The effectiveness of Florida's "Improved Pregnancy Outcome" program.
The development of a national program to assure access to prenatal care for all women, regardless of income, is believed to be an effective means of reducing low birthweight and neonatal mortality in the U.S. Yet scarce empirical evidence concerning the effectiveness of large-scale prenatal care programs is available. This paper summarizes an evaluation of a statewide public prenatal care program which grew out of the federal Improved Pregnancy Outcome (IPO) project. Using linked birth and infant death-certificate data, and IPO program records from a four-year period (1985-1988), this study compares the neonatal mortality rates of participants of Florida's IPO program with those of a matched comparison group. The results indicate an inverse relationship between IPO participation and the risk of neonatal mortality in a low-income population. These findings suggest that large-scale prenatal care programs can be effective in improving birth outcomes.
Clarke
L L
LL
Dept. of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Florida, Gainesville 32610-0294.
Miller
M K
MK
Vogel
W B
WB
Davis
K E
KE
Mahan
C S
CS
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D005431:Florida / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D007226:Infant Mortality / Q000639:trends*; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008423:Maternal Age; D009313:National Health Programs; D011203:Poverty; D011247:Pregnancy; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome / Q000191:economics / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology*; D018566:Pregnancy, High-Risk; D011295:Prenatal Care / Q000191:economics / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015397:Program Evaluation; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013221:State Health Plans; D014481:United States; D044465:White People