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Wed, 01/25/2012
Tue, 10/18/2011
Tue, 09/27/2011
In recognition of National Infant Mortality Awareness Month this September, The Johnson Foundation at Wingspread and the Greater Racine Collaborative for Healthy Birth Outcomes today released a video detailing how one community is tackling the crisis of African American infant mortality.
The video captures the heartbreaking and surprising details of the problem and identifies key factors that have created this “invisible crisis.” By examining the situation in Racine, one of the areas with the highest African American infant mortality rates, the video demonstrates what needs to be done to combat this problem that has plagued so many American communities.
“The video brings the crisis out of the shadows and allows the viewer to better understand the nature of what is happening in our communities,” said Carole Johnson, Director, Community Programs for The Johnson Foundation at Wingspread. “Our purpose with the video is to raise awareness, not only of infant mortality, but of African American infant mortality specifically. By shining a light on this critical issue, communities across the nation will be in a better position to remedy and address this alarming concern.”
An African American baby born in Racine today is nearly three times more likely to die before his or her first birthday than a white baby. That is why in 2008 a group convened at the Johnson Foundation at Wingspread and formed the Greater Racine Collaborative for Healthy Birth Outcomes (The Collaborative), a unique initiative that brings together every corner of the community in order to address this crisis.
Over the past two years, The Collaborative members invested time, intellect and resources in intensive study, gathering formal and informal data, listening to community members, meeting with experts and searching for successful models from across the nation. For the past year, The Collaborative has received support and assistance from the Wisconsin Partnership Program of the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health as one of four communities participating in their Lifecourse Initiative for Healthy Families.
The Collaborative has laid out a series of concrete recommendations to address the crisis. The Collaborative followed the Lifecourse Perspective recommended by Dr. Michael Lu, an associate professor in both the UCLA School of Public Health and the David Geffen School of Medicine. Specially, the plan calls for changes in three main areas:
- Improving health care services not only for prenatal care, but also extending care to ensure a woman is healthy before, during and after pregnancy;
- Strengthening families and communities by broadening the focus to include fathers, other family members and the community at large in order to create the widest possible support for parents and families; and
- Addressing social and economic inequities that cause disproportionate, lifelong stress for African American women.
National Infant Mortality Awareness Month is an important time to reflect on this growing crisis and how to create a national response system. The Johnson Foundation prepared the video to help motivate others to build a stronger voice for all communities to take action.
Throughout September and for the next several months, The Collaborative will be showing the video to key stakeholders, elected officials, leading businesses and others in order to educate them and prompt them to take action.
Thu, 06/23/2011
Watch Video: African American Infant Mortality in Racine
The Johnson Foundation, the Racine/Kenosha Community Action Agency and other community leaders are challenging the alarming and unacceptable status quo – that Greater Racine has one of highest rates of African American infant mortality in the nation and the highest in Wisconsin.
“An African American baby born in Racine today is nearly three times more likely to die before his or her first birthday than a white baby,” said Carole Johnson, Director, Community Programs for The Johnson Foundation at Wingspread. “ We can begin to measure the economic costs, including medical care, and for those low birth-weight babies who survive, the medical, social and education costs related to developmental delays and disabilities. But, the loss of productive citizens to our community is incalculable. We must tap into the determination, dedication, intelligence and commitment of our local leaders and citizens to address and remedy this unconscionable and critical problem.”
Infant mortality is defined as the death of an infant within the first year of life. According to the most recent nationwide comparative data available, from 2003 to 2005, Wisconsin ranked 38th among 39 states and the District of Columbia for the worst rates of African American infant mortality. This is a stark difference from when Wisconsin’s African American infant mortality rate was the third best ranking in the nation in 1979-1981.
The Greater Racine Collaborative for Healthy Birth Outcomes, a first-of-its-kind initiative that was first convened at The Johnson Foundation at Wingspread in 2008 to bring together every corner of the community, has released an action plan to cut local infant mortality rates in half.
The Community Action Plan lays out a series of concrete steps necessary to address the crisis. Specifically, the plan calls for changes in three main areas:
- Improving health care services not only for prenatal care, but also extending care to ensure a woman is healthy before, during and after pregnancy;
- Strengthening families and communities by broadening the focus to include fathers, other family members and the community at large in order to create the widest possible support for parents and families; and
- Addressing social and economic inequities that cause disproportionate, lifelong stress for African American women.
Along with the Community Action Plan, the Collaborative also released findings from its research and investigation. Some of the findings reveal that:
- College-educated African American women in Racine are more likely to have babies who die in the first year than white mothers who didn’t complete high school.
- Higher infant mortality rates affect not only African American families in poverty, but also those in the middle class.
- Contrary to misperceptions that link infant mortality solely with teen mothers, the rate in Racine among African American women is higher for those ages 20 to 34.
“African American infant mortality is an incredibly complex and interrelated issue that in many cases contradicts commonly held misperceptions and beliefs,” said Sharon Schulz, CEO, Racine/Kenosha Community Action Agency. “We need to understand this dynamic and begin the process of changing perceptions so that we can improve reality.”
Going forward, the Collaborative will work to implement the solutions outlined in the plan. In so doing, it seeks to demonstrate a new and innovative response system to address African American infant mortality that can serve as a model for other parts of the state and the nation seeking to address this serious problem.
Visit us periodically for updates.
For more information, visit the Collaborative website at healthybabiesracine.org.
Thu, 06/23/2011
Wed, 05/18/2011
Wed, 09/15/2010
