Allegheny Health Department to receive training to reduce inequality in infant mortality

In response to what the Allegheny County Health Department says is a problem rooted in institutional racism, officials will receive training to help develop and implement new policies to address birth disparities.

The training and technical assistance comes from CityMatCH, a national organization of city and county health departments’ maternal and child health (MCH) programs, the county announced Thursday.

“There is growing recognition that chronic exposure to structural and institutional racism, regardless of a mother’s socioeconomic status or educational attainment, are primary contributors to the high rates of infant mortality among black women,” Dannai Wilson, the health department’s Maternal and Child Health Program Manager, said in a statement.

While there has been an overall decline in infant mortality rate, county data shows that black infants are dying at three to four times the rate of white babies, according to the health department. In November 2019, the department received $200,000 from the Heinz Endowments to raise awareness of Maternal and Child Health services among black families and improve the ways it serves them.

CityMatCH is based within the University of Nebraska Medical Center. The group offers a variety of training services and seminars — including the Institute for Equity in Birth Outcomes, which the health department will participate in. The institute takes a data-driven focus to develop public health strategies aimed at reducing inequality in infant mortality. Wilson said the health department will be required to regularly submit data tracking the MCH program’s progress during the next three years.

The training will focus on a variety of topics: research and best practices in women’s health, the history of social constructs surrounding race, how to effectively work with communities, nonprofits, hospitals and residents and more. The Allegheny County Health Department will be part of a cohort of four health departments facing similar challenges: the other members are in Philadelphia; Knoxville, Tenn.; Fort Worth, Texas; and Akron, Ohio.

The cohort will meet twice a month online for a webinar, and meet in-person twice a year. Wilson said the goal is to collaborate with other members, swapping ideas and strategies.

While the exact strategies for combating racial disparities in infant and maternal health have not yet been decided, Wilson said the new training will be a major step forward. The “intensity” and structure of the training will allow the health department to consider changes in policy, advocacy and programming, she said.

CityMatCH will also be training members of Healthy Start, an advocacy and research group that spans Allegheny and Westmoreland counties. Healthy Start’s work in Wilkinsburg was recognized as a “Best Babies Zone” by CityMatCH, meaning the group had made significant gains in fostering education, community services and economic development to prevent poor birth outcomes.

“We look forward to continuing these partnerships so all women and children in this region have access to a long healthy life, especially black women and infants, given their rates of mortality,” Wilson said.