The National Preconception Health + Health Care Initiative                                                                                                                January 2018
Course on Collaboration    
Available freely on behalf of NICHQ, we recommend investing time to take the Essentials of Collaboration Course.
 
This interactive course explores how to produce positive population health outcomes through effective collaboration. Using a case study to help share key concepts, NICHQ gives directions on breaking down silos, aligning activities, and working productively together. The course's definition of successful collaboration provides a foundation for partnering with others to make a difference in your community.
 
Takes about 1.5 hours at your own pace.
Preconception Health Indicators Update  

New reports in the  Journal of Women's Health and MMWR Surveillance Summaries share measures for monitoring preconception health and disparities. In Preconception Health Indicators for Public Health Surveillance, authors from CDC, AMCHP, and PCHHC describe the process used to evaluate, prioritize, and select ten priority preconception health indicators, a refinement of the original list of 45. As one expert noted, while the entire set was "overwhelming, this shorter list of indicators that are already likely being gathered, was better to move action and support."

The ten indicators include: 
-heavy alcohol consumption, 
-depression, 
-diabetes, 
-folic acid intake, 
-hypertension, 
-healthy weight, 
-recommended physical activity, 
-current smoking, 
-unwanted pregnancy, 
-and postpartum use of effective contraception. 

In Disparities in Preconception Health Indicators - Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 2013-2015, and Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System, 2013-2014, CDC authors provide estimates of priority preconception health indicators and how they vary by age group, race/ethnicity, insurance status, and reporting area.
 
Maternal and child health programs can use this condensed set of indicators and disparities report to support monitoring, benchmarking, and program delivery at the state and national levels.
Upcoming Infant Mortality CoIIN "Universal" TA Webinars
Mark your calendars! The TA webinars below will be led by the DATA team (Abt Associates) and are open to all CoIIN teams. A schedule  for April-Sept. webinars will be released soon. Webinars will be recorded and available within a week.  
 
Feb. 26th 3-4:30pm EST:  Developing Your Stakeholder Engagement Strategy
  
March 19th 1:30-3pm EST: Measurement 
Upcoming Partner Activities
January 30th - CityMatCH is hosting a webinar "Changing the Public Conversation on Health: How to Use Framing to "Decode" Social Determinants and Health Equity" at 3pm ET. Click for details. 
 
January 30th-#Prevent2Protect Tweet chat from 2-3pm ET, hosted by PCHHC with March of Dimes, Mother to Baby and CenteringHealth! We'll cover all the Birth Defects Prevention information and activities shared throughout the month.
 
February 11-13th - AMCHP National Conference in Washington, DC. Let Katherine know if you'll be in DC so we can arrange a meet-up! Click to join the virtual conversation. 
February 14th - #ShowYourLoveToday Celebration Across the Nation! Show Your Love turns 5! Post your photo or email SuzanneW@med.unc.edu to be included in the partner feature roundup during a national webinar, newsletter, etc. Click for details.
 
February 21st - Every Woman NC is hosting a webinar, "Tobacco Use of Young Adults in Reproductive Age" from 11:30-1pm ET. Click for details.  
February 24th - Black Women for Wellness has organized a spin-off of the Black Women Deserve Better campaign, Black Girls Deserve Better. In addition to a social media push, they'll be holding an event in Compton, CA. Share in the social conversation! Click for details. 
 
March 25-28th - National Healthy Start Conference in Washington, DC. We will be there! Will you be there? If so, email Katherine so we can plan a meet-up.
We want to showcase all that you are doing in your organization and/or community. Email Suzannew@med.unc.edu with an individual quote/spotlight, team shoutout, event, tool, or resource you'd like us to feature in our upcoming national newsletter, website, and social media. 
Featured Read
Our communications lead LOVES geeking out about how communications strategies, specifically effective delivery methods, can help us to better understand and engage with our audiences. mHealth empowers us with the potential of making real behavior change and real-time interventions. 
 
Here's some new research about the use of mobile devices to effectively reach minority populations:

 

New studies report that minorities are much more likely to access mHealth information on smartphones.This may be the link doctors need to create effective population health outreach.
Preconception Health Bi-weekly Updates
Sign up for the  CDC's bi-weekly updates on preconception and interconception health by  emailing Cheryl Robbins  (ggf9@cdc.gov). A great resource for everything happening in the industry, across the country - and world!
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ABOUT HRSA IM CoIIN PRECONCEPTION PROJECT: This project is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under grant number UF3MC31239-Providing Support For The Collaborative Improvement and Innovation Network (CoIIN) To Reduce Infant Mortality. The grant amount totals $1,494,993. This information or content and conclusions are those of the author and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government.
Building Cross State Connections to Advance Wellness


All four states engaged in the Preconception CoIIN are leaders in this arena, with significant experience and ideas that they are bringing to the table. This month we hope everyone will take the time to check out each state's online presence, resources and programs relating to preconception health and women's wellness. 
 
