TY - JOUR
T1 - B'More Fit for Healthy Babies
T2 - Using Trauma-Informed Care Policies to Improve Maternal Health in Baltimore City
AU - Tuck, Stacey G.
AU - Summers, Amber C.
AU - Bowie, Janice
AU - Fife-Stallworth, Donnica
AU - Alston, Chase
AU - Hayes, Stephen
AU - Alexander, Stephanie
N1 - Funding Information:
Funding Statement: This project is made possible with funding from grant no. WH-CCE-11-001 from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office on Women's Health, and a grant award from the Zanvyl and Isabelle Krieger Fund to the Baltimore City Health Department. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the Baltimore City Health Department, Family League of Baltimore, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, the Zanvyl and Isabelle Krieger Fund, Office on Women's Health, the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health, or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Funding Information:
Stacey G. Tuck, Amber C. Summers, Janice Bowie, Donnica Fife-Stallworth, and Chase Alston report no direct or indirect conflicts of interest, and acknowledge that OWH funded the CHC grant program and the findings.
Funding Information:
This supplement issue was prepared for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office on Women's Health with contract support from NORC at the University of Chicago. The following persons contributed information or assisted in reviewing this article: Keyonna Starkey, Tim's Day founder and B'more Fit participant; Natasha Gregg, Tim's Day co-founder and B'more Fit participant; William Kellibrew, Baltimore City Health Department; Rebecca Dineen, Baltimore City Health Department; Cathy Costa, Baltimore City Health Department; Olivia Farrow, Baltimore City Health Department; Darcy Phelan-Emrick, Baltimore City Health Department; and Lynn Mumma, Behavioral Health System Baltimore.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2017
Copyright:
Copyright 2018 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2017/10/17
Y1 - 2017/10/17
N2 - Background Pregnant obese women have an increased risk for infant mortality and poor maternal outcomes. Environmental and social conditions pose barriers for less-advantaged overweight women to participate in weight loss interventions. The B'more Fit for Healthy Babies Program aimed to address existing gender inequities that persist where exposure to community-level trauma is present. Methods A gender-based analysis using qualitative and quantitative approaches informed B'more Fit's intervention and identified opportunities for trauma-informed care policies. Key data sources for analyses included two series of focus groups and a quantitative survey. Review of additional Baltimore-based literature and research also informed policy development. Results A workgroup formulated policies for B'more Fit staff and participants. Policies involved technical assistance, staff consultation, and gender-sensitive counseling sessions. These activities gained the attention of the Baltimore City Health Department's leadership, and department-wide trainings were conducted. Highly publicized violence in Baltimore led to expanded trauma-informed care training and policy development in all local government agencies through a partnership between the Baltimore City Health Department and Behavioral Health Systems Baltimore, Inc. Conclusions The development and monitoring of trauma-informed interventions and policies within governmental and human service agencies can counterbalance social and environmental exposures. Applying a gender-based and trauma-informed program provided B'more Fit participants with strategies for weight loss, improved nutrition, and better parenting. Coordinated policies and interventions are underway in city institutions to address residents' behavioral health needs and improve citywide services.
AB - Background Pregnant obese women have an increased risk for infant mortality and poor maternal outcomes. Environmental and social conditions pose barriers for less-advantaged overweight women to participate in weight loss interventions. The B'more Fit for Healthy Babies Program aimed to address existing gender inequities that persist where exposure to community-level trauma is present. Methods A gender-based analysis using qualitative and quantitative approaches informed B'more Fit's intervention and identified opportunities for trauma-informed care policies. Key data sources for analyses included two series of focus groups and a quantitative survey. Review of additional Baltimore-based literature and research also informed policy development. Results A workgroup formulated policies for B'more Fit staff and participants. Policies involved technical assistance, staff consultation, and gender-sensitive counseling sessions. These activities gained the attention of the Baltimore City Health Department's leadership, and department-wide trainings were conducted. Highly publicized violence in Baltimore led to expanded trauma-informed care training and policy development in all local government agencies through a partnership between the Baltimore City Health Department and Behavioral Health Systems Baltimore, Inc. Conclusions The development and monitoring of trauma-informed interventions and policies within governmental and human service agencies can counterbalance social and environmental exposures. Applying a gender-based and trauma-informed program provided B'more Fit participants with strategies for weight loss, improved nutrition, and better parenting. Coordinated policies and interventions are underway in city institutions to address residents' behavioral health needs and improve citywide services.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.whi.2017.09.002
DO - 10.1016/j.whi.2017.09.002
M3 - Article
C2 - 29050657
AN - SCOPUS:85032888349
SN - 1049-3867
VL - 27
SP - S38-S45
JO - Women's Health Issues
JF - Women's Health Issues
ER -