Lessons from a Community Health Worker Home-visiting Program to Reduce Infant Mortality Among Black Mothers in Ohio

The Ohio Infant Mortality Reduction Initiative (OIMRI) aims to reduce infant mortality rates among black infants in Ohio by employing community health workers (CHWs) to conduct home visits. At these home visits, CHW activities include: refer-ring mothers to health and social services, educating mothers, giving mothers needed supplies, and providing social support. This study uses participant self-report data collected by CHWs from 2010 to 2015 and interviews with county-level program managers from 14 counties in Ohio. Program data and interviews were used to describe ways clients were recruited, client gestational age at enrollment and start of prenatal care, number of prenatal care visits, ways that OIMRI helps facilitate prenatal care, and barriers to staying in the program. Findings indicate that the earlier participants were recruited into OIMRI, the more prenatal care visits they attended, which may relate to whether barriers like transportation and poor/inconsistent housing were addressed. Programs like OIMRI may help reduce risk factors for infant mortality by improving the uptake of prenatal care.