MDNews - Greater Kansas

KUSM- WICHITA CENTER MORE THAN 225 K ANSA S INFANTS DIE BEFORE THEIR FIRST BIRTHDAY, ACCORDING TO A WICHITA-BA SED CENTER THAT RESE ARCHES AND IMPLEMENTS PROGR AMS TO COMBAT INFANT MORTALIT Y. BUT THE GOOD NE WS IS THAT MORE EFFORTS ARE BEING TAKEN BY LOCAL COMMUNIT Y GROUPS TO HELP EDUCATE PARENTS ABOUT FACTORS THAT CAN LOWER THE RISK FOR INFANT MORTALIT Y. THE CENTER FOR RE SE ARCH O N I N F A N T B I R T H A N D SURVIVAL (CRIBS), based at the University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita, was founded in 2017 to be a conduit for research and program implementation for both local and statewide efforts. It also oversees several maternal and infant health initiatives in Sedgwick County. From 2012–2016, the infant mortality rate in Sedgwick County was 7.2 per 1,000 live births, which was higher than the state's rate of 5.9 in 2015. The 2013–2017 Sedgwick County rate has dropped to 6.9 per 1,000 live births, which is nearing the state's average that has held steady at 6.1. The U.S. national rate is 5.9, which itself isn't great when compared to the rates of other member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The U.S. ranks 33rd out of 36 OECD member countries, according to americashealthrankings.org. Infant mortality rates are one of the basic indicators of the health of a community, state or country. CRIBS has developed a number of partnerships with area healthcare professionals, the Kansas Health Foundation, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment and other agen- cies to help fund and implement its maternal and infant health initiatives, according to CRIBS Director Cari Schmidt, PhD, an Associate Research Professor in KUSM-Wichita's Department of Pediatrics who helped create the center. The programs range from teaching parenting skills to connect- ing young parents with education and employment opportunities through case management to helping create a network of instruc- tors in Kansas on safe infant sleeping habits. Baby Talk, for example, is the local variation of the KDHE's Kansas Perinatal Community Collaboratives program and is based on a March of Dimes curriculum. CRIBS works with area nurses who teach moms, dads and other caregivers about safe sleeping habits for infants to help reduce sleep-related deaths. Other topics include labor and deliver y and breastfeeding benefits. The Baby Talk program, which consists of six, two-hour classes, recently expanded to 10 locations in the county. The program is free to any pregnant woman in Sedgwick County who is 32 weeks pregnant or less. According to the KDHE website, similar programs are ongoing at more than a dozen other counties in the state, with 30 locations pending implementation. CRIBS has recently become part of two other initiatives. Th roug h a not her K DH E prog ra m ca l led Li f ti ng You ng Families Toward Excellence (LYFTE) and funded with federal money, CRIBS helps coordinate one-on-one case management for pregnant and parenting teens through age 24. Physicians can refer patients to take part in the program. "One of the cool things is that this will serve fathers as well as mothers," Schmidt says. "The goals are to focus on education and employment as well as health to help young parents become self-sufficient." Studies suggest that a parent's socioeconomic status can affect access to health care and infant mortality. LYFTE is also being offered in Geary and Barton counties and through the Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas serving Crawford, Cherokee, Labette and Bourbon counties, according to Beth Greene, Program Manager with the KDHE. CRIBS recently received a $25,000 Kansas Health Foundation grant to start a tobacco cessation social media campaign to educate expectant and current parents about the risks of smoking to maternal and infant health. With the Kansas Infant Death and SIDS (KIDS) Network, CRIBS has also developed a certification program for safe sleep instruc- tors who can provide standardized education to professionals and families using the American Academy of Pediatrics' safe sleep guidelines. Instructors in 45 counties, including Harper County, have been trained, Schmidt says. Among Kansas counties, Harper has the highest infant mortality rate at 15.9 deaths. CRIBS plans to hold its second infant mortality research symposium in 2020. The goals of the symposium are to identify top priorities and needs in the state and to serve as a catalyst for more programs and initiatives to combat infant mortality in Kansas. n BY AMY GEISZLER-JONES Focuses on Infant Mortality Programs, Research Cari Schmidt, PhD 1 4

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