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Special Initiative: Disparities in Infant Mortality
Infant mortality—specifically, the disparity of outcomes between white and non-white births—is currently one of the most critical health problems in the state. In response, the Wisconsin Partnership Program and the UW-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health have launched a special long-term funding initiative to investigate and ultimately reduce the high incidence of African American infant mortality in Wisconsin.
Although Wisconsin is a leader among states for its low white infant mortality rate (number of infant deaths per 1,000 live births), the infant mortality rate for African Americans in Wisconsin is the highest in the nation. In 2004, infants born to African American mothers in Wisconsin were more than four times likely to die before their first birthday than infants born to white mothers. In the same year, the white infant mortality rate was 4.5 deaths per 1, 000 live births while the African American infant mortality rate was 19.3 deaths per 1, 000 live births. The incidence of birth outcome disparities in the state has significantly worsened over the past 25 years. In 1979-81, Wisconsin was ranked third best of the 34 states reporting nationwide.
As a first step in addressing the problem, Richard Aronson MD MPH was hired by the Partnership Program to assess the effectiveness of current state, national and global strategies, and provide recommendations for comprehensive community strategies that can be used as a basis for future action. Dr. Aronson produced a white paper report “Elimination of Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Birth Outcomes in Wisconsin” that discusses his findings and recommendations. The white paper report is available for download by selecting the link below.
The Wisconsin Partnership Program is also joining with the Johnson Foundation and the UW School of Medicine and Public Health to hold a two-day conference, “Wisconsin Infant Mortality Summit,” that will look further at the problem. State and national experts in the field will convene at the Wingspread Conference Center in Racine, Wisconsin, to discuss infant mortality and create a coalition of statewide partners to support a comprehensive action plan for improving birth outcomes among African American women in Wisconsin.
Following the conference, the Wisconsin Partnership Program with state and local partners will begin extensive planning for a comprehensive, multi-year strategy based on evidence-based, best practice public health and self-sustaining community-based interventions intended to produce better African-American birth outcomes. The Partnership Program and the UW School of Medicine and Public Health are deeply committed to addressing this issue. Although the amount of funds for the initiative has not been determined, long-term funding sources enables the Program to focus on long-term solutions.
Watch for future updates on our website.
For more information about this initiative contact:
Cathy Frey, Assistant Director
Wisconsin Partnership Program
University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health
Health Sciences Learning Center
750 Highland Avenue
Madison, WI 53705-2221
(608) 265-8146 phone
ccfrey@wisc.edu
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