Racial and ethnic disparities in infant mortality: risk in social context

J Public Health Manag Pract. 2001 May;7(3):30-46. doi: 10.1097/00124784-200107030-00007.

Abstract

This article presents the multifaceted efforts of Syracuse Healthy Start, a federally funded initiative of the Onondaga County Health Department and over 20 partnering agencies to reduce racial and ethnic disparities in infant mortality. The analyses presented in this article demonstrate that many women--Caucasian, African American, and Hispanic--have serious risks for low birth weight and infant death. In many cases, multiple, simultaneous risks complicate a pregnant woman's situation and in other cases the longitudinal cumulative risks impact health across generations. Infant mortality decreased overall, and for both Caucasian and African American infants during the first 3 years of the project.

MeSH terms

  • Black or African American / statistics & numerical data
  • Ethnicity / statistics & numerical data*
  • Female
  • Hispanic or Latino / statistics & numerical data
  • Humans
  • Infant Mortality*
  • Infant, Low Birth Weight
  • Infant, Newborn
  • Maternal Health Services*
  • New York / epidemiology
  • Pregnancy
  • Public Health Administration*
  • Registries
  • Risk Assessment
  • Risk Factors
  • White People / statistics & numerical data