Perinatal Health Outcomes Following a Community Health Worker-Supported Home-Visiting Program in Rochester, New York, 2015-2018

Zhi Pan; Peter Veazie; Mardy Sandler; Ann Dozier; Melissa Molongo; Tiffany Pulcino; Wendy Parisi; Katherine W Eisenberg

doi:10.2105/AJPH.2020.305655

Perinatal Health Outcomes Following a Community Health Worker-Supported Home-Visiting Program in Rochester, New York, 2015-2018

Am J Public Health. 2020 Jul;110(7):1031-1033. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2020.305655. Epub 2020 May 21.

Authors

Zhi Pan¹, Peter Veazie¹, Mardy Sandler¹, Ann Dozier¹, Melissa Molongo¹, Tiffany Pulcino¹, Wendy Parisi¹, Katherine W Eisenberg¹

Affiliation

¹ Zhi Pan, Peter Veazie, and Ann Dozier are with the Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY. Mardy Sandler is with the Division of Social Work, University of Rochester Medical Center. Melissa Molongo, Tiffany Pulcino, Wendy Parisi, and Katherine Eisenberg are with the Safety Net and Program Support Office, University of Rochester Medical Center.

Abstract

We evaluated the effectiveness of a community health worker-supported home visitor program on perinatal outcomes of 455 at-risk pregnant women with program data merged with electronic medical records from July 2015 through October 2017 in Rochester, New York. Program participants had fewer adverse outcomes than did nonparticipants, including lower rates of preterm birth (12% vs 20%; χ², P = .05) and low birth weight (14% vs 22%; χ², P = .05). This program was effective at achieving improved perinatal outcomes.

Publication types

Evaluation Study

MeSH terms

Adult
Community Health Workers*
Female
House Calls*
Humans
Infant
Infant, Low Birth Weight
Infant, Newborn
New York
Outcome Assessment, Health Care
Postnatal Care / statistics & numerical data
Pregnancy
Pregnancy Complications / prevention & control
Pregnancy Outcome*
Pregnancy, High-Risk
Premature Birth / prevention & control
Prenatal Care / organization & administration*