2015 APHA Annual Meeting & Expo

Home Events & Meetings Annual Meeting Schedule & Program

Recorded Annual Meeting Presentations (RAMP) are now available for purchase.
Only $90 for presenters, $140 for registered attendees and $200 for non-attendees.

Online Program

332938
Reduction of poor birth outcomes and infant mortality among low-income teen mothers: GIS-assisted analysis of the Nurse-Family Partnership


Sunday, November 1, 2015

Elizabeth MacQuillan, MA, RD, Health Data Research, Analysis and Mapping (HDReAM) Center/College of Health and Human Services, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI
Amy B. Curtis, PhD, MPH, Interdisciplinary Health Sciences PhD Program/Health Data Research Analysis and Mapping (HDReAM) Center, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI
Virginia Vanderveen, BS, Department of Geography/Health Data Research Analysis and Mapping (HDReAM) Center, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI
Xiaojian Yang, BS, Department of Statistics/Health Data Research Analysis and Mapping (HDReAM) Center, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI
Background:  Calhoun County’s teen pregnancy rate for 2010 was 65.4; higher than the statewide average of 47.9 for the same year. Within one school district, the rate was 87.5 (2008-2010). The Nurse-Family Partnership (NFP) was implemented with a goal of reducing poor birth outcomes among teens; however, it was unknown if the program recruited those most in need across the community and whether outcomes were favorable among teen mothers.

Methods:  We used NFP, geographic information systems (GIS) mapping using ArcGIS, and SAS and SPSS analysis of county birth records (2012, most recent year available) and 2013-14 NFP data to evaluate current NFP recruitment and outcomes-related efforts in this high-risk teen population.

Results:   In 2013-14, 36% of women enrolled in NFP in Calhoun County were teens and NFP experienced no poor teen birth outcomes. In comparison, just 11% of births to Medicaid-eligible first-time mothers were to teens; however, these teen births made up 31.6% of all pre-term infants born to Medicaid-eligible first-time mothers.  Most teen births in the county occurred in the area served by one high school, but just 1.4% of NFP teen mothers came from this area.

Conclusions:  In most areas, NFP reached a proportionally large percent of high-risk teens and participant outcomes were better than among their peers. GIS mapping revealed an area where increased recruitment efforts may improve the ability of NFP to reduce poor outcomes and reach teens at most risk.  

Learning Areas:

Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs

Learning Objectives:
Explain advantages of using GIS to evaluate Nurse-Family Partnership program recruitment and coverage. Compare birth outcomes of low-income teen mothers in the Calhoun County, MI NFP program with those of all Medicaid-eligible teen mothers in the county, based on GIS-assisted analysis.

Keyword(s): Teen Pregnancy, Community Health Programs

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am a doctoral research associate and doctoral student with Western Michigan University's Health Data Research, Analysis and Mapping Center and the College of Health and Human Services. I conducted this study under supervision of my adviser and center director, Amy Curtis. I hold a masters degree in Nutrition and am a registered dietitian with 8 years experience teaching nutrition at the college level. I plan to write my dissertation on reducing poor birth outcomes
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 2076.0: Reproductive and sexual health among adolescents and young adults