce disparities in maternal and infant health. Partners include the LA County Department of Public Health, California Family Health Council, LA Best Babies Network, March of Dimes, PAC/LAC, and WIC Program.
A copy of the full report is available online and can be downloaded at: http://www.publichealth.lacounty.gov/ha. Or visit their YouTube channel. More information and recommendations for improving healthy habits for women of childbearing age can be found at: http://www.publichealth.lacounty.gov/mch. |
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