Maternal and Infant Mortality Disparities

Description of Maternal and Infant Mortality Issue
HealthyPeople 2020 provides national healthcare objectives for improving
Americans’ health and well-being. All of the objectives are based on science and are set for
each decade. Among the key HealthyPeople 2020 objectives is improvement of maternal,
infant, and child health. This objective is important because the well-being of mothers,
infants, and children is considered critical in ensuring that the next generation of Americans
lives a healthy and fulfilling life. A major component of this objective is reduction of
maternal and infant mortality rates. Among developed countries, the United States has one of
the highest maternal and infant mortality rates (Taylor et al., 2019). These rates can be
reduced through addressing factors that cause maternal and infant deaths.
Disparities Related to Maternal and Infant Mortality

According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 700 American
women die each year during pregnancy or just after delivery. In terms of racial composition
of these deaths, African American women are disproportionately represented. The racial
disparities are especially stark when the mortality rate of African American women is
compared to that of their Asian American and non-Hispanic Whites counterparts. African
American women are four times more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications
than Asian Americans or non-Hispanic White women (Taylor et al., 2019). The same levels
of disparity exists in infant mortality statistics. According to CDC, African American infants
are twice likely to die within a year of birth than infants born to Asian American and non-
Hispanic White mothers (Taylor et al., 2019).
The higher rates of maternal and infant mortality among African Americans are a
result of African Americans being more likely to be affected by factors that lead to

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pregnancy-related deaths than Asian and non-Hispanic Whites. These factors include higher
prevalence of gestational diabetes, preterm labor, depression, and substance abuse (Taylor et
al., 2019). According to CDC, one of the ways in which women can avoid pregnancy-related
deaths and also deaths of their infants is through adoption of healthy lifestyles as long as they
are within the reproductive age. Healthy lifestyles that CDC recommends include being
physically active, preventing injuries, quitting all forms of substance abuse, and maintaining
healthy weight and diet.
Public Health Communication Strategy to Reduce the Health Disparity
One way of reducing racial disparities related to maternal and infant mortality rates is
through effective use of public health communication. Public health communication involves
the use of various forms of communication strategies to not just inform but also to influence
both individual and group decisions that enhance the health of individuals and groups making
the decisions (Parvanta, Nelson & Harner, 2017). Public health communication plays a key
role in the practice and promotion of maternal and infant health across the world. It is
effective in promoting positive health outcomes because promotion of good health usually
requires that the individuals or groups that are disproportionately affected by a given disease
burden change their practices, behaviors, attitudes, and perceptions (Parvanta et al., 2017).
For public health communication to be effective, it is important to choose an effective
communication strategy. This paper’s proposal strategy seeks to disseminate all the relevant
information related to healthy pregnancies, including practices that promote such healthy
pregnancies, to as many African American women of reproductive age as possible. The target
of African American women in the public health communication strategy is because the
group faces the greatest burden in regards to maternal and infant mortality rates. The strategy
will involve dissemination of information at the macro, meso, and micro levels.

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Plan for Communication

A communication plan ensures that the right public health message reaches its
targeted audience at the right time and in the right manner. In creating public health
communication plan, key elements that need to be considered include goals and objectives of
the communication, the message to be disseminated, the social, cultural, or economic group
that the message targets, the communication tactics that will be used to disseminate the
information, and the timeline for communication (Parvanta et al., 2017).
In regard to the public health communication for the issue under discussion, the goal
of the communication is to reduce maternal and infant mortality rate. The key message that
the communication will seek to convey is that all women of reproductive age, especially
those that are planning to have kids in the near future, should adopt healthy lifestyles.
Elements of healthy lifestyle that the message will recommend include quitting substance
abuse, being physically active, and maintaining healthy weight and diet. The message will
also include recommendation that women who are planning to get pregnant should first visit a
healthcare provider for appropriate medical advice. Additionally, the message will
recommend that women planning to get pregnant should, prior to getting pregnant, address
any health problem that they may have which may affect either themselves or their child.
The targeted audience for the communication will be African American women who
are of reproductive age. In particular, the communication will target African American
women from low social-economic background who are the hardest-hit group with regard to
maternal and infant mortality rates.
As for tactics, the message will be broadcast at macro, meso, and micro levels. At the
macro level, the plan is to create a website that will act as a one-stop place for all information
that is related to healthy pregnancies. At the meso level, the plan will use billboards placed in

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neighborhoods that are inhabited predominantly by African Americans. Lastly, at the micro
level, there will be the use of text messages, pamphlets, and brochures to reach the targeted
group at a personal level. As for communication timeline, the public health communication
will run for two years.

Evaluation Plan for Communication

An evaluation of pubic health communication determines, among other things,
whether the communication was effective or not. At the end of the two-year timeline that the
message is supposed to run, there will be an outcome and impact evaluation of the
communication campaign. Outcome evaluation will examine whether the communication
campaign achieved its goal of reducing maternal and infant mortality rates among African
American women. This evaluation will be conducted by checking maternal and infant
mortality statistics in the region where the communication campaign will be conducted. If
there will be reduction in the number of maternal and infant deaths among African
Americans, then the public health communication campaign will be deemed to have been a
success.
As for impact evaluation, surveys will be conducted among African American
communities to assess whether there had been significant changes in behaviors, attitudes,
knowledge, and awareness regarding practices that promote healthy pregnancies. If, for
instance, the surveys reveal that there had been an increase in the number of women within
reproductive age who have adopted healthy lifestyles or who consider adopting such lifestyle
important for their health, then the communication campaign will be considered to have been
a success.

Creation of Targeted Communication

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The messages to promote maternal and infant health will be created in a manner that
is appropriate for the communication channel used. For instance, billboards will have large
images of pregnant women with a short message on the need to go for regular health
checkups both before and during pregnancy. The message will also emphasize the importance
of living a healthy lifestyle. Lastly, it will have the name and link of the website where
women can get all the information that they require that is related with having healthy
pregnancy.
Text messages will also will also have similar information but without images.
Pamphlets and brochures will have more detailed information than text messages and
billboards. Regardless of the type of communication channel used, the message will
emphasize visits to healthcare professionals for advice before and during pregnancy, having
medical checks before and during pregnancy, and living a healthy lifestyle.
Reflection on Learning Through the Project

The project has taught me the importance of public health communication in
promoting desirable health outcomes. Public health communication is particularly important
when it is directed a population group that suffers from a given public health issue or disease
burden and where access to relevant healthcare information acts as a barrier to positive health
outcomes. In the case of the issue of maternal and infant mortality examined in this paper,
effective public health communication targeted at African American women has the potential
of significantly reducing maternal and infant mortality in this population group. Such an
outcome will help in reducing the disparity that exists between African American women and
Asian/non-Hispanic White women with regards to maternal and infant mortality rate.

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References

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (n/a). Reproductive Health: Preventing
Pregnancy-Related Deaths.
https://www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/maternal-mortality/preventing-pregnancy-
related-deaths.html
Parvanta, C., Nelson, D. E., & Harner, R. N. (2017). Public health communication: critical
tools and strategies. Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Taylor, J., Novoa, C., Hamm, K., & Phadke, S. (2019). Eliminating racial disparities in
maternal and infant mortality. Center for American Progress.