Every Woman South Carolina: Development of a Statewide
Pre/Interconception Plan
A Collaboration of SC DHEC, March of Dimes and Perinatal Regions
The Need
The southeastern region of the United States has a long history
of high rates of infant mortality, preterm birth (particularly very
preterm birth), sexually transmitted infections, poverty, unplanned
pregnancy and chronic diseases. Sadly, South Carolina ranks 48th in
many of these categories with little or no improvement in recent
years. Additionally, the current economic crisis carries the potential
to compromise the health of women and infants in this region. A
concerted effort to bring South Carolina health care providers and
educators together to collaborate in a strategic way around
preconception health care, public health and maternal and child
services will have a tremendous impact.
Our Goal
From the SC
Department of Health and Environmental Control’s latest
Needs Assessment:
“Rather than attempting to deploy specific programs targeting a
single aspect of pre/inter-conception health, MCH will focus on
addressing this issue by building local infrastructure to enable
programs and initiatives within selected geographic areas of the
state. MCH will accomplish this by organizing and supporting a
pre/inter-conception health coalition in each of the four Perinatal
regions.
These coalitions will be a multidisciplinary group and will be
charged with:
1) conducting an initial assessment of pre/inter-conception
health needs in each respective region,
2) developing a regional plan to address the issue,
3) implementing programs/initiatives to target need, and
4) evaluating the process and provide feedback to stakeholders.
Regional activities will be rolled up into a state wide plan for
improving pre/inter-conception health. These plans will also be used
to support ongoing multi-state initiatives to address pre/interconception health issues.
Performance measure: Increase the number of perinatal regions with an
established pre/inter-conception health coalition that completes an
assessment of regional pre/inter-conception health needs, develops a
plan to address identified issues, implements at least one program
targeting identified needs, and evaluates the process, providing feed
back to stakeholders.
Measurement: A scaling measure will values ranging from 1-6 will be
used to monitor progress towards this objective. Scaling values will
correspond to the following index:
1) No coalition or activity
2) Established pre/inter-conception health coalition meeting
regularly
3) Completion of assessment
4) Development of a plan
5) Implementation of a program
6) Evaluation and feedback to stakeholders “
Ultimately, the goal of this initiative is to develop a state
consortium to disseminate information about preconception projects
that have demonstrated success, create research and program
opportunities among systems, maximize limited resources, and stimulate
new ideas and products for moving the preconception health/women’s
wellness agenda forward.
The Timeline and Structure
Each region has a Perinatal Systems Developer (RSD) that will bring
together a regional coalition.
Each RSDs will conduct 4 meetings over
the course of the next year (September 2010-September 2011) with a
minimum of one (1) meeting before December 31, 2010. Due to varying
sizes of regions, multiple meetings may be necessary.
When recruiting individuals to participate as part of coalition,
consider having representation from the following organizations:
DHEC
Health Directors, Title X Family Planning, Healthy Start Associations,
South Carolina Perinatal Association, AMCHP, AWOHNN, NACCHO, ACOG,
ACNM, AAFP, AAP, Nurse Midwives, Family Practice, and Pediatrics. A
more diverse group will result in a more accurate overview of regional
needs and activities.
Sizes of groups may vary.