Identifying infants at risk: North Carolina's High-Priority Infant Program.
Recent federal legislation (e.g., PL 99-457, Part H, and amendments to the MHC block grant and Medicaid legislation) has focused attention on infants at risk for health and developmental problems. The ability to plan services for these infants would be strengthened by data that could be used for program accountability and evaluation. Using nurses based in local health departments, North Carolina's High-Priority Infant program currently identifies and follows infants with biologic (e.g., very low birth weight), environmental (e.g., psychosocial problems), and established (e.g., Down syndrome) risk conditions. Data from this program were collected to analyze specific features of its implementation, a necessary precursor to evaluating outcome.
Cilenti
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D
Social Work and Maternal and Child Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill 27599-7400.
Farel
A M
AM
D002662:Child Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002658:Developmental Disabilities / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000451:nursing / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D009657:North Carolina / Q000453:epidemiology; D011637:Public Health Nursing / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012307:Risk Factors