Here's a look at how our state partners are paving t he way to improve women's health across their state and beyond.


Team California
Supported by the March of Dimes California, Preconception Health Council of California manages the Every Woman California initiative.  Every Woman California works with individuals, health care providers, and communities to improve the physical, emotional and social well-being of women during the years in which they can become pregnant in order to ensure the health of current and future generations. Take a look at the Every Woman California  consumer resource guide. 

Reaching Consumers WHERE they ARE.
Especially in minority populations, the use of mobile technology is critical for message delivery. Every Woman CA launched a text message campaign to share health tips and information straight to consumers' cellphones. A short message followed by a link for more information covers a variety of preconception health topics and serves as a great reminder to stay on track! 

Have you subscribed to LA FAMILIA?   It is a FREE text message program that will send a couples messages a week to help you take charge of your health. All you have to do is text 55000 with "LA FAMILIA" - that's
it!

Click here see more from Every Woman California.



Team North Carolina
  North Carolina's  consumer resource and campaign, Every Woman NC is supported by the March of Dimes North Carolina Preconception Health Campaign (NCPHC). Just down the road from our UNC CMIH office, we partner often on consumer challenges around the state. 
 
Every Woman NC has several innovative initiatives, such as their  Community Ambassador Program. Regional coordinators train women across the state to be community health educators. These women can help increase awareness and influence attitudes through community venues and personal networks. To reach North Carolina's growing Latino population, a culturally-modified version of this program is also conducted in Spanish. The NCPHC has special programs dedicated to Latina outreach to promote folic acid and has created special programs and advertising in Spanish using culturally relevant messages.  NCPHC also conducts the Office Champion Program - a health care provider education initiative that creates a peer point-person in physician practices. This program has recently expanded to include other preconception health messages, like healthy weight.

Using a variety of media, the NCPHC has developed a series of effective campaigns touting the benefits of fo lic acid and preconception health to the general public. They offer free educational materials to anyone in North Carolina.

Join their nationwide webinars! 
 
Every Woman NC has launched a series of preconception health webinars from January to May 2018. Their next webinar is Feb. 21st from 11:30-1pm ET  on "Tobacco Use of Young Adults in Reproductive Age." Click for webinar details
 
Click here to see more from Every Woman North Carolina.

 
 
Team Delaware
Delaware (DE) Thrives is a theme shared by the Delaware Division of Public Health, the Delaware Healthy Mother and Infant Consortium, and partner organizations throughout the state focused on a common aim - that all of Delaware's babies and children have the same opportunity to thrive. 

Their website, DEThrives.com, is chock-full-of great resources for young adults, communities, and health providers - from goal setting checklists and resources, easy to digest preconception health information, and beyond. Resources and tools, such as the   

My Life. My Plan, Man Up, Plan Up, Healthy Women, Healthy Babies, Thriving Communities, and more. Check out their latest on birth spacing. You can also call 2-1-1 for Help Me Grow to get personal help.
 
In addition to creative outreach strategies, such as their Safe Sleep DreamWall, DEThrives is very active on social media. You'll want to follow DEThrives on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube to stay up on the latest topics, sources, and MCH trends.  These are great places for consumers, health professionals, and community leaders to find news, events listings, important data, and tools for policy and practice related to maternal, child, and family health. 
 
 
  
 
Team Oklahoma
The Oklahoma State Dept of Health Commissioner Action Team on Reduction of Infant Mortality and external partners collaborate on an initiative,
 
This resource offers education and links to resources that cover a variety of preconception, interconception, pregnancy, and postpartum topics. The goal of the site is to raise awareness and support so that Oklahoma's babies have a lifetime of promise - something that is EVERYONE's responsibility! 
 
 
Human-Centered Design Resources
To achieve our Preconception CoIIN Mission of developing, implementing, and disseminating  a woman -centered,  clinician -engaged,  community -involved approach to the well woman visit, we can start by bringing women, clinicians, and  communities to the table. With plenty of technical assistance available, PCHHC will continue to support you as you establish  roles, responsibilities, and coordination. 
 
The Human-Centered Design (HCD) "cheat sheet" below by Rachel Berkowitz summarizes the HCD work we participated in this past December.   Click to view PDF source.