The Low Country Healthy Start Program - 1503 Words

Introduction The Low Country Healthy start program is designed to eliminate disparities in perinatal health, improve birth outcomes, and quality of life in African american women and infants living in Allendale, Bamberg, Hampton, and Orangeburg counties. The Low County healthy start program propositions four purposes (1) Eliminate disparities in perinatal health by focusing on individual health behaviors and assisting women of child bearing age improve their health and the health of their families, (2) Increase responsiveness to women and families at high risk for poor outcomes by working directly with perinatal, women s health, infant health and social services providers and systems, (3) Increase the impact of the Low Country Community†¦show more content†¦In the Low Country area of South Carolina( Allendale, Bamberg, Hampton, and Orangeburg counties), African American women have been linked with low birth weight babies. Within the low country black babies are born at a low birth weight more frequently than babies of any other ethnic group. The Low Country Healthy Start program is designed to eliminate disparities in perinatal health and improve birth outcomes and quality of life in African American women. A process evaluation will be conducted in order to define the risk associated with chronic disease, recognize who is high risk, what services are provided by LCHS, who receive these services, and if the services provided are efficient. Literature Review In African American women low birth weight has been associated with several chronic diseases, such as obesity, hypertension, and diabetes mellitus. African American women increased risk of preterm birth is a longstanding epidemiological enigma and a major public health problem(ciatation from african american womens lifetime upward economic mobility and preterm birth). To further investigate this public health problem, I have analyzed the work of previous researchers who found a correlation between chronic disease, preterm birth risk factors, and low birth weight babies in women of african descent. Methods Google Scholar, PubMed, and Academic Search Complete at EBSCO Host