Maternal & Child Health

Project Description

The Maternal and Child Health (MCH) pilot program was developed to lessen the health disparities that impact Black women and their babies by increasing their ability to access and utilize quality care. The program provides direct assistance to at-risk, expecting families with a holistic approach to prenatal care, postpartum care, and infant-early child development. Working closely with a broad and diverse group of community partners, expecting families will have access to local organizations and programs specializing in maternal and child health. The program allows more Black mothers and their infants to enroll in available health coverage options, provides them with access to more prenatal and well-child visits, and provides home visits from educators and healthcare providers.

Community Health Coordinators and Licensed Social Workers conduct home visits, using the Healthy Families America (HFA) approach to support families as they navigate their parenting journey. HFA is an evidence-based home visitation model rooted in the belief that early, nurturing relationships are the foundation for life-long, healthy development. HFA offers research-based curriculums to guide the team members and encourages local sites to implement additional services to further address the specific needs of the target populations.

PRIMARY PARTNERSHIPS

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

The program recruits participants by conducting culturally sensitive outreach to raise awareness of the program and collaborates with community organizations and local stakeholders who can assess the needs of the individuals and actively refer candidates for the program.

The Maternal and Child Health program partners with community-based organizations and experienced programs working with mothers to understand best practices, receive technical support, and build the referral network. Harris County Public Health has already engaged in qualitative one-on-one interviews with Maternal and Child Health Programs in Harris County and outside of the state.

TARGET IMPACT

The expected short-term impact of the program is to increase access to pre-and postpartum care; long term, the program aims to decrease maternal health disparities, decrease maternal mortality and morbidity, and decrease infant mortality.

Primary metrics tracked include:

  • Number of participants enrolled into available health coverage options
  • Number of prenatal and well-child visits
  • Number of home visits for health education and care

